Reaper's Vow Read Online Free PDF Page B

wasn’t so winded now, though his arms and legs still ached. Climbing cliffs wasn’t something he did every day.
    With a jerk of his chin, Isaiah prodded Cole on. “Let’s go.”
    Cole memorized every step of the path. It wasn’t going to be easy to get Addy out of here, and he’d prefer any path to this one, but if he had to drag her kicking and screaming down the cliff, he was going to free her. The hold the Reaper had on Addy would be broken. In the center of a small clearing, Isaiah stopped. Cole stepped forward and saw the hole in the ground. Isaiah squatted beside it.
    Comprehension came quickly. Cole swore. Son of a bitch, he hated dark places.
    Isaiah looked up. “Not afraid of the dark, are you?”
    Cole smiled. “Not any more than you.”
    Isaiah grunted. “Then you’re not going to like this one bit.”
    With a start Cole realized the man had admitted to a weakness.
    â€œShit, we’re going in there?”
    Isaiah nodded.
    The ranks of the waiting Reapers broke. The big, rough-looking man with shaggy brown hair and an equally shaggy beard stood at Isaiah’s shoulder.
    â€œI’ll go first.”
    Isaiah shook his head but didn’t look away from that hole. “It’s all right, Gaelen.”
    Gaelen sighed but didn’t budge. “I’m in a hurry to get home to my bed. Don’t feel like waiting for you to poke along.”
    The sound that came from Isaiah could only be described as a growl. The hairs on the back of Cole’s neck rose. Gaelen took a step back, but he still hovered.
    â€œDon’t tell me the big bad Reaper is afraid of the dark?” Cole needled.
    Isaiah’s mouth set in a hard line as he sat at the edge. “Bad times. Bad memories.” He slid his feet into the gap.
    Cole’s stomach twisted as the ground seemed to swallow the other man’s legs, memories of his own rising to choke him.
    Bad times. Bad memories.
No shit
.
He watched as Isaiah disappeared into the hole, a shiver snaking up his spine as the other man’s hat disappeared. Cole had spent ten days in a Mexican jail, a structure that was nothing more than a hole in the ground with bars set over the top. Some experiences left their mark on a man.
    â€œYour turn,” Dirk ordered, coming up behind Cole.
    Cole’s fingers curled into a fist at the mockery in the other man’s tone, but he didn’t move.
    Dirk’s lips twitched at the corner. “What’s the matter?”
    â€œFuck you.”
    â€œYou’re not my type.”
    Cole stood and spun, rage driving his fist toward the other man’s smirk. Dirk caught Cole’s fist in his hand. Cole blinked at the strength it took to do that. He’d underestimated Dirk.
    Bravado.
    Fuck!
    â€œWe don’t have time for this shit,” Gaelen muttered, forcing his shoulder through the opening and dropping into the hole. “The boss doesn’t like tunnels.”
    â€œHe’s right,” Dirk said, releasing his fist. “So either start climbing, or I’m going to knock you out and drop you in.”
    â€œOn my head?” Cole mocked. “That won’t make Addy happy.”
    â€œHead, ass, back, I don’t care. My job is just to get you there. No one gave
me
any specifics as to how you had to arrive.”
    The dead or alive was implied. Damn Reapers. Since he couldn’t help Addy dead, Cole set his jaw and stepped down, finding the ladder with his foot. Five rungs down the dank scent of the earth rose up to surround him, bringing out old memories, old fears. He fought them back.
    Ahead he could hear Isaiah’s breathing, tight and controlled, like that of someone battling demons. His own breath was taking on the same pattern, he knew. He didn’t want to have anything in common with the Reaper, but apparently they both had a dislike of being buried alive.
    A torch flared, and the scent of kerosene blended with the