Psst…hey you.
Wanna read something? Something no one else hasn’t read? Yeah? Awesome! Then you’ve come to the right place.
I thought it might be fun to share an unedited scene from The Trouble With Spain, Book Two of The Reaper Chronicles.
In this scene we meet two new characters in the reaping world–Carmela & Celia. If you’ve read The Reaper’s Bride you might recall that Carmela is the mystery woman who broke Alex’s heart back in Spain in 1980. Celia is a new character with a looong history with Alex and Carmela.
The scene picks up immediately after book one ends (October 2013) and is set in Cadiz, Spain.
It’s 100% unedited, like literally first draft, so please excuse grammar, punctuation etc. It should also be noted that this scene may be added/deleted/changed by the time it reaches the final draft. Also there’s no spoilers, so even if you haven’t read The Reaper’s Bride you’ll be fine. I just felt like sharing a bit of the next book and for some reason these two characters wanted to be heard.
Yes, they have a mind of their own. No, I am not crazy. Mostly not.
Anyway, I think I’ve delayed enough.
Celia pulled her sweater tighter across her chest and checked her watch. Carmela was late. “No surprise there,” Celia mumbled. “It would be a miracle if she was on time.”
She’d agreed to meet Carmela at a cafe not far from her home, but now she was beginning to regret it. She picked up her phone to text Carmela when a shadow slipped across her. She looked up at Carmela and frowned. “Do you ever show up on time?”
Carmela laughed, pulled out her chair, and waved for the server. “A woman should always arrive fashionably late.”
Celia rolled her eyes. “Your ideas on what women should do are incredibly out of date.”
Carmela ignored her and picked up the menu. “Are you ordering?” Celia shook her head. “Fine.”
The server arrived at the table, a fake smile plastered to her face. She opened her mouth to speak but Carmela was quicker. “Coffee. Black.” She handed over the menu and waved the server away.
Celia clenched her jaw. The way Carmela treated people was appalling. The server, to her credit, nodded without looking particularly offended and spun on her heel towards the coffee bar. “Why are we here, Carmela?” Celia asked.
“Straight to business I see. Do you ever lighten up?” Carmela smirked. “No, I suppose you don’t. You know what your problem is?”
“No, and I don’t care,” Celia cut her off. “Why are we here?”
Carmela sighed dramatically. “Fine. Have it your way.” She unzipped her purse and removed a piece of paper. “This is your list.”
Celia snatched it from her hand. “This? This is why you asked me to meet you? You could have texted me the list.”
Carmela shrugged and replaced her purse on the chair beside her.
The paper was folded in half and when Celia opened it she realized it was twice as long as her normal list of reaps. “What’s this?”
“Did I not just say?”
“I mean, why is it so long? Wait—” she ran her finger down the list. “Barcelona? You’re sending me to Barcelona?” A niggling feeling spread across her chest. Something wasn’t right. Carmela sat back in her chair and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“You’re needed there.”
“No, there are already recruits in Barcelona.”
“Yes, well, whatever.” Carmela waved her hand in dismissal. “Must you always be so difficult?”
The server arrived with Carmela’s coffee and didn’t bother asking if there was anything else. The tension was thick enough to cut and she seemed anxious to get away from it. To be cliche, there was no love lost between Celia and Carmela. Since her recruitment in 1980, Carmela had proved to be a pain in Celia’s ass. It didn’t matter that they had history prior to Carmela’s addition to the reaping world. The pair did not get along. Celia still blamed Carmela for Alex’s hasty exit.
She wasn’t sure what Carmela had against her.
Alex. The niggling feeling swept back across her chest and settled into her heart. She missed him. Even after all these years. Carmela’s eyebrow raised as though she could read Celia’s mind.
“What?” Celia cleared her throat.
Carmela held up her hands. “Nothing. I said nothing.”
She pushed Alex from her thoughts and focused in on the list. “This first one is tomorrow so I assume I’m to leave right away?”
Carmela nodded and took a sip on her coffee.
“And I’m there for how long?”
“Until you are no longer needed there.”
“Vague,” Celia mumbled under her breath but Carmela’s gaze narrowed.
“You would think after all these years you would finally show me some respect.” Carmela sighed dramatically. “How tiresome you are. No wonder he left you.”
Celia’s fists clenched. “Shut up.”
“You seem to have that affect on men. First Ned, then Alex—”
Celia pushed back her chair. The scraping sound echoed through the cafe causing the other patrons to turn and stare. “Take. It. Back,” she said through clenched teeth.
Carmela smirked. “Still sore? Poor girl.”
“Take it back, Carmela,” Celia repeated.
“Sit down. You’re causing a scene.” Carmela’s face was bright with a smile but her eyes bore into Celia.
Celia sat back down. “It’s your fault Alex left. Not mine.” Carmela shrugged and took another sip from her cup but didn’t deny it. “How can you be so heartless?”
“Are you finished your little tantrum?” Carmela sat back. “It’s tiresome and boring. Time to move on.”
“Answer me,” she said. If she clenched her jaw any harder she’d crack a tooth.
Carmela folded her arms across her chest. “Let me give you a piece of advice.”
“I don’t want your advice.”
“Well, that is too bad. Because you’re getting it.” Carmela leaned forward and lowered her voice, “Never let a man stand in the way of what you want. Never let them treat you like a possession.” She grabbed her purse and stood up. “Men bring nothing but pain.” She leaned across the table until her face was inches from Celia’s. “But you should already know that.”
Celia watched Carmela turn and leave, her head high and a smile on her lips. But she couldn’t fool Celia. She might fool the world into thinking she was carefree and beautiful, but every time Celia looked at Carmela all she saw was ugly destruction.
Angie Richmond 
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