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She eyes me warily. Good girl. She’d be a fucking fool to put too much trust in me, but it’s still nice to see the way she can’t quite keep herself from smiling a little as we banter back and forth about how I just ordered half the menu without bothering to consult her.
It doesn’t take long before the waitress is back, covering the table between us with all my favorites. I thank her and reach for the plate of French toast, and Riley’s stomach growls.
“Go on now, go to town,” I tell her, moving one of the pieces onto a separate plate for her and pushing it her way.
She holds back for a second longer than I could have, not with how fucking good it all smells, then gives in and takes it from me, adding some eggs and a few pieces of bacon, along with some fruit. Still watching me cautiously, she finally starts eating.
I chuckle. “Relax already,” I tell her again. “Enjoy it. You need to fuel up.”
“Why do you care?” she asks as she adds a little cream to her coffee.
I snort. I don’tcare. That’s overstating the case. But I also feel a stupid amount of satisfaction when she moans around a bite of eggs.
“Well?” she pushes me.
“You need to eat. It’s not rocket science,” I tell her, tucking into my food because I’m hungry too. And because I need to stop staring at her. “You belong to us now, and Reapers take care of what’s ours.”
“Really?” she scoffs, touching her neck.I’m sure she’s thinking of what went down last night.
“Yeah, really.” Although I don’t say it out loud, the fact that Logan didn’t hurt her, that he barely even left a mark on her, means hewastaking care of her. I’ve seen him choke a man to death with his bare hands, so I know he wasn’t trying to kill Riley. “Anyway, we haven’t had a houseguest in a long time. We’re all still getting to know each other.”
“Is that what we’re doing here?” she asks, her lips twitching a little. “Getting to know each other?”
“Sure.” I grin again.
“Okay,” she says, lifting her chin and shooting me a challenging look. “So tell me about you. Why are you a Reaper?”
I laugh. She’s fucking ballsy, I’ll give her that. There’s no way in hell I’m gonna tell her the story she just asked for, though, so I flip the tables.
“Tell me why you’rewithus Reapers,” I say.
Her eyes narrow. “You know why.”
“Yeah, but how’d it get to this point, princess? McKenna didn’t snatch your sister for no reason.”
She stiffens, and I almost regret asking. We need some context, though, and… fuck. Sue me, but I’m curious. I guess I do want to get to know her.
“It was our father,” she finally says reluctantly, rage flashing across her face before she ducks her head and takes another bite. “He sold her out to them to cover some debts.”
“Fucking prick,” I mutter. He’s not the first shithead to do something like that and not the last either, but it still sucks for her. And for the sister, no doubt.
The tension in Riley’s shoulders relaxes a little at my words.
“Yeah,” she agrees, going back to her breakfast. After a minute, she goes on. “Frank has always been a sorry excuse for a parent. Shitty, neglectful, sees us as a meal ticket and not much else. I’ve spent my whole life protecting her from his bullshit, and—”
Her voice chokes off, and she snaps her mouth closed, fury clear on her face. Her father sounds like a real piece of shit, so I’m not surprised at all that she hates him.
“And your mom?” I prompt her after another long beat of silence.
Riley glances at me, then looks away. “Mom’s been gone for a while now. Died when I was young. I think it’s part of the reason Chloe and I are so close.”
“You raised her,” I guess, adding up the pieces.
She puts down her fork. “Yeah. I did. She needed me, so I grew up fast so I could take care of her. She needed someone to be at least somewhat of a parent to her, even if I could never really fill that role completely.”
It’s not anger in her voice now, but sadness. She sounds almost guilty, like even after all the shit she’s done for her little sister, she still doesn’t feel like it’s enough.
“How about you?” she asks suddenly, blinking a few times and getting back to her eggs as she tries to deflect shit back to me. “You have parents?”
