REGINALD BONES 2 Read online

  REGINALD BONES

  PART 2

  BY LUCIAN BANE

  © 2016 by Lucian Bane

  All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of Lucian Bane or his legal representative.

  To all the readers, fans, and or Reader’s clubs. Thank you for supporting my work. I’d also like to ask nicely that you please not Pirate my work. That basically means don’t give it away just because you bought it. If you know of anybody that can’t afford a copy, give me a holler. I’m a nice guy.

  Also, if you need a different format, please contact me, the Author.

  DEDICATION

  This book is dedicated to my beautiful, amazing, gorgeous wife. I love you forever. Thank you so much for putting up with me, for believing in me, and for loving me.

  SPECIAL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  THE JAN WADE

  THE TAMMY BURCH

  THE CATHY KNUTH

  THE JULIET TAI

  And a special shout out to my Tasty Tart, Kimie Sutherland!!!!

  Welcome back, we missed you

  YOU LADIES HAVE DONE PHENOMONALLY THESE PAST FEW MONTHS AND WEEKS! I AM SO DANG GRATEFUL TO HAVE EACH OF YOU! JAN… THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR THE VAGINA COOKIES.

  SHOUT OUT TO MY PATREON PATRONS

  THANK YOU TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU FOR THE AMAZING SUPPORT!

  If you do not support me on Patreon and would like to, click here.

  Dark Fan Group Winners:

  Reggie strange habits at the graveyard, taps a headstone twice, every time he passes one. = Sandy Smith & Cassy Kubehl (she put it on Bone’s quirks with the tap tap swiping)

  Bones has some strange habits at the graveyard,

  Cleaning his shovels obsessively = DeAnne Taylor

  Has a secret shrine with all the gifts, dried out flowers from the graves= Cathy Dionne

  Bones doesn’t drink because it makes Reginald’s ________ flare up. Stutter = Jan Wade

  CHAPTER ONE

  Bones stared deep into Winter’s eyes, winded from their struggle. She lay still, no longer fighting him, staring back as his words echoed in his mind… When they stole Reggie… When they stole Reggie.

  “Who did?” she whispered, searching his eyes. “Who stole Reggie from you?”

  Forbidden voices seeped through the cracks of sealed graves and he clenched his eyes tight. She did this. She resurrected the dead. ‘I can help you, son. I can help you get him back. You just need to do exactly what I say.’

  “Talk to me Bones,” she whispered. “Tell me who took Reggie.”

  He searched her gaze as the darkness circled him. A sly hunger creeping closer with each second. Each cutting memory.

  “I can help you sort this out.” She nodded, tears falling. He knew that begging. Pleading. Crying. Something buried inside him knew it well.

  ‘If you want to save Reggie… you have to do it. He’s counting on you, son.’

  Bones’ jaw slowly hardened and he raised up and straddled her body with his legs.

  Her breaths came faster as she watched him. Staring. Calculating. “Listen to me,” she said, nodding a little. “You can do this. You can set Reggie free.”

  ‘They need you to do another job, Bones.’

  ‘But… they said that was the last one. They said I’d get Reggie back.’

  ‘One more, I promise. Just one more.’

  The face of his stepfather surfaced in her eyes. The liar. The serpent, that fucking devil. Bones slammed a hand down on her throat and squeezed, careful not to break anything. It needed to last. He needed to choke him slowly. Very slowly.

  He pressed a hand on the demon’s forehead, holding him still to look in his eyes. He’d always wondered if it would be the same look they all had when he snuffed. Snuffed out misery and pain from writhing bodies that fought to live, while their souls begged to die. Begged to escape, to be free. He gave them freedom. He gave them freedom and protected Reggie.

  But they lied. Said he would get him back. No matter how many he snuffed, it was never enough. It would never be enough. There wasn’t a price to get him back. There was only a cost to never have him.

  Bones flew back onto the floor, his head hitting with a dizzying thonk.

  “Boooooooones!” Reginald roared, forcing his body down. “You fucking hurt her! You hurt her! Run! Run Winter!”

  ****

  Winter coughed and sputtered as Reginald’s words tore through the small kitchen, shredding the throat of the same man who’d just strangled her.

  She dragged herself up as they began to fight, thrashing on the floor like a snake, pinned down by a shovel named Reginald.

  “Ruuuuun!”

  She stumbled a few steps, dazed. Where to go? What to do? What about Reginald? She made it to the stairs and turned to see them, crawling and snarling. The disturbing sight of two men fighting in the same body held her immobile, midway up the stairs. The straining face slowly morphed into one of purpose. Then rage.

  Black eyes snapped to her, and he launched into a sprint. Winter screamed and shot up the stairs, his hungry snarls on the stairs behind her. She clawed the bolt on the door as his fingers bit into her shoulder.

  The bolt released, and the door yanked open. She screamed, holding onto it as he pulled her by the hair, fighting to get her back in. He gave a roar and flew back as though somebody slammed him, hurling him down the stairs.

  Winter ran out of the shed, into the biting wind and blinding morning sun, running without thought into the silent graveyard. She didn’t want to die like this, not at his hands. He wasn’t just Bones, he was Reginald. She couldn’t let Bones force Reginald to hurt her.

  As she ran full force on bare feet, a flash of white caught her eye and she stumbled to a stop. Blasts of vapor billowed around her as she fought for breath, staring. Her brother’s grave, covered in snow-white rose petals. She moved toward it then stopped, jerking her gaze around. The ancient trees dotting the cemetery waved back at her, giant arms swaying and whispering. With every gust of wind, the leaves shuddered and scattered sunlight along the ground like diamonds.

  Her heart hammered to the beat of all that was wrong with the surrounding picture. Death and life, frolicking in perfect disharmony. It hit her then. She took several steps back as tears stung her eyes and a sob clenched her chest. She belonged in that graveyard. That’s why she was here. That’s why her brother was buried there. She couldn’t leave because she was supposed to stay, she was supposed to die there and have her peace.

  She scanned the surreal scene again, desperate for some sign of what to do. But all she found was the cheery promise of life, dancing in the arms of death.

  A gasp burst from her as it hit her. The promise of life in death.

  She ran to Sebastian’s grave and fell to her numb knees. “I don’t want to die!” The dirty confession wrenched from her chest as she hugged the cold cement. “I want to change everything, I want to go back and change everything! I want to go back and do the right things,” she begged through sobs. “But I can’t! And all I want to do is die but now I met him and he’s like you, he’s sweet and good. He deserves the world I stole from you, but he’s trapped, he’s trapped just like you were! I can’t die yet. I can’t die, I have to do this! I have to help him live, Bastian. Because it’s right,” she gasped through the pain. “It’s the right thing. And I’m scared. I’m scared to fail. And I’m terrified to succeed.”

  She suddenly jerked her head up. A wave of alarm shot her up and sent her racing back across that frozen ground. The door to the shed remained open and panic made her legs pump faster for that dark hole in the dilapidated wa
ll. I’m coming Reginald, I’m coming!

  She came to a halt on the landing, gasping for breath and struggling to see in the darkness. She gradually focused and made out his form at the bottom of the stairs. Still as death.

  The instinct to race down was instantly checked by reality. The terror of Bones still throbbed in her neck and various injuries on her body.

  The scent of antiquated machinery and food cooked only an hour ago, filled her nostrils and lungs. More death and life. Her eyes finally adjusted to the dimly lit shed as another bout of concern for Reginald itched in her muscles. Bones might be baiting her.

  She’d thought she wasn’t afraid to die. But Bones… shit, he terrified her more than any man ever had. There was something about him. Something that made the idea of dying more… dreadful and ominous. Maybe it was that other side of him. The lure. The pretty part of the fire that captivated you, promised to warm you, just before it burned you alive.

  The loud creak under her careful step froze her. She should have a plan. What did she need to do? Not die. But if she was going to help him, Bones would need to be rendered harmless somehow.

  She could tie him.

  Fourth step from the bottom, she realized his leg might be injured with the way it was bent. What if he broke something? Her heart hammered harder as she gripped the rough wooden handrail. What if he was dead?

  She leaned her upper body for a quick glance around the room, her eyes flitting back to him. There had to be something she could use in all that mess. She took another step and froze. A dark spot pooled on the floor near his head. God, please don’t be blood.

  Shit, he was blocking her path. She glanced at the stair rail and gave it a shake, testing its strength. She swung one leg over, then the next, before dropping down. She fought to get her footing, banging and clanging through empty metal and glass containers.

  She finally cleared the debris and eyed him, her loud breaths the only thing filling the silence. Still unmoving. She tiptoed her way to the wall across from her, searching the metal shelves for something to secure him.

  Snatching up a roll of black electrical tape, she darted a look at him. That might work. She debated on how to exactly bind him, and what to bind. And what if he woke up while she was halfway through?

  She hurried to the pile she’d just stumbled through, searching. She spied a giant-sized wrench on the wall and picked her way through the junk and worked it off the giant nail. Grimacing at the webs sticking to it, she inspected for insects before testing its weight in her hand. She shot a glance at him and panicked. She couldn’t see him. Gasping, she took two clamoring steps and his head came into view on the floor. Still unmoving.

  God, this was insane. She made her way to him, gripping the wrench tightly. It was heavy enough to knock him out cold. Kill him if she wasn’t careful.

  She’d have to flip him onto his stomach to tie his hands behind his back. What if he was hurt? Shit, moving him was too dangerous.

  Maybe she should tie him to the stair rail. Let him wake up and talk sense into him. She’d need some kind of rope for that. She turned, spying a chain hanging on the wall near the little bed. She glanced at him then raced to it, again keeping an eye out for spiders as she worked it loose. What if it wasn’t strong enough to hold him?

  The small cot at her legs tugged at her memories. She looked down and was instantly there in her mind, arms bound behind her as Reginald fucked her mouth with a hunger gripped in Bones’ terrifying darkness. She’d never felt anything like it, saw anything more beautiful.

  She headed back to him on shaky limbs, pausing several feet away with the chain. What the hell was she supposed to tie it to? Two steps closer, she lowered slowly to her knees next to him. She’d check his pulse after he was tied.

  She scanned his body for an anchor point and spotted his belt loops. Leaning with the chain, she alternated wary glances between his face and the loops.

  He gave a light grunt and her breath caught. Shit, shit, shit. She quickly worked the chain through the loops, no longer being careful or slow, as panic gripped her.

  He stirred more, and the race was now on. Secure him before he woke.

  Finally done, she realized there was nothing to secure the chain with! She ran back to the wall, grabbed up everything she touched only to toss it down. She found a hammer and let out a gasp. She could nail it!

  She scanned the walls for a nail that would do the job, spotting one near him. She hurried to it and realized she’d have to cross over him. She carefully leapt over him and worked the claw of the hammer onto the nail then grunted as she yanked on it. Felt cemented in!

  “W-what…”

  She jumped over him again and grabbed the giant wrench on the floor, hurrying back to the nail. She banged on the handle of the hammer with the wrench while glancing down at him. Please don’t let the hammer break, please. His incoherent mumbles increased, and the nail shot out of the wall onto the floor near his head.

  Winter scrambled down and retrieved it, staring at his head now lolling back and forth. She jumped back over him and took hold of both ends of the chain, pulling them to the rail as he came to more and more. One side of the chain pulled out of her hand when she came up short. God, not long enough!

  She fought to pull the chain, tugging on his body.

  “What… what’s…”

  Panic threatened to overwhelm her. She needed to nail the chain to something!

  The floor! It was wood! Her breaths blasted out as she placed both chain loops on the floor and placed the nail in the center. She began hammering and he rolled a little, nearly dislodging the nail. She grasped it tighter, keeping him in her peripheral vision as she hurried back to hammering. Oh God, be still! She swung too quick, missing the head and causing the nail to bend. She focused her aim, gasping as she struck with precision.

  He rolled again and she banged faster. “What are you… hey,” he croaked, his hand raising toward her.

  She moved out of his reach, stretching to whack at the nail. When it was past halfway in, she banged at an angle, forcing the top of the nail to bend over the chain.

  He lunged at her with a roar and she screamed, whacking the nail as he fought to grab the hammer from her. “Stop it!” she shrieked.

  The edge of the nail head sank deep into the floor and Winter scurried back, watching as he thrashed and growled like an animal. Her heart jolted every time her jerked the chain with his weight. He grabbed the links and yanked over and over and over, roaring. Then he paused, following the chain to his belt loops.

  Oh shit. What if he took off his pants?

  CHAPTER TWO

  “Don’t, Bones!” Reginald ordered.

  “Reginald!” she gasped.

  “You threw me down the stairs,” Bones grit, touching the back of his head and looking at the blood on his fingers.

  “You tried to strangle her!” Reginald’s fury sounded identical to Bones’ making her jump.

  Bones angled his head, squinting. “What are you talking about? Did I not tell you if I was going to hurt her, I’d let you know that?”

  Winter drew back a little in shock. He didn’t remember? She watched Reginald surface, a look of worry on his brow. “Bones?” he began, getting control of their breaths. “Listen buddy. You’re under a lot of stress.”

  “From what!” Bones bit, like he didn’t buy that.

  “From whatever it is you can’t remember, maybe? All I know is when you strangled her, you were remembering things. There was a man in your mind. Do you remember that? Who was he, Bones? Was that your dad? He called you son.”

  “I don’t…” Bones’ growl trailed off as he angled his head, seeming to think. “I didn’t have a dad,” Bones muttered impatiently, drawing a knee slowly up. “I had a… fucking step dad.”

  A moment of silence passed before his brows drew together hard. “Bones? Why do you think I was stolen from you? Who stole me, what happened?”

  Winter’s heart ached at seeing Reginald con
fused and worried. “Maybe…” she began quietly, drawing Reginald’s gaze. “Maybe you’re forgetting too?” It hit her then. What if Reginald was the real person here, and not Bones?

  Their eyes cleared with an innocent curiosity. “I don’t remember,” Reginald said. “All I remember is Bones calling me and being there. I remember something bad had happened, but he never told me or showed me. He said he’d tell me and…”

  “I can’t remember!”

  Their face had hardened and softened in the span of two seconds. Soft, pained eyes turned to her. “He can’t remember,” he reiterated quietly. “Don’t worry, Bonesy,” he whispered, his eyes drifting a little left. “You don’t need to remember right now.” He patted his own right hand a little. “We’ll figure it out. Winter will help.”

  “She’s not doing shit!” Bones’ dark fury twisted their face as he stabbed her with a lethal gaze. “This isn’t her business.”

  “Are you sure about that?” she challenged.

  She was sure it was Bones who squinted at her. “What part? You wanting to die and somehow picking the one person who wanted nothing to do with you?”

  The mean words stung a little. “Okay, yes,” she said, fine with admitting the truth. “That and…”

  “That and what,” Bones cut in.

  His face turned sensible looking and lowered. “I think she’s trying not to point out the oddity of you and I,” Reginald said.

  “She’s the odd one,” Bones argued. “Wanting to die when she’s perfectly free and perfectly able to live.” He stabbed her with his angry eyes.

  “Bones,” Reginald whispered, lowering his eyes.

  “No,” Winter said, nodding, looking for common ground they could agree on. “He’s right, that is stupid.” They both seemed to look at her now, the gentle fierceness in their gaze creating a strange chaos inside her. “I was stupid,” she corrected. “Wasting my life trying to die. Bones is right. Dying doesn’t fix anything, it’s just another way of running when the going gets tough. I see that now,” she whispered.