Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians Book 1) (20 page)

A perfect goodbye
, he thought.

“All right, then I’m not sorry.” He leaned down and nipped at her lip. “But you really need to go inside now.”

“I know,” she whispered. But, instead of pulling away, she stood on her tiptoes and touched her lips to his again. The kiss was slow, less urgent than before. The kind of kiss that built up until they were both panting with desire for each other when they parted.

“Lucy
,” he gasped and then pulled away quicker than he would have liked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing … nothing is wrong at all.” Yeah, nothing except that he was getting a fucking hard on. “It’s pretty much exactly the opposite of wrong.”

“God dam
mit!” She cursed and spun around. She looked out in the direction of her house while Jack stared at her back and tried to get his lower half to calm the fuck down. When she turned back to him, his heart sunk. Her eyes had welled with tears which were escaping from the corners and sliding down her cheeks. “I have to go, Jack. I … I have to go.”

“Lucy!” He stepped forward to stop her. She had anticipated this and moved backward, out of his reach.

“Thank you … thank you … for this.” She wiped her cheek, then spun on her toes and ran.

“Lucy, wait!” he followed her to the edge of the trees and then stopped abruptly before he stepped out into the open, he couldn’t go chasing her across the yard to her house. So, instead, he watched her run aimlessly across the yard
until she disappeared from his sight.

That was probably the last time he would see her
, and he was stuck with the image of her running from him in tears.

“Mother fucker!” He charged forward and kicked an innocent tree. “Dam
mit!” He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. Hitting and kicking shit, like a two year old throwing a fit because he didn’t get what he wanted, wasn’t going to help matters any.

Breathe
in … breathe out.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

All right. Now, he needed to get the hell out of the heat before he passed the fuck out. His truck was parked down near the bridge, so he jogged most of the way back to it, even though he felt like he was on the brink of heat stroke.

Once he got to the truck
, he fired it up and headed back to the house.

He could not wait to pack up and get out of this hell hole of a town that had managed to ruin his life in a matter of days.

Mother fucker
, Aiden thought as he crouched down in his own little section of the woods around the farmhouse. It was no wonder that Jack had saved that Keeper.

He had been scouting the area, hoping to see how many Keepers were in and out of the house
, and whether the Chosen One was confined to house.

Yeah, there he was, minding his own business when he s
aw the young Keeper step out of the house, close the door softly behind her, and jog across the yard where she suddenly disappeared into the woods.

He was curious about what she was doing, but also thinking that maybe the whole kidnapping
idea was going to be easier than he had originally thought it was going to be. As quietly as he could, he moved over the rough terrain until he could once again see the Keeper.

He spotted her red hair and the
silver shimmering around her instantly. There was someone with her, though. Someone she had sneaked out of the house to meet in secret. It felt like it took forever until she finally moved to the side and he saw who it was.

“You son of a bitch
,” Aiden mumbled under his breath.

There was Jack, talking to that Keeper. He couldn’t believe his eyes
, and it wasn’t because he was talking to the Keeper, probably warning her about the impending attack. It was the look in Jack’s eyes.

He had known Jack a long time
, and not once had he ever seen him look like he was in love. Not fucking once. He knew every expression the bastard had, and never had this particular one ever appeared.

He watched carefully, wondering what they could possibly be talking about
, and then his mind managed to be blown for the second time in the same day when she turned to leave and Jack grabbed her, pulling her back and laying a romance novel kiss on her.

What. The. Fuck.

How in the hell were they kissing in the first place? That should hurt like a bastard. Neither of them appeared to feel the burn which should have been forcing them apart. No, the two of them looked like they were three seconds away from ripping off their clothes and going at it.

God, he really hoped they didn’t do that.

Annnnnd they were still kissing. Shit, he was starting to feel uncomfortable watching them, like watching porn alone, hoping like hell that no one catches you. Yeah, it was that feeling.

Finally, they tore themselves away from each other. Well
, for like two seconds, and then they were making out again.

What the hell was he going to do about Jack? Shit, it was one thing for him to be insubordinate to his mother, but this … this brought pissing off your mom to a whole new level.

The next thing he knew they were talking again, she turned away from him, looking in the direction of her house and then, before he knew it, she bolted. She ran over the expanse leading up to her house and then disappeared.

He should have followed her, to see where she went, but he couldn’t take his eyes off his best friend. Jack stood there with his arm out, fingers reaching for the woman who was running from him.

He turned and kicked a tree, taking out his feelings on the forest. When he finally turned to give the farmhouse one last look, the only thing Aiden saw was what looked like the pieces of a broken heart reflecting in Jack’s eyes.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Aiden shook his head and scurried off further into the woods where he wouldn’t be seen. Jack was taking a huge risk
, standing around in the woods like that where people could see him. If Aiden could see him then the Keepers would be able to as well.

After he backed off into the woods a bit, he circled around until he could get a view on the farmhouse again. There she was
. The little Keeper was standing up against the house by the side door. Sunlight glinted off the tears which stained her face and her hands were gripping her hair, like she wanted to rip it out.

Shit, whatever had just happened between her and Jack had to have been pretty serious
, because they both looked pretty tore up about it.

Well, as much as it pained him to see Jack suffer, he had a job to do.

His eyes stayed with her as her sobbing ebbed and she took a few long, deep breaths. After she had finally calmed herself a bit, she gazed toward the graveyard. Slowly, she pushed herself off the wall and then headed that way.

He followed along with the cover of the trees which edged their entire property.

She stayed on the trails walking slowly and moving her gaze back and forth. “Dad, where are you?” he heard her call out. “Come on, I know you’re here somewhere.” She kept walking, trudging up the hill. “Please … Daddy, I need you.”

“Lucy!”
someone called out and her head swung toward the voice. Her expectant expression fell when she realized it wasn’t her father. A red headed Keeper came running up the path. “Lucy, what the hell are you doing out here? No one knew where you were.”

“I’m fine
,” she told him when he was close enough that she didn’t have to yell. “I just want to talk to Dad … alone.”

“Luce, you can’t be out here by yourself.”

She nodded. “I know, it’s not safe.” Her voice was mocking and she used air quotes to emphasize her irritation. “Dammit, Greg, I just want some fucking privacy. All right?”

He tilted his head and scrutinized her more closely. “You’ve been crying.”

“Just go away.”

“Why were you crying?”

“Greg! Go away … please.”

“Lucy, what the hell is going on?”

She set her hands on her hips and looked up at him defiantly. “I am having some personal issues and I need some space.”

For a moment, he said nothing
. He merely looked her over as he appeared to be thinking about what the right decision was. “All right,” he said finally. “I’ll leave you alone but I’ll be watching from the house.”

A shimmering blue mist appeared beside them. The molecules gathered, solidifying into the form of an old man in a Hawaiian button up shirt and Khaki shorts. “I’ll take care of her
.” the old man soul said.

Both Lucy and Greg quickly turned their heads toward the soul, who must have been their father.

“Dad!” Lucy’s solemn expression perked up.

Her brother on the other hand wasn’t quite so happy. “Dad, no offense but I don’t think that you are quite equipped to take care of her if something were to happen.”

Aiden watched with interest, Maybe this Keeper was the only one in the house besides the Chosen One. This would be the perfect time to take action. He could probably take both the brother and the sister, but no more. He might not have another opportunity if what he had heard was correct and they were keeping her pretty much prisoner in the house.

“I can take care of my own daughter, Jr.
,” the old man scolded his son sternly.

Greg shook his head. “Dad…”

“I know she needs to be watched, but give the girl some space. Just go over by the house or something.”

Time to rock and roll. Aiden reached into his pocket and found his gloves. He slipped them on so that the burn wouldn’t hinder him when he touched the Keepers, he would have that over them at least. Then, he pulled out his gun.

Normally, he preferred to be a bit more old-fashioned when fighting Keepers, but that was on his average soul hunts. This was an assignment that needed to be taken care of ASAP, and he couldn’t risk losing in hand-to-hand combat.

For a moment he considered just shooting the brother,
but then decided that would give Lucy time to run. He wasn’t worried about the father. Souls didn’t have enough ability to fight back. Plus, a gunshot would alert anyone around that something was up.

He raised his weapon and stepped out of his hiding place. “Don’t move
,” he ordered, keeping his voice completely calm, while continuing to move toward them.

All three looked up in surprise and took their fighting stances, even the old man. He flashed the three Keepers his best lethal smile. “I don’t know if you noticed, but I have a gun and I will fucking shoot you. So, don’t even think about trying anything.”

The older brother, idiot that he was, moved in front of the sister. “Greg!” she cried out.

By this time, Aiden was right in front of them and kicked out his weapon, then swung it hard. It connected with Greg’s skull and the brother fell to the ground with a thud. Unconscious for now, he turned on the sister.

“If you’re going to kill me, fucking do it already. Just leave my family alone,” she cried out and fell to the ground beside her brother.

“Lucy!”
her father chastised her.

Aiden wanted this whole situation to be over, he was getting tired of chasing Keepers. “Shut up, both of you
,” he ordered then reached down with his free hand and grabbed Lucy by the hair. “You scream and I will shoot him, understand?”

Lucy choked back a sob and nodded that she understood.

“You too, old man,” he warned as he dragged Lucy up into a standing position. He reached down into her jeans pocket and pulled out her phone, then threw it to the ground beside her brother.

“Don’t hurt her
,” the father pleaded, “please.”

“Yeah, not making any promises
,” Aiden told him.

“Let her go! There has to be something we can offer in exchange.”

“I told you to shut your mouth.” Aiden dropped Lucy and turned to the old man. Only an inch away from the shimmering soul, he opened his mouth and felt the surge of energy take him as the soul of the old man began to float toward him.

“Lucy
,” the old man moaned, unable to stop what was happening to him.

“Stop!”
she cried out. “You can’t have him.” The next thing he knew, his feet were coming out from under him. She had grabbed one of his legs and pulled. The transfer of the soul halted and the old man’s semi-solid form stumbled backward a few steps.

Aiden managed not to drop his gun, but Lucy was on top of him instantly. She pulled back her arm and then slammed her fist into his face. “You fucking bastard!

His cheekbone erupted in a spike of pain and metaphorical fire. She reared back and hit him again, but he blocked the third one and then remembered that his gun was in the other hand. He lifted it and rested the barrel against her midsection. “Get the fuck off me,” he managed to say in a low voice.

“You are a cheat
,” she muttered, slowly sliding off of him.

“Careful now
,” he told her. “I don’t like this gun any more than you do, if it makes you feel any better. But, I can’t risk losing. Not this time.” He once again grabbed her by the hair, wrapping it in his fist. Once they were in a standing position, he gave her a little yank. “It’s time to go.”

He glanced at the old man, whose expression was a cross between sadness and anger. Aiden actually felt bad for the guy for like five seconds. Poor guy was watching his daughter be kidnapped
, and probably thought she was going to be killed, which she eventually would be if the Empress had anything to do with it.

“Lucy.” The old man stretched his transparent hand out to his daughter.

“Dad. I’ll be fine. Just tell the others what happened.” She had begun to cry and wiped some of her tears away.

“Yeah,” Aiden agreed sarcastically. “Tell the others, it won’t do you any good though. It’s over now.”

With that, Aiden slammed the grip of his gun into the back of Lucy’s head. Her weight slumped down in his hand, leaving her hanging from her hair where he had hold of it.

“You will be sorry
,” the old man hissed. “You are going to be so sorry that you have done this,” he repeated.

Aiden turned and looked him straight in the eye. “It might surprise you, but I already am.”

“Then why?”

“Orders, my man. Not that I owe you an explanation.” He lifted the unconscious Lucy and threw her over his shoulder. “I hope to hell we never see each other again
,” Aiden told the old man, and then strode off into the woods with Lucy hanging over him.