Page 99 of Reaper’s Wrath

Except now, it’s resurfaced, and I feel all of it drowning me at once.

Another wail.

“Isa, baby girl, I’ve got you. Open your eyes, sweetheart. Look at me.” The familiar masculine voice calls to me on an elemental level.

My eyes blink open as my cry goes quiet.

I stare into greenish-brown and golden irises that I know better than any in this world. Wide, vibrant eyes of the man I love. Elio.

“You’re alive?” I breathe on a shaky breath.

“Yes, sweet girl. I’m fine, I promise.”

I push against his hands that cup my face to get a look at the cut on his head. “You’re bleeding.”

“I am, but it’s not bad. May need a couple of stitches, but we’ll have to see. What about you? Are you hurt?”

His hands give me space to look myself over. There’s no blood in my lap. No blood anywhere on me, despite the images feeling so real. So recent.

“I’m okay.” My hand returns to my belly as my face crumples. “E, I lost the baby. I lost the baby, and they took it all out … and they … they left me with … nothing.”

Sobs held hostage, trapped for half a lifetime, burst free and wrack my body with their violence.

I’m so shaken, I hardly notice when Elio circles the car and lifts me from the passenger seat. His strong arms hold me while I fall apart.

Wrapped in his love and reassurance, I’m safe to come undone.

I weep.

He comforts.

Together, we heal.

“We have each other, now, Ees … you’re safe … I’m here with you, and I’m never leaving.”

While I feel the pain of losing everything, his whispered words of support remind me that reality is better than my heart would have me believe because I didn’t lose everything. Isa from twenty years ago may have, but today’s Isa has been gifted a second chance.

“I love you, El,” I whisper into his chest as my breathing slows. “Please, don’t ever leave me again.”

“Never, buttercup. I’ll always come for you.”

CHAPTER 51

ELIO

I don’t fully understand what’s going on with Isa, but there’s time for explanations later. I’m simply relieved I can be here to comfort her.

Thankfully, Michael has no serious injuries and is dealing with the old man who ran the light. I worried at first we’d been attacked, but it’s obvious from the man’s frailty that this was an accident. The crash wasn’t even all that terrible. The cops have been called, however, and I’d rather not get stuck messing with that.

Drake and the others are on the scene almost immediately since they were only a few blocks ahead of us. “We’ll handle the cops. You need to get yourself to a doctor,” he says when he arrives.

“You think stitches are necessary?”

He takes a closer look. “Yeah, you know how head wounds bleed.”

I sigh. This isn’t a great time. “I’ll just have Yannis do it.”

“If you’re open to a suggestion,” Michael says, joining us. “I know someone who could sew you up without risking a gangrenous infection.”