Queen of The Reapers by Jessa Halliwell

Eighteen

My bare thighpeels from the leather barstool as I cross and uncross my legs. After putting in my order, I swivel around and begin searching the crowd. Jaime, my regular bartender, garnishes my water with a lime before popping a black straw in and sliding the glass towards me. “Thanks.” I offer, picking it up without giving him so much as a glance. By now he knows it's nothing personal. I'm here on a mission and I need to stay focused, so alcohol and socializing are strictly off-limits.

I've gotten better at this. At studying the facial cues of strangers. Surface emotions were always the easiest to decipher. We willingly express things like happiness, anger, and excitement because those are the emotions we want surrounding people to feel.

But the hidden ones are harder to grasp. Things like sadness, deceit, and fear. When it comes to those emotions, we stop at nothing to protect them. To stuff them down, so they never see the light of day. But no matter how good of a poker face we think we have, every single person has a tell. It’s usually something small. A twitch in the face. A shift in the eyes. Something physical that hints at the truth just clawing to get out.

That’s what I’m looking for as I lock eyes with these strangers. A flicker of recognition followed by a telltale sign of fear. It's a tiring job, and a lot of the time, I feel like all of this work is getting me nowhere. But this is the one thing that I can do to help find my sister. The one slice of control I have left in the chaos that’s become my life.

“Where are your men tonight?”

At first I mistook the man walking up to me as a stranger, but after hearing him speak, the tinge of a Russian accent is a dead giveaway. Dimitri. I flick my eyes to my right and give him a quick glance. “Close.” I deadpan, wanting him to feel every ounce of the threat in my tone. Atlas left thirty minutes ago to meet up with one of their contacts uptown, but he doesn’t need to know that. “What do you want?”

Dimitri nods his head as a hint of a smile forms on his lips. “I’ve been watching you, Kroshka.” Dimitri says, sitting on the barstool next to me. “At first, I wrote it off as coincidental, but after seeing you sitting in this very spot for almost a week now, I know what you’re doing.”

“I don't know what you're talking about.” I bluff, wrapping my arms across my chest.

“You do.” Dimitri insists, swiveling the drink in his hand before tossing it back. “Of this, I’m sure. It’s a valiant effort, though ultimately pointless. Your sister’s killer would never show their face here.”

“She’s not dead.” I snap, glaring up at him as I feel the rage build within me. “God. Why am I even bothering to argue with you? I’m not doing anything but having a drink at my favorite bar.”

“So then, it's just a coincidence that you've been here every night for the last week?” He presses. “Why is it that when you’re here, you choose this exact seat every time? It’s the only seat on the bar that gives visibility of the entire club. All of that is simply a coincidence?”

“Yeah.” I retort. “It is.”

Dimitri takes a seat on the barstool next to me and I bristle. “If you want my opinion—”

“I don’t.” I say, cutting him off.

“Well, I’m feeling generous, so I’ll give it anyway. You’re looking in the wrong direction. Whoever took your sister did so to get to you. To get under your skin. It's why you haven't found her yet. As I understand it, there’s still one person your men haven’t questioned that vehemently hates you. The same person who used to manage this very bar.”

Either I'm going crazy, or everything Dimitri’s saying is making a lot of sense. Clenching my jaw, I look to the side and I glare at him. Studying his expression to see if he's telling me the truth.

“If I were them,” he continues, “she would have been my first stop. Then again, your men have always been strangely attached to her. Perhaps nostalgia has them sparing her from your wrath.”

“I considered Jessie…” I say, trailing off. “But they said it was impossible. That she wouldn't have the power or the means to do it.”

The truth has been right in front of my face all along. It’s Jessie. It has to be Jessie. They eliminated her as a suspect right off the bat, and I was stupid enough to go along with it. I trusted them, and they betrayed me to spare someone they always considered as one of their own.

Dimitri stares at me for a moment before continuing and the look in his eyes is one of pure pity. He feels sorry for me. How fucking sick and twisted is it that a man who assaulted me is the only one willing to help me figure out the truth?

“As I understand it,” he continues, gauging my reaction, “they underestimated her once before and, in doing so, nearly got you killed. Who's to say history isn’t repeating itself?”

I blink back the tears forming in my eyes and visibly swallow. I refuse to cry. Not again, and especially not because of their betrayal.

“They would never let me question her.” I say, staring at the floor numbly as my world caves in. “Even if I confronted them now, I know they wouldn’t.”

“I could arrange that.” Dimitri says, leaning forward to touch my forearm in a kind gesture. “We could head there now and you can get the answers you seek.”

“Why would you help me?” I ask, turning in my seat to face him. “What do you get out of all this?” There has to be something else in this for him. Something beyond helping me for the greater good. After our first fucked-up interaction, he’s been relatively kind to me, but that doesn’t make him a good guy.

“Think of it as my penance for my transgressions against you. I am sorry for my actions and hopefully helping you will prove that.”

I don’t believe for one second Dimitri’s intentions are purely altruistic. But we haven’t gotten a genuine lead in weeks. He’s cornered me alone so many times in the last few weeks that if he truly wanted to hurt me again, he would’ve. Maybe a part of him does regret what happened.

“Let’s go.” I say, glaring up at him. “But I’m driving myself.”

Tristan left the keys to his Maserati here on the off chance something came up. I’d argue that this “something” warranted a drive and frankly, I still don’t trust Dimitri enough to be in a car alone with him.

Jessie’s in jail, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t have orchestrated Alex’s kidnapping. She’d orchestrated worse in the past, and that was before she had an actual reason to hate me.

* * *

After slippingout of Hell's Tavern in Tristan’s black Maserati, I follow Dimitri through the busy streets of Downtown and make my way to Jessie’s new home, The Caspian County Correctional Facility. It’s nearly 1 AM, but the center of the city is still very much alive and buzzing. Neon lights, packed clubs, and late nite eateries line the entire main strip. We pull up to a red light and I can’t help but stare at the young people dancing and laughing in the streets. They look like they’re having the time of their life and a small pang of jealousy hits me in the stomach. That could easily be me in another life.

The light turns green and as my car moves forward, so do I. There’s no point in thinking about the “what if’s”. I’m not like those kids back there, and thanks to the hand life dealt me, I never will be.

After a few minutes, Dimitri leads us onto a random street far from the road. The tiny alleyway we pull into is sandwiched between two tall buildings and is barely wide enough to fit a car. There isn’t a streetlight in sight and as Dimitri’s car gets swallowed by the darkness, I can’t shake the ominous feeling in my bones. Everything about this feels wrong.

Dimitri pulls his car to stop at the end of the alley and casually steps out. He waits for a few seconds for me to do the same, but when he spots my hesitation, he walks over to my driver's side window.

“Are you planning on getting out?” He asks, crouching down to level his eyes on me.

“Yes.” I answer, glaring up at him. I visibly swallow and stare out at the sign posted in front of the building to our right. Caspian County Correctional Facility. I can’t believe I’m here. What the hell am I doing?

“If you don't want to do this,” he offers, “we can go back. My contact will understand.”

“No. Let's go. I’m just going to ask her some questions, there's nothing wrong with that.”

I’m telling the truth, but it feels like a lie as it slips through my lips. In the back of my mind, I know The Reapers would hate this. Would hate that I've gone behind their back and done this without them.

But it's been over three weeks and I'm no closer to finding my sister, if The Reapers are really helping me, like they swear they are. We should’ve found her by now. Dimitri may be an asshole, but he’s the only one willing to help me.

I step out of the car and dig my heels firmly into the pavement. Dimitri smiles and leads the way to a nondescript door on the side of the building. He knocks on the cool metal three times in succession, and takes a step back, waiting for an answer.

Within seconds, the door glides open and a portly man in his mid-50s opens the door. He’s dressed in a light brown suit with a holster on his hip. His eyes move from me to Dimitri before giving him a glare. “You were supposed to come alone.” He says, looking down at me pointedly.

“Change of plans.” Dimitri offers back.

“Fine.” The man says, running his hand down his face. “But I want the blackmailing to stop. I’ve done enough favors for you, Evanoff. I'm done being your puppet.”

Dimitri flashes the man a smile that's anything but friendly, and slowly shakes his head. “Poor Robert. You're done when I say you're done. Now please, kindly escort me and my lovely guest inside.”

He said please, but there was no hint of politeness in his tone. It's a demand laced with a threat. The man clenches his jaw and steps aside to allow the two of us entry. After unlocking a metal gate and sliding it aside, he leads us down a narrow corridor lined with pale blue walls and dark gray floors. The space smells of potent chemical cleaner and something else that I can't quite place. Something putrid that makes my skin crawl.

“You'll have 10 minutes with her, tops.” The officer growls as he unlocks another gate. “I’ve sent the guard on duty out on an errand. Make your questions quick and don't leave any evidence that you were here.”

“Thank you kindly, Sheriff.” Dimitri says, giving him a mocking salute.

“Yeah.” The man scoffs, pocketing his keys as he turns to leave. “You know, The Reapers and I have always been on opposite sides of the law. They corrupt my men, and I arrest theirs. But they’ve never once stooped as low as you have. You're threatening my family. My life. And some wrongs can never be made right.”

“Is that a threat, Sheriff Winston?” Dimitri asks, sounding way more delighted than he should.

“Just an observation, kid. I've been in the underbelly of this city for a long time and I've learned a few things. All things must learn to co-exist if they want to survive.”

“Survival is for the weak.” Dimitri retorts, sliding the door open and gesturing for me to enter. “Time is ticking. Why don't you go make yourself useful and grab the girl?”

The Sheriff glares at Dimitri for a few seconds, as if debating on whether or not to say more. Deciding that the conversation is done, he sets off to go retrieve Jessie.

After he leaves, Dimitri and I take our seats on one side of the metal table, leaving a single chair for Jessie on the other.

“I thought you said he was a friend.” I say, glaring at Dimitri.

“There are no real friends in this world, Kroshka, only tools. Pliable & resourceful, designed to make our lives easier. But ultimately, you can't trust them. They'll break in the end. They always do.”

“Nice outlook.”

“And yours is much better?” He retorts. “Remind me, why didn't you want to loop your men in on what we're doing right now?”

“That's different.” I say, shaking my head. “My sister is in danger.”

“But you're close to them, are you not? Sounds like two sides of the same coin to me.”

I narrow my eyes at him as a smug smirk forms on his face.

“You know what?” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “You can leave. I’m in the building, and I definitely no longer need your help.”

Dimitri laughs at the obvious annoyance in my tone. “Add miss all the action? Never.”

“Fine. Then can you just stay quiet? I need to think about what I'm going to ask her and your constant babbling isn't helping.”

Dimitri pretends to zip his lips shut and I let out a shaky breath. I don't have time to think about the repercussions of this visit, or what it could mean for my relationship with The Reapers. This isn’t an about them, it's about Alex and if talking to Jessie can help me find my sister, I'm going to fucking do it whether they like it or not.