“Well, because he’s still in his body. He won’t be going through walls anytime soon.”
“So let’s create a distraction. He’ll know it’s us and he can escape.” It was a perfectly reasonable plan.
“Uh, that’s not going to work.”
“Why not?” I demanded again.
“Because he’s unconscious.”
If that wasn’t a bucket of ice-cold water right in my face. I sucked in a breath. “What happened to him?”
“I don’t know. He doesn’t look bad, just unconscious.”
If he was unconscious, then it was bad. A person didn’t just pass out for no good reason. My worry over him increased tenfold. I really thought we would be able to find a way to get him out of there. Now I was starting to worry it wasn’t going to happen at all. Olly would sit there for months, only to be Recalled. The ATM card he gave me felt like a twenty-pound weight in my pocket. Had he known this was going to happen all along? Had his confidence been just so I wouldn’t worry?
“No.” I said, “This isn’t how this is going to go.”
“Let’s just go back to your place and we can come up with some sort of plan,” Storm said reasonably.
I was done with being reasonable.
I marched ahead, stepping onto the Reaper’s property and toward the front door.
“Frankie!” Piper called, running after me. “What are you doing?”
A man came around the side of the house and stopped short, seeing us approach. “This is private property,” he said.
“I know exactly whose property it is,” I spat. “Now step aside.”
“I’m afraid I can’t let you go any farther.”
I snorted and walked around him. “Fine, then. Come along.”
He raced after us as I walked up to the front door and banged on the solid wood with my fist. He probably had a doorbell, but I felt like hitting something.
The door swung open a few seconds later. “Oh, well, isn’t this a surprise?” The Reaper smiled. “I’m afraid your boyfriend can’t come to the door. He’s indisposed.”
Piper stepped up behind me and all his attention zeroed in on her. Again, that weird look of reverence overcame his features and it made me wrinkle my nose in disgust.
“She’s only here because of me,” I said, trying to take the attention away from her.
He blinked, his stare coming back to me, only for it to wander right back to Piper.
I slapped my hand against the partially open door. “Hey!” I snapped.
Irritation crossed over his features until I spoke. Once the words had left my mouth, I had his complete and utter attention.
“I came to make a deal.”
“You came to make a deal with me?” he said, interest clouding his eyes.
I nodded.
“Come in.” He held open the door as Piper and I went inside, both of us sticking very close together.
In his office, he sat in a massive black chair behind a desk that was completely bare, and my eye caught a few shards of broken glass lying on the rug beneath it. It made me wonder what happened and if it had anything to do with Olly.
The Reaper steepled his fingers beneath his chin and pinned me with a cold stare. “What’s the deal?”
