Chapter 4 You're Really The Soul Reaper

"Honestly, this hospital should retrain their staff. They're way too lax about letting dangerous people wander around," said Avery, trying to break the tension with a lighthearted comment.

"Maybe he's not really dying of lung cancer. Or maybe, he just wants to take me out instead," replied Nathan, tilting his head with a wry glint in his eye.

"Wait-what are you talking about?" asked Avery, her brow furrowing in confusion as the answer caught her off guard.

He towered over her, and every time she glanced up, she couldn't help but notice the sharp lines of his jaw.

There was something comforting about the clean scent he carried. It made her nerves settle, almost against her will.

"Relax, I'm only teasing you," he responded, breaking into a sunlit grin, his tone suddenly playful.

"Oh, I see." Avery let out an uneasy laugh, but the awkwardness between them seemed to double.

Without warning, he leaned in until there was barely any space left, just enough for a single fist between them.

Her eyes went wide as she stared into his face, his gaze curious and oddly intense.

For a moment, Avery wondered if he could see through her disguise.

Instead, he reached out and tousled her hair. "Much better," he said, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Avery blinked, still not sure what he meant. "What are you doing?"

Nathan shrugged, a small smile on his lips. "Your hair was sticking up everywhere."

She tried to return his smile. "Oh. Thanks, I guess."

He looked her up and down with an amused glint. "You should hit the gym sometime. You're so scrawny, someone might just shove you around."

Avery blinked, stung by the comment. Her figure was healthy as a woman, not scrawny at all. It was just that she was now disguised as a man.

Still, she bit her tongue, recognizing that he meant no harm.

With nothing more to say, Nathan entered the hospital building, strode down the hall, and disappeared into one of the patient rooms.

Inside, the mood shifted instantly. Everyone's attention snapped to him the moment the door closed behind him.

"Mr. Kirk!" came a chorus of respectful greetings.

Nathan strode over to the hospital bed, his expression cold and unreadable.

A subordinate sprang to his feet and quickly set a chair in place for him.

Nathan settled into the chair, his posture relaxed but his gaze razor-sharp as he studied the figure lying in the bed-the same patient who had tried to end his life earlier in the garden.

Now, the would-be assassin lay swathed in wires and tubes, his face battered beyond recognition, barely hanging on.

Nathan's voice was cool and sharp. "Who hired you?"

"Please-let me go! I got the wrong guy, I swear!" the injured man shouted, struggling against his restraints as panic roughened his tone.

Nathan lit a cigarette with steady hands. Wisps of smoke curled around his face, masking his expression in shadow.

"You didn't get the wrong person," Nathan replied, slipping a sinister mask over his face.

At the sight of the mask, pure terror washed over the man. His breath caught. "No-it's you. You're really the Soul Reaper?"

Nathan's eyes stayed on him, voice dropping to a chilling hush. "If that young man hadn't stepped in, maybe you'd have succeeded. But if you want any shot at walking away, tell me who's pulling your strings. That's the only chance you've got."

A shaky laugh rattled from the man's throat. "You expect me to buy that? Soul Reaper showing mercy? No one believes that story." He knew exactly who Nathan was, and it was clear he'd already accepted his fate.

The slightest crease formed between Nathan's brows, a signal that made every subordinate in the room stiffen with anxiety.

Rising to his feet, Nathan flicked ash from his cigarette, the ember casting shadows across his face. "You're smarter than most. Mercy's never been my habit."

Without warning, Nathan drove the burning tip of his cigarette straight into the man's eye.

A sickening hiss filled the room, the stench of burning flesh hanging in the air. Everyone watching recoiled in horror.

The man howled, thrashing on the bed as pain and terror twisted his face beyond recognition.

Nathan didn't flinch, his tone as cold as ever. "But don't think I'll grant you an easy death. Instead, I'll make you suffer a lifetime of agony. I'll keep you alive, broken bone by broken bone, until you beg for a release you'll never get."

That threat shattered the man's resolve. "Please, I'll tell you everything!"

Nathan stilled, his eyes full of contempt.

He barely managed to blurt out, "It's the leader from the Umbra Collective!"

A flash of surprise crossed Nathan's face. "The same woman who took over at fourteen and seized Vrunron's underworld in just a year?"

The man murmured, "That's her... yes."

Nathan's gaze sharpened. "Where is she hiding?"

"I swear-I don't know! I was only given instructions, nothing else," he stammered.

Nathan took a final, thoughtful drag from his cigarette, and then waved a hand to his men. "Get rid of him."