My Reaper rose to the surface, and I let him take control, revealing my true nature and the ghostly scythe I clutched in my right hand.
“Holy fuck,” Zane blurted, paling as he blinked a few times.
“I’m a Reaper.”
“And you kill people?” he asked, taking another step away from me.
“Yes,” I answered honestly, “and no. I take the souls of the wicked and send them to hell.”
“The wicked? Like murderers?”
“And rapists and men who hurt women and children. Pedophiles, serial killers, bad guys. I can’t harm a soul unless it’s already tainted. Only those marked by the devil have a reason to fear me. To fear us,” I emphasized, gesturing to my brothers.
“Wow.” Zane inhaled and exhaled a few times, glancing down at his phone. “Mom isn’t answering.” He dialed her number, and I stood there, knowing in my heart that she’d been taken.
Tawni’s friend Hillary must have betrayed her somehow because Tawni would never ignore Zane, especially if he was worried and blowing up her phone like that.
Zane hung his head, and I knew he had reached the same conclusion. “Something is wrong. Mom wouldn’t do this.” His chin lifted, and I caught the fear that lingered inside, but it wasn’t for me. He was scared for his mother. “Can you use your Reaper and find mom?”
“Yes.”
Grim cleared his throat. “We’ll find Tawni.”
I closed the distance between us, and my Reaper receded, instinctively knowing that Zane was already in a vulnerable state and he needed his father for a moment. “I’m asking you to stay here at the Crossroads. No heroics. Leave that to me. I’ll find your mom. I swear it, Zane.”
“I want to go with you.”
“It’s too dangerous. Trust me. I’ll bring her home, son.”
“I don’t know what to call you,” he whispered, clearly torn up and ready to lose his shit. “This is insane. I don’t, I don’t understand all this crazy shit that’s happening,” he stuttered, nearly shutting down.
I pulled him into my arms and hugged him close. “You call me whatever you want—Jasper, Wraith, dad. I don’t mind.”
“What’s your last name?” he asked, trembling as the shock of the last few minutes took hold.
“Cornell. What about yours?”
“Cornell,” he whispered, and I felt like I’d been sucker-punched in the gut.
Tawni gave Zane my last name. Words escaped me.
“I’m glad,” he whispered, hugging me back.
“Me too, son.”
I intended to keep my promise. As soon as Zane was settled in with Nylah and Naomi, I marched into Xenon’s office with Grim. Our tech expert was capable of finding anyone. He had cameras all over the city, but he could trace just about anything.
I just needed him to find my woman.
“Can you do this?” I asked, growing more anxious with every minute that lapsed.
“I already found her cell, but you’re not going to like it.”
“Where the fuck is she?”
“The Scorpions compound.”