Chapter 3

"Remember the name.Reaper.I just saved your life."

Reaper's voice was low and rough.

Surgery on his vocal cords had stripped the richness from his voice,leaving a low rasp like coarse sandpaper.

The man had arrived at exactly the right moment,as if he had known Julian would be ambushed.

Julian's upturned eyes narrowed."Reaper,who sent you?"

Reaper was about to answer when,out of the corner of his eye,he caught Conrad shaking off his men and getting to his feet.

He raised his arm and fired.

The bullet struck Conrad's knee,and he dropped to the ground with a thud.

Clutching the wound,Conrad roared,"Kill them!Leave no one alive!Whoever kills Julian gets fifty million dollars!"

Reaper took aim at Conrad again,but Conrad's men already had their guns trained on Julian.

He pulled Julian tight against his chest and squeezed the trigger first,taking out the first thug to charge in.

Sonny drew both guns and opened fire,pinning down the men behind them."Get Mr.Sterling out of here!"he shouted.

Reaper twisted the throttle.The heavy bike roared,plowed through the crowd,and sped toward the end of the street through a hail of bullets.

"After them!Don't let them get away!"Furious,Conrad raised his gun and took aim.

Steering one-handed,Reaper twisted around and fired.

Bang!Bang!

The two shots rang out at the same time.

Conrad took a bullet in the chest,coughed up blood,and collapsed.

Reaper's shoulder jerked hard,and warm blood splattered across Julian's face.

Blood rolled down Julian's cheek.His gaze wavered."You've been shot!"

Reaper glanced down and sped up again."It's nothing.Just a mosquito bite."

Behind them,Conrad's thugs,some in cars and some on motorcycles,were about to make it out of the Old Quarter.

Murder flared in Julian's eyes.He lifted his hand and pressed the detonator.

Boom!Boom!Boom!

One deafening blast followed another.A wave of burning heat surged from behind,scorching Julian's face red.

The firelight lit up Julian's smile.

It was bewitching,enough to make a person's scalp prickle.

In the rearview mirror,flames engulfed both sides of the street through the Old Quarter,leaving the center clear.

Something didn't add up,but Reaper's worry overrode the thought."Were you planning to die with them?"

If he hadn't come,Julian would have died here!

Throwing his life away over a traitor like Conrad.Was he insane?

"Vertical blast.The lateral spread is under ten feet."Julian leaned against his chest and let out a contented sigh."The Old Quarter's main road is thirty feet wide.A ten-foot safe zone is plenty!"

"You chose the spot where your wheelchair got stuck!"Reaper's mouth curved in a self-mocking smile."Looks like you didn't need saving after all.I'll get you somewhere safe,then I'm leaving."

Before he had finished speaking,cold steel flashed.

A throwing knife pressed against his carotid artery.Julian caught the back of his neck with his other hand."You think you can come and go as you please?What do you take me for?"

Reaper's Adam's apple bobbed."What do you want?"

"We'll talk when we get there."

Half an hour later,the heavy bike rolled into an estate screened by trees on the banks of the Mississippi.

Richard Sterling had given it to Shane for his eighteenth birthday.

He never would have imagined that Julian would turn this place into a safe house.

Once the bike came to a stop,Julian wrapped both arms around Reaper's neck."Carry me inside."

Even after he was settled in his wheelchair,Julian still didn't let go.

"Mr.Sterling,I should go,"Reaper said quietly.

Julian crooked a finger at someone behind him,and a tall subordinate hurried over.

Reaper assumed Julian was going to have the man see him out.

Instead,a sharp pain exploded at the back of his neck.

Everything went black,and Reaper fell stiffly into Julian's arms.

Before he lost consciousness,he stared straight at Julian.

All he saw was Julian's cryptic smile.

***

When Reaper woke again,he found himself lying shirtless in bed,his left shoulder wrapped in gauze and an IV running into his right hand.

The wound had already been treated.

His initials were engraved on the back of the saint medallion.Good thing he'd removed it beforehand,or his cover would have been blown before the job even began.

A breeze lifted the sheer curtain.As it settled,Julian's expressionless face came into view.

He wore silk pajamas,the collar slightly open,showing pale,delicate skin.

Reaper's heart leapt,and he instinctively looked away.

Julian caught his jaw and forced him to meet his eyes."You have two choices.Feed the alligators in the Mississippi,or stay by my side."

Of course Reaper would choose to stay.

Before he could answer,Julian pressed a finger to Reaper's lips.

Julian leaned down,his breath fanning across Reaper's face."Before you give me your answer,answer my questions."

"Go ahead."

Julian's touch was cool,yet it made Reaper's heart race and his throat go dry.

The murderous look in Julian's eyes brought him sharply back to his senses.

He was Reaper.

To Julian,he was a stranger,someone not to be trusted.

"Why did you save me?And where did you hear that I'd be ambushed?"

Julian pinched his wound,slowly pressing harder.

Blood soaked through the gauze.Reaper gritted his teeth and let out a muffled grunt."I saved your life,and this is how you repay me?!"

"Convince me,or you die."