Return of the Reaper novel · Chapter 16 of 24
Chapter 16: Her Door
Lila fell asleep at nine, with Mister Pie under her chin and the duck lamp turned low.
Abel took the chair in the hall with the shotgun across his knees, and nodded once at the stairs.
Doyle drove to Elmwood Avenue in Abel's flatbed with the ledger under the seat.
Noelle had gone home at dusk to shower, and he had promised himself he would let her sleep.
He climbed the stairs anyway and stood outside her door for a full minute with his fist raised.
It opened before he knocked.
She wore a gray sweater that hung to her thighs, and nothing else he could see.
Her hair was down, damp and curling over her shoulders, and her glasses were off.
Her bare feet were cold on the floorboards.
"You've been hiding behind that old man's book all day," she said.
"I know."
"You've been hiding behind it since the barn. Since the cemetery. Since the hospital lot."
"Noelle."
"Come in, Doyle. Stop standing in doorways."
He came in, and she shut the door and put her back against it.
For a moment they only looked at each other in the dim hall.
"You haven't touched me since Tuesday morning," she said. "Not once. You hold my elbow like I'm made of glass."
"I didn't want to take what you hadn't offered again."
"I offered it in my kitchen. I offered it on a pharmacy receipt. I've been offering it all day."
Her voice dropped.
"Stop being careful with me. I don't want careful. I want you."
He crossed the space between them in one step.
His hands went into her wet hair, and he tilted her face up and kissed her.
It was slower than the first time.
He took her mouth slowly, and she opened under him with a soft, broken sound.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of Return of the Reaper are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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