The Reaping (The Reapers Book 1) by Katharine Sadler Read Free Book Online

exactly dressing for the season, but I did like the way the outfit made me feel, and look. Like a completely different person. I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. My waist was trimmer than it had been in years—my busy work schedule and active lifestyle left me little time for over-eating—and my shoulders and arms looked thin and toned. My face was maybe a little too lean, with my cheekbones standing out in sharp relief and my almond-shaped green eyes looking a little too large. I had recently cut my mouse-brown, stick-straight hair to shoulder-length, and it shone in the lamplight. I could be anyone, I realized with a mixture of fear and excitement. If I could just relax and stop worrying about people discovering my secret, I could be the fun, popular person I had always wanted to be friends with. I didn’t have to tell people the truth about my dad and his disappearance. I could be anyone.
    “You want a drink before we go?” Angelica asked as she handed me a ring with a round red stone almost as long as my pinky finger.
    I slid the ring onto my index finger and shook my head. “Not tonight, thanks.” I was too worried what I might reveal about myself to be comfortable getting truly drunk and, with the way I was feeling that night, I knew I’d be tempted to chase away my thoughts with booze. “I want to stick to my pact.”
    She rolled her eyes. “You were serious about that? You really think having no alcohol for a month or three before your birthday is going to make your twenty-first more special?”
    “Maybe. Besides, I feel bad enough going out dancing when Landon is dead, I don’t need to add alcohol to that mix.”
    “I’m not going to let that stop me,” she said as she shimmied her way out of the apartment. “Landon wouldn’t have stayed sober on our account.”
    I smiled and followed, happy for the moment to be young and alive. Though I felt bad about going out when Landon had just died, I’d never liked the guy and she was right that if our situations were reversed, Landon wouldn’t give either of us a thought.
    My determination faded as soon as we stepped outside. The night was cold and I felt under-dressed and out-of-place. I wore a warm, puffy coat over my skimpy clothes, but I felt as though hidden eyes could see through to the flesh below. The shadows seemed alive with shapes and movement and my breath caught in my throat. Any moment I expected Landon or Reid to appear and harass me for partying on the night after a man had been killed. Angelica was smiling and practically skipping, and I tried to feel as excited and happy as she appeared.

 
     
     
CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    Club Dred was a small, dark basement with a bar, a dance floor, and no room for tables or chairs. With only ten stools at the counter, most patrons had little choice but to dance, or at least stand on the dance floor and sway to the music. We arrived early, but the place was already packed. Even though ski season wasn’t in full swing yet, there were enough people around to fill Dred. It did help that it was one of only three bars actually open that night. The bass pumped a solid techno beat and smoke hung thick in the air. Angelica grinned and shook her hips as we walked in. We dropped our coats at the coat check and Angelica grabbed my hand and led me to the bar, where we pushed our way through the crowd to get a position in the sight range of the bartender.
    The small woman behind the bar, who looked younger than me, leaned toward us, ear cocked.
    “A shot of Jägermeister and a local brew,” Angelica shouted.
    “Jäger? I don’t know how you drink that stuff.” I groaned, but she didn’t hear me over the music. I scanned the people on the barstools and saw a ghost sitting on the lap of a blonde in a dress with spaghetti straps. The ghost lifted a cupped hand to his mouth as though he were taking a drink. Guess some habits didn’t end with death.
    Angelica paid for her drinks and turned with a wide smile.