“More than there should be,” he said grimly.
A gun barrel emerged from the SUV’s window.Reaper swerved just as shots ripped through the air, punching holes in the tailgate.
Elena ducked, hands over her head, sobbing as fear finally broke through the adrenaline.
“This is my fault,” she choked.“I should’ve—”
“Shut up,” Reaper snapped.“Not your fault.”
He took a sudden turn into an industrial stretch, warehouses looming like dark giants.He slammed on the brakes, then jerked the wheel, spinning the truck into a loading bay shadow.
The SUVs blew past.Reaper cut the engine.They sat in darkness, Elena’s heart pounding so hard it hurt.Seconds stretched.Then engines roared in the distance, fading.
Reaper exhaled slowly, forehead dropping to the steering wheel for a beat before he straightened.Elena was shaking uncontrollably.
“Why,” she whispered hoarsely, turning toward him.“Why send so many men after one woman?I’m no one.”
Reaper started the engine again and pulled back onto the road, driving slower now, cautious.He didn’t answer.
“Reaper,” she pressed.“You said they wanted to teach me a lesson.This feels like more than that.”
His jaw tightened.“It is.”
“Then tell me,” she said.“I deserve to know.”
He drove in silence for another block, then finally spoke.
“I dealt with the first group,” he said.“The ones sent to scare you.To make an example.”
Elena’s stomach dropped.“You ...dealt with them?”
“They won’t bother you again,” he said.
Cold spread through her veins.“And when they didn’t respond...”
“They sent more,” he finished.“Because now they think someone’s interfering.”
Her pulse spiked.“You.”
“Yes,” he admitted.
She stared at the windshield, the truth settling like a weight on her chest.“So I’m not just a warning anymore.”
“No,” Reaper said quietly.“You’re leverage.Or a problem they want erased.”
Her hands trembled in her lap.
“I’m in deeper trouble than I thought,” she murmured.
Reaper glanced at her then, his expression hard but threaded with something fierce and protective.
“Yeah,” he said.“You are.”
He tightened his grip on the wheel.
“And that’s why I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he said.
