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“Thank God they’ve gone.” Ashton rolls her eyes. “We love them all to death, but they’re so overpowering at times. Especially after a mission.”
Bonnie nods. “You’ll get used to it, Faith. It’s a pretty scary place the first time you set eyes on it, but you soon realize its paradise.”
Ashton smiles sweetly, “Come on. I’m dying to show you your house. We’ve been getting it ready ever since we learned you were moving in.”
Bonnie nods as she falls into step beside me.
“I love designing interiors and I’ve made this super special for you. I didn’t have long, but I enjoyed maxing out Snake’s credit card to fix your darlin’ baby’s room up. Just wait until you see it. I’m pretty pleased about this one.”
Ashton whispers behind her hand. “She’s practicing ready for her own.”
“You’re pregnant?” I say with a huge smile, and she shakes her head. “Not yet, but I’m working god-damned hard on making one.”
She grins an impudent grin and Ashton giggles. “You’ll get used to Snake and Bonnie, Faith. They can’t keep their hands off one another. It won’t be long.”
Ashton carries on without drawing breath. “I have two children. Cassie, our darlin’ daughter, and Caspian, our little prince.”
Bonnie’s eyes soften. “You’ll love them, Faith. So cute and sooo naughty. Well, Cassie is anyway. Caspian’s still figuring it all out and is more controllable because he can’t even walk yet.”
Ashton smiles fondly. “Seeing little Hope here has made me god-damned broody again. Just don’t tell Ryder, because I’ll be knocked up before you finish your sentence.”
The two women laugh out loud, and I wonder if I’ll ever fit in. Speaking about such things was forbidden in Heaven and yet they speak of sex like they’re discussing the weather.
I follow the two women around the back of the large steel building and Ashton points to two blocks that sit on either side of the path.
“Those are the blocks that the single Reapers live in. Boys in one and girls in the other.”
“You have women as Reapers?” I’m shocked and then the awkward silence tells me I’ve misunderstood.
Bonnie says quickly, “Listen, Faith, there’s something you should know, and it’s not half as bad as it sounds.”
“What?” I’m a little uneasy and Bonnie adds, “The girls aren’t Reapers, honey, they’re Reaper whores.”
I stare at her in total shock and feel a growing sense of unease building.
Ashton says quickly, “It’s just a word, honey, and doesn’t mean what you think it does. The girls chose the name themselves and they work in the bar and around the compound until they’re ready to move on.”
Bonnie adds quickly, “While they’re here, they enjoy the company of the single guys. Not exclusively, just who they fancy hooking up with for the night. Sometimes they catch feelings, but more often the whores decide to move on and carry on the lives that were interrupted when they came here to start again.”
“We all did,” Ashton says sadly. “There is not one person here who hasn’t faced a hard beginning, me included.”
“You were a…” I can’t bring myself to say the word, and Ashton shakes her head with a smile.
“No. I came here as Cassie’s nanny. Ryder was a single daddy and needed help and, well, I was looking for a place to hide and my brother arranged it.”
“But you were expected to…” Again, I falter because I can’t process what I’m hearing.
Ashton grins. “No. Ryder took one look at me and told me I was no longer required as a nanny.”
Bonnie laughs out loud. “He married the poor girl.”
“And you agreed?” I’m astonished and Ashton blushes a pretty shade of pink.
“I was so angry and fearful, much like you, and this place scared the shit out of me. Ryder told me he could only guarantee my safety if I was his old lady and, like a fool, I believed him.”
“He was lying?” My eyes are wide because how many more sins can a person learn of before they burn in hell and this time Ashton laughs out loud. “To an extent, but I didn’t know that. I just saw the whores and the way they were dressed, and the bastard made sure I was seeing the compound at its worst. I agreed on the condition I had my own room, and it was in name only.”
Bonnie says drily, “You can see how well it worked.”
