Reaper

It was hard to stay conscious as I sat in the back seat of a car next to Jesse, my head lulled onto his shoulder. I was notorious for falling asleep in cars – otherwise I’d get carsick. It’s one of the reasons I liked living in New York so much, because I always had public transportation. In New Jersey, not so much.

Sawyer sat in the driver’s seat, his eyes intently focused on the road ahead of him.

The woman from the subway sat in the passenger seat next to him, her face grave, worried. I felt a twinge of jealousy as she whispered to him quietly, so low that neither I nor, I guess, Jesse, could understand her. I stared at her the best I could manage, noting her inhumanly beautiful features. She was gorgeous, a gothic princess straight out of the movies. Hey long, charcoal black hair was combed over to one side of her neck, exposing her pale, almost translucent, skin. It was porcelain, not a blemish in sight.

Of course, nothing compared to how Sawyer looked in the moonlight. His angular jaw was set in a hard line, his emerald eyes focused on the road ahead of him. He was clearly upset, but my frazzled brain was too sluggish to comprehend what it might be.

I glanced over at Jesse, then, who was snoring softly beside me. The only thing that had changed between Sawyer and I was the fact that he had seen Jesse kiss me, but… surely that couldn’t piss him off this much? After all, he was the one who kissed me and disappeared.

I bit my lip, straining to keep my eyes open as another car’s headlights shone brightly into my eyes. “Where are we going?” I asked, softly.

Sawyer didn’t reply. He simply pressed his lips into a hard line, his forward gaze unwavering.

The woman next to him glanced over and sighed. “We’re taking you and your friend somewhere you’ll be safe,” she replied, looking down at her lap. “It’s not safe for you in the city, and it’s better for everyone if you’re in a place where we can keep an eye on you.”

I narrowed my eyes. Keep an eye on me? What was I, a toddler? “I’m not a child, thank you. I can stay out of trouble-“

“My brother has almost died because of you, Charlotte, so pardon me if I don’t quite believe you,” Sawyer snapped, his fists balling up on the grip of the steering wheel.

I crossed my arms over my chest, irritated. “I’m not the one who stalked me into a different state just so I could be a negative Nancy.”

Sawyer slammed on the brakes, plunging me out of my seat and into the headrest in front of me. The woman swore and braced herself on the dashboard, while Jesse merely slumped forward and continued to snore. My heart nearly stopped, even in my slow state, as he turned around to me, eyes shining in the darkness, his breath shallow puffs of moisture that escaped his angry lips.

“That’s enough.” Sawyer inhaled sharply through his teeth as the light dimmed from his eyes, a sign that he was calming down. “Please, keep whatever thoughts you have to a minimum for the moment – I’m trying not to become another distracted driving statistic.”

With that, he pulled back onto the road, faced forward. The woman next to him shook her head and rolled her eyes, leaning her head against her hand. She sighed heavily and shut her eyes, as if she were trying to meditate.

I, however, sat in the back, my blood boiling. Who the hell did Sawyer think he was? That it was okay for him to just waltz into Atlantic City and scoop me up so that he could babysit me? He’s not just allowed to barge into my life and turn it upside down just because he feels like it. Doesn’t he see that that’s what he’s doing to me? He just burst in with his eyes and his mysterious aura and he drew me in like a cheesy romance novel that I can’t get out of.

Sawyer’s shoulders stiffened as I thought about the kiss.

Boy, did I think about that kiss. It was simultaneously the best moment of my life and the worst, I think. It was the best I’d ever experienced, that much was true – but it condemned be to be pinned under Sawyer’s spell. I was too far gone, too intrigued by what lay beneath his cold exterior to just walk away. I knew he was dangerous, that he was a monster. But the greater part of me didn’t seem to care. He was a mystery and a challenge, both of which should have had someone like me, someone so timid, running for the hills. Something about him was so enticing that even though I sat in the backseat of the car, trying to see if I really could glare daggers at his leather jacket, I made no serious attempt to be let go.

After a few tense moments of silence, I rationalized enough in my head to speak again. I was beginning to be pulled out of the stupor I had gained at the bar, but I was by no means sober. “So… What’s the danger, then?”

Sawyer’s jaw twitched, which I took to mean that he was still to irritated to answer. The woman, on the other hand, ran a hand through her long, dark hair before responding.

“There’s, um…” She scratched the back of her head. “There are some bad people, in mine and Sawyer’s lives, that are interested in a quality you possess-“

“She knows, Saphira, you can cut the formalities,” Sawyer grumbled.

Saphira groaned. “You told her? Christ, no wonder Isis wants her head.” My eyes widened, but she turned toward me, making eye contact for the first time. “Look, the fact that no one can Feed from you is huge. Isis – she’s the worst being you could come in contact with right now, especially because you’re totally new to this world. Am I right?”

I nodded, feeling a blush creep up my cheeks.

She turned back to face the front. “Isis is trouble. She won’t kill you, because right now she’s too interested in what you’re capable of, but don’t think that won’t change in a heartbeat if she finds out about you and Sawyer.”

I quickly looked to him, but he showed no sign that he’d even heard Saphira, much less been offended by it, though I knew at least the former was true. “What about Sawyer?”

“That you’re… uh, close to him.” The car was tense for a few moments, reasonably so. Sawyer and I couldn’t even tell what we were, much less this strange girl who I’d just met. “She’ll see that as a declaration of war, of working for the enemy. She won’t be so lenient then. The best thing to do is keep you off of her radar. Which will be difficult, because now she’s actually looking for you.”

I sat back, my mind buzzing. “How do you know all this?”

Sawyer’s mouth twitched. “Because, I told you, she attacked one of my pack members as a warning.”

I suddenly felt the guilt wash over me in waves. Someone had been attacked? Because of me? I hadn’t even done anything but exist, and already people were getting hurt. I not bitterly regretted being rude to Sawyer a minute ago – I had already caused him enough troubles, and here I was causing more. I must be so obnoxious to be around, a spoiled princess who he reluctantly must protect.

I admired his patience more than ever.

Deciding that I had no way of responding to that other than a mumbled “Sorry”, I curled myself up next to Jesse and tried not to annoy Sawyer any further.

I faded in and out of consciousness for another few hours, waking up every so often when Sawyer or Saphira would say something, even though it wasn’t directed to nor about me. It was usually small talk, plans, or something that didn’t need my attention, so my drunken brain just let me lull myself to sleep with the motion of the car, propped up on Jesse’s shoulder so that my head didn’t fall into his lap.

I didn’t know what time it was when we pulled up to a small cabin in the forest, obviously isolated but not completely remote, since I could see power lines and street lights in the distance. I began to groggily pull myself up as gravel crunched under the tires, indicating that we were coming to a stop. After a few moments, Sawyer parked and opened his door to get out, cursing under his breath at the cold. From the inside, I could see the breath coming from his lips in puffs, indicating that I would not, in fact, enjoy the temperature.

I had just enough time to process this thought when Sawyer opened the car door next to me and held out his hand for me to take, expectant. Clumsily, I pulled myself off of Jesse, who was still in the process of waking up, and took his hand. Once I got out, though, my legs collapsed under me, and I fell to the ground, hard.

“Ouch,” I mumbled, rubbing my elbow that had struck something on the way down. I couldn’t feel anything anymore.

Sawyer huffed and bent down to me. I had been expecting him to pull me up by the wrist, so I was completely taken by surprise when he scooped me up into his arms, one hand under my knees and the other under my back, honeymoon style. I let out a yelp and flung my arms around his neck, trying to gain some balance. Our eyes locked for a moment as I settled into his grip, and the way his eyes shone with amusement made me blush a little. I buried my cold-bitten face into his chest, hoping that he hadn’t noticed.

“Saphira,” he said, his chest rumbling under my cheek, “Can you take care of him? I’ll go get settled.” With a nod from Saphira, he turned and carried me into the small house, only a few steps from where the car was parked.

I clung to him a little tighter as we entered – it was completely dark inside. Quickly, he flipped a light switch on, illuminating the tiny house just a little. Everything was relatively plain, patterned furniture, mostly dark wood with red highlights. I noticed a small kitchen in the corner, and three doors leading to various other rooms, each branching off a small hallway toward the back.

Sawyer carried me into one of the rooms and set me down, gently, on the bed. He hovered over me for a second, a strange look on his face, before he turned away and began to turn lights on and get settled.

My brain was still half asleep, but something in the back of my mind was bothering me. “Sawyer?” He looked at me over his shoulder in response as he slid off his jacket. “Where are we sleeping?” I asked stupidly, curling myself into a ball on the satin covers.

He ran a hand through his hair. “You and your friend can have the two rooms,” he muttered, examining his clothes for dirt. “Saphira and I don’t sleep much – the beds are of little use.”

I mouthed the word “Oh” and snuggled a little more into the pillow. I supposed that made sense – after all, Sawyer was always around at nighttime, and I had always fallen asleep in his presence. But still, I was uncomfortable with the fact that I was just automatically given a room to myself.

I watched as Sawyer ruffled through some drawers in the dresser, flexing the muscles in his back underneath his white shirt. I knew I was staring, but there was something so attractive in the way he moved, like a cat, graceful yet more powerful than you could imagine. It was… sexy.

Before he had a chance to respond to that thought, because I’m sure he knew what I was thinking, he tossed some clothes at me. “Here’s something to sleep in. I’ll be back in a few minutes so you can change.”

And with that, he left me to my thoughts.