“I lied.” Then Gregory went right for his throat. Ivan tried to shove him back, but Gregory wasn’t interested in drinking from him. The vampire used his fangs to slash Ivan’s throat wide open. Blood sprayed into the air and Ivan fell onto the ground, his body jerking.
Gregory stood there, Ivan’s blood dripping on him. “Everyone has a weakness,” the vamp said. “She was always yours. If it makes you feel better…I don’t think she felt pain at the end.” That smile was on his bloody lips again. “I made sure she enjoyed her death.”
Ivan tried to speak but couldn’t. Too much of his throat was gone.
“Shifters are always most vulnerable in their human forms. For such a big, fierce bear, you sure did go down easy.” He crouched beside Ivan. “Maybe you’ll see your Vanessa in the next world, hmm? Then I’ll have kept my promise and given her back to you.” He dipped his finger in the blood that poured from Ivan’s throat. “Or maybe not. I really don’t give a shit.” He rose. “Now…I have a crashed plane to find. I’m betting Luke will still pay me even if the bounty is dead on arrival. And I’ve got plans for Luke. I think it’s time for someone else to be in charge, don’t you?”
Ivan’s body had grown cold.
Gregory walked away, not heading back for the road, but going to the small hangar that housed Ivan’s other plane. The vamp knew how to fly, too. Once, he and Cass had flown together. Once, they’d been nearly best friends. But something had happened. Something that had made Cass turn away from the vampire.
Gregory would fly after the Reaper. He’d follow the smoke and flames.
Then Ivan knew he’d head for that final meeting with Luke. There would be no stopping him.
His eyes began to close. Sorry…Reaper…
***
Cass knew hell. He also knew heaven. He’d visited both, at different times.
The plane ignited and the fire swept back toward him. The crash was brutal, jarring, and he held as tightly to Amber as he could. They both went flying on impact, but he didn’t let her go. He wished he’d said more to her, wished he’d learned all her truths…
But there had been no time.
Death was brutal. Fast and hard. His body burned with the agony, but it was one he’d felt before. He was the last Reaper…and that meant something.
It meant he could never stay dead. All of the power of his people—it had come to him. As the others had died out, as they’d been slaughtered, their powers had drained to him, coming in like a beacon.
He hadn’t even realized it. Not until the first time he’d been killed.
Back when he’d been six.
He died, but he didn’t stay dead. Heaven, hell—neither could keep a strong hold on him. A Reaper always had to walk the earth.
And he was the last one. He had to walk.
He had to rise.
So he came back, his mouth opening and a roar of rage escaping him. He came back—this time from hell, from the pain and the horror, and he opened his eyes to see more fire around him.
And to see Amber…held in his arms, but still. So still…
He was afraid then. Terrified beyond his darkest dreams. He put his hands on her chest—the gloves still covering his fingers—and he fought to bring her back. He pushed on her chest, again and again. He breathed for her. He begged her…
Come back. Come back.
Another breath.
Don’t leave.
He pushed on her chest.
Stay with me…
Chapter Nine
“You will not die.”
Something hard pressed on to her chest. Amber tried to get a breath but couldn’t and then—
Air. Air was filling her lungs. Power pulsed in her body. Her eyes opened.
Cass stared down at her. A deep gash was on his forehead, bleeding too much, and he stared at her with glittering eyes. With…
Fear?
“Fuck, yes,” he whispered. “You came back.” Then he yanked her into his arms. He held her tight, so tight that her bones ached, but she didn’t care. He was warm and strong and they were both alive.
Though she seriously had no clue about just how they’d survived. The last thing she remembered was him telling her to close her eyes. He’d pulled her close and then…
Oh, no. I called for Luke and Leo. She pushed against him. “We…we have to go.”
His mouth crashed onto hers. He kissed her with desperation and need and a dark desire that pulled at her very soul.
She wanted to keep kissing him back. But…they had some seriously big problems to deal with right then. Amber pulled her mouth from his. “We have to go!”
He tensed. His head lifted. His gaze was burning as he stared at her.
Burning…
Her nostrils flared as she became aware of the smoke and flames around her. Her head turned and she saw that they were in the middle of the wreckage. Chunks of the plane were on fire. Glass was everywhere. Fire. Hell.
“How did we survive?” They shouldn’t have. No way should they have made it.
“I’m Death,” he said simply.
She turned back to look at him, her heart tight in her chest.
“I’m Death and I have to walk the earth. One way or another…”
That was scary and she wasn’t even exactly sure what that meant.