Jack A Grim Reaper Romance (6 page)

“How can I? If you are innocent of that woman’s murder, then go and speak to the Elders. You’ll do nothing but make things worse for yourself by staying away. As is, Mason’s looking for you, and I know not how I’ll explain your presence here.”

“My presence? Here in your sleeping chambers?” He shook his head and laughed, but it was not a sound of humor. “Are we bored again, Lilly?”

“How dare you.” She resisted the urge to slap him. “My relations are none of your concern—especially when you did everything in your power to guarantee the failure of our own affair.”

“I’ll take most of the blame, but to turn to Mason—for
comfort
of all things—is beyond my comprehension.” Jack shook his head, the strong angular planes of his face cast in shadow from the glowing embers of her fire. “You know he cares for no one but himself. Do you not find it an odd coincidence that he’s suddenly sharing his bed, just as he needs your help to catch me?”

“Don’t you dare judge me or try to make me question my life. We all do whatever it takes to get by, and I’m no different than anyone else.”

“That’s where you’d be mistaken, love.” He ran a hand down her cheek. “I’m sorry to cause you problems. Send the bastard my regards.”

***

Upset as Lilly was, she could not get back to sleep. All for the best, since there was a pounding on her front door barely half an hour later. She managed to get a light lit and her dressing gown on when Daniel knocked on her door.

“I’m sorry to wake you, Mum, but I’m afraid you’ll need to come. ‘Tis urgent.” There was another voice in the hall and a commotion. Her bedroom door was yanked open, and Mason entered.

He closed the door behind him, and without a word walked around her room, eventually stopping before the window Jack used to enter. “I knew it’d not be long before Jack came to you. Were you going to tell me he was here, Lilly?”

Lilly looked at him dumbfounded. “Were you going to give me the chance? It’s the middle of the night.” He wandered around the room, further annoying her. “Why are you here? Were you having my home watched or was it one of your charms?” The thought incensed her.

“A charm, though you cannot blame me.” His voice held a tension she had not expected. He ran a hand over the window frame where Jack had entered. “Did you let him in or did he skulk in like a thief in the night?”

“Mason, you try my patience.” Lilly let out a deep breath in a futile attempt to calm her nerves.

“And you try mine. I’m here as chancellor to the Elders, and given their current mood, you should be thankful they sent me and not someone else. You have no idea how much is at risk—holes torn in the fabric of fate, futures rewritten. Now answer my question, Lilly.”

“I’ll still not have you charming my home and watching my every move.” It made her wonder if Jack was right. Would Mason ever put anyone before his job as chancellor? Doubtful.

“Lilly…” He stepped towards her and ran a hand down her arm, his touch too tender for her to remain angry for long. “The man’s brutally murdered a woman and the Elders have little patience at the moment. I’m trying to keep you from coming to harm, and must do all I can to bring this mess to an end.”

She knew the situation was dire and the Elders would stop at nothing, putting all of them at risk. With a final hard look, she gave in with a sigh, knowing the Elders could easily bring her in for a more formal interrogation—not an experience she wanted to repeat.

“I left the window ajar, given the warm summer night. It would not be a difficult climb, what with the trellis by the window and the rough stone exterior of my home.”

“What did he say about the woman who was murdered? Why was his essence at the scene?”

She shook her head, knowing he’d not be happy. “I have no answers for you, Mason. None of it makes any sense. He says he did not harm her, and I believe him, even if he would not say why he was there in the first place and had no explanation for the woman’s death.”

“Yet he wants you to believe he had nothing to do with the matter.” His voice held that sarcastic edge, leaving Lilly to wonder why she had a hard time resisting him when he could be so trying.

“What if it was another reaper? That would explain it, would it not?”

Mason shook his head. “The only reapers to leave no trace are chancellors and the Elders. And it still would not explain why Jack’s energy was there, or why he’s now on the run.”

She refused to just accept the obvious. “What if it was a reaper, but enough time had passed for their energy to dissipate? Not all reapers leave a strong trace; am I right?”

“Aye, love— and you’re a perfect example of that. The essence you leave behind has always been faint. But if he only happened across the crime by chance, then why not come forward? Do you know of another reaper he’d feel compelled to protect, despite the gravity of the situation?”

“No, there’s no one that I’m aware of, though we’ve not been close in recent years.” It suddenly occurred to her that she might come under scrutiny since she left little trace of her energy, and Jack had protected her in the past and might do so again. “Before you even think it, I can tell you now, I had nothing to do with that woman’s death.”

“Of course not, love.” He stepped her side. “I know this is difficult for you, but it has to be Jack—and I need your cooperation if this is to come to an end.”

“I’ve done nothing but cooperate, Mason, and yet you barge into my home in the middle of the night.” Her anger and frustration got the better of her, but she refused to back down. “Do you not trust me?”

He let out a sigh. “No. I’m afraid I do not. Not where Jack’s concerned and not with a matter of such importance.” Mason turned away and ran a hand through his chestnut locks, his body stiff and bristling. “This was not just another death, Lilly, yet you’re willing to suspend all logic and ignore the facts because of Jack’s involvement.”

“That’s not true.” Though she protested, his shot hadn’t hit too far from the mark—and they both knew it. Even if all the evidence pointed to Jack, it was impossible not to give him the benefit of the doubt.

She refused to believe she could be so wrong about a person. And if she was, then what did that say about her judgment? If she could be so easily duped, it would make her second guess every decision she’d ever made, and all those to come.

“Lilly… I don’t want to see him hurt you again, and frankly, you do not want to be the one defending Jack’s innocence in this case. You’re on shaky ground with the Elders, but if you prove your loyalty, things can change for you—for the better.”

“I don’t understand.”

“I know reaping lives bothers you. Help us find Jack, and I’ll do all I can to make sure you’re moved to a different position.”

“I don’t know, Mason.” The thought of no longer having to reap souls left Lilly light headed. There was nothing she hated more than delivering death into peoples’ lives, however, helping Mason could mean sending Jack to his end.

“I want you to be happy—to find your place amongst us. To start living this life instead of stumbling through it. This life has a lot to offer if you’re willing to be a part of it. But I sometimes wonder, Lilly. I think you’re still mourning your past, and it makes me worry about you.”

Mason was right, though she could not admit it to him. She still held secret the birth of her daughter. She thought they must surely know, but the reaper who’d brought her over to this life had moved on to a different position in a different place, and Mason had not ever brought it up.

“It’s just too much death, Mason. Every day, I’m forced to look into the eyes of strangers with the knowledge they won’t live a week. And I know it needs to be done, but it wears on my soul.”

“Then agree to help me, Lilly. Perhaps…” His brow furrowed in thought, and then a kind smile softened his demeanor. “What if instead of delivering death, you got to grant life? Instead of releasing the souls of those about to die, you could deliver souls to the unborn children.”

The tension in her shoulders started to ease. Though she may not know what became of her own child, she liked the thought of bringing the happiness of a child to others. Perhaps she could finally find contentment in this life, and stop constantly thinking of her past.

She took a breath, too shallow to do any good. “I think I’d like that.”

He held her gaze, his tone serious. “It will not be until this mess with Jack is over with, and that’s only if you give us your full cooperation. Can you do that?”

She nodded, her excitement tainted with guilt. “I’ll do everything in my power to help you find the truth. But that does not mean I’ll frame Jack for something he didn’t do.”

“My dear, when all is said and done and the facts are laid out before us, I do not think you’ll need to worry about an innocent man being wronged.”

Chapter Six

Days passed, and though Jack had yet to be caught, all was once again peaceful. Jack had not returned to crawl through Lilly’s window and Mason had left to further investigate the murder and Jack’s role in it. She’d half expected to play a more active role in the investigation now that she’d made that deal to help him. Perhaps Mason didn’t trust her enough to have her accompany him. If she were being honest with herself, it bothered her—just a little.

She contemplated this thought as she walked down the street to her next reap. She’d be nothing but a liar if she denied the attraction she felt for him, though in all her life, she’d never met anyone who frustrated her more. When in his presence, she felt as if she were caught in a whirlwind, never quite knowing which direction she’d be pulled in next.

The last few days felt far too quiet. With only her reaps to keep her busy, her mind kept straying back to Jack, Mason and the investigation. Perhaps she needed a new distraction. Though there were plenty of other reapers wandering through London—many of them quite handsome and entertaining—she was in no mood, distracted as she was. Mason had gotten under her skin, damn him.

She thought about the men in her life. Indeed, there had been precious few. Her mind strayed to Corwin once more. It left her heart aching and her curiosity piqued.

Was he still traveling the open seas and living up the north when on land, or had his business brought him closer to London? Had he ever found out he sired a child? It’d been over a decade since her death, and she was sure he had moved on by now, married and started a family of his own.

He was too good a man to be left a bachelor; handsome and kind, with fortunes self made. The only thing he had going against him, in the eyes of most Englishmen, was his Scots name. However, that small fact was easily ignored when his wealth was taken into account, and any mother with an eligible daughter would do everything in her manipulative powers to arrange a courtship. Lilly doubted he’d been able to dodge them long.

It was now someone else’s turn to love him. The chance to be Corwin’s wife, his lover, a mother to their children, was long gone.

She never got the chance to tell him of the child she’d carried. Their coupling had been a lone incident, their passions playing out as they got ready to be separated for a year. They would have married once he’d returned from being away at sea, but death had taken her from the living, leaving their daughter to be raised by strangers.

If only she knew who cared for Emma and how she fared. Then perhaps she could send word to Corwin so he could find her. It would be an enormous risk to contact him, and Corwin would likely not want to disrupt Emma’s life, but at the least he could make sure she was safe and happy.

“Hello, love.”

Caught off guard, her heart pounded against her chest, for she hadn’t noticed Mason until he fell in stride beside her. Her cheeks flushed red with guilt.

“You scared the life out of me.” When he laughed, Lilly realized her choice of words. “It’s not funny, Mason. What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you, of course.” He pulled her to a stop, his brow furrowed as his eyes searched her face. “My apologies. I’d not meant to frighten or upset you, love. It’s not that man who has you on edge, is it?”

“No… I’ve not seen him again.” When he brushed her cheek with worry still in his eyes, Lilly sighed, knowing it was silly to be upset with him. “Do not worry yourself. I’m fine.”

She tried her best to smile and put it behind her, for the last thing she wanted was Mason looking into the matter further, only to find she was upset because she was once more thinking of the life she left behind. She continued down the road, needing to get away from his piercing hazel eyes.

He linked his arm with hers, so they looked like any other couple strolling down the cobbled path. “Are you on a reap?”

“I am.” Lilly glanced at him as she continued walking, the pull of her reap guiding her. “Why are you here? Is it Jack?”

“I’ll explain once you’ve finished. Is this your last reap of the day?”

“No. I believe there’s one more after this.” She slowed to a stop and he turned towards her, their bodies only a breath apart. “I can meet you when I’ve finished. I shan’t be too long.”

He ran his hand down her arm and linked his fingers with hers, the small gesture reminding her of how he could be sweet when he set the chancellor aside. “I think I’d rather join you, if you don’t mind. I like to watch you work.”