“You’ve told me that five times today.”
“Then one more won’t hurt.” She shrugged against him. “Gavin … I ….” She then mumbled something he couldn’t make out.
Reaper cocked his head at her. Several times today he had seen her grappling whether to tell him something. “What?”
“Never mind.”
“You sure?”
“Everything’s fine. Try to get some sleep.” Releasing him, she went into the bedroom.
Checking the door for the third time, he then went to get his coffee. He wouldn’t be getting any sleep tonight, other than a couple of catnaps on the sofa.
Wandering around the living room, he felt a familiar heightened awareness he’d experienced when stationed overseas. He had quickly learned to sleep with one eye open, waiting for the sound of an IED to strike at any minute. It was the same eerie feeling surrounding him tonight.
Turning the lights off, he carried his cup to the window and stared out into the darkness. He opened the window a few inches to let the cool ocean breeze flow inside.
“I have a bad feeling tonight, Silas.”
Despite feeling ridiculous for talking to a man who wasn’t there, he strained to hear if Silas answered him.
“Same,” the wind answered him.
Reaper uneasily searched the darkness for any sign of movement. Leaning to his right, he saw the two agents on duty talking, one of which was smoking a cigarette. The tip of the cigarette flared each time he took a puff, giving him insight into the identity of one of the guards.
Agent Clark was the only one he had seen smoking during their stay. From the height of the other guard, it had to be Agent Flores.
“Can you hear what they’re saying?” he asked Silas.
“Yes. They’re talking about Agent Collins missing their briefing.”
Holding his cup poised at his lips, Reaper rubbed his thumb along the underside of his jaw. “Whatever is going to happen, his men aren’t a part of it.”
The gust of wind blew in through the window. “Agree. Ginny’s afraid.”
“I know. Me, too. I want to get the fuck out of here.”
Aware there could be a listening device he hadn’t spotted, he kept his voice to a mutter, but at the same time unconcerned if he was being watched. It would look as if he was talking to himself, if they could even make out any of his words.
Another rush of wind slipped under the window. “Go to sleep. I’ll wake you if anyone tries to come in.”
Nodding, Reaper set his cup on the table. Then laying down on the couch, he placed one of the decorative pillows under his head.
“How many of you had to keep track of Ginny when she was younger?”
“All of us. It was a never-ending battle to keep her safe.”
“She keeps me on my toes, and she’s a grown woman. I can’t imagine trying to keep up with her at four.”
The window blew so hard it rattled the shutters as if in laughter. “You have no idea.”
“Brother, I’m getting there.” Reaper gave an exasperated grunt, rolling to his side. “She won’t be happy we’re talking about her behind her back.”
“It took all eight of us to keep an eye on her. You don’t stand a chance without my help.”
Tiredly, he laid his head back on the arm cushion. The shutters rattled again. “Sleep. I’ll keep watch.”
Lowering his lids, Reaper felt the air in the room go still, the eerie stillness returning. His mind’s eye replayed the flying jump that Ginny had taken off the side of the waterfall; it scared him shitless. He could still see the exhilarated joy on her face. It was the same expression he’d seen on his fair share of thrill seekers that he’d encountered—and almost every one of the fuckers ended up in a hospital or the morgue.
Moon was one of the worst. The brother had broken more bones than he hadn’t. The worst time was when they’d all gotten shit-faced and he had the bright idea to jump his bike over a road that was heavily trafficked with speeding semis. The road was flanked with low-lying hills on each side.
The brothers were still in awe that Moon had successfully made the jump. He would have walked away unscathed, too, if his tire hadn’t hit a rail tie in the grass. Needless to the say, the brother had ended up staying in Ohio longer than he anticipated.
“Brother, I told you not to make the jump until one of us went to check out the other side of the hill,” he’d told Moon while him in the hospital.
Moon had looked up from with a gaping smile, exposing a top tooth missing. “Pfft. Fuck off.”
Reaper still remembered laughing at him, with his leg lifted high in a contraction, displaying his gory-looking knee with the metal pins sticking out.
“Going to do it again when I get these pins out,” he bragged.