thing. Hoping Thane was audible—and inexplicably corporeal—only to me.
“Well, aren’t you fun!” he said, raising one hand to his cheek. “Who would have guessed that the toddler who once died without a whimper would grow into such a hellcat!” He leaned closer, and I held my breath. “It’s almost a shame I have to extinguish such a bright flame, but it’s true what they say about life being unfair. Death, however, is the great equalizer. Death comes to everyone, eventually, and you have the honor of meeting him twice.” Thane leaned back in my chair and recrossed his arms. “Lucky, lucky girl …”
“Get out.” I picked up the bat again, thrilled to find fury overwhelming my fear. “Get the hell out of my room and don’t come back.”
“Or what? You’ll sic your father on me?” He raised both brows in silent challenge, and I wanted to hit him again. With the bat this time. “He’s a sad, desperate man, with the potential to become a real thorn in my side. But you have to respect his determination to save his daughter. Too bad it’s not going to work.”
I didn’t really want to know, and I certainly didn’t want to prolong Thane’s visit or admit my own ignorance. But I had to ask. “What’s he doing?”
“He’s been hanging around the local reaper office for two days, begging anyone who’ll listen to let him trade his expiration date for yours. It’s not going to matter, though. Your file has a big red ‘special circumstances’ sticker on the front, and the notation inside states clearly that you’ve already had one date exchange and are thus ineligible for another.”
Uh-oh.
“I don’t suppose you know how he found the local headquarters, do you?” Thane asked, and I shook my head, though it had to be Tod. Who else could have told him? Who else would even know?
Thane looked like he didn’t believe me, but didn’t really care one way or another. “As amusing as the whole thing would be, if it weren’t so pathetic, if he doesn’t back off soon, he might find his expiration date exchanged for someone he’s never even met.”
“Is that why you’re here?” I asked, fury burning bright behind my eyes, a headache in full bloom. “To threaten my dad?”
The reaper laughed again, softer this time, and I already hated the sound. “That’s just a bonus. I’m here to get to know you. By my count, we have several days to spend together before our business is concluded, and I say we make the most of it. How do you feel about Mexican takeout?”
Was he serious? “Why are you doing this?”
He shrugged. “I’ve never reaped a soul from someone who knew what was coming, so I look forward to observing your last days, studying how you cope as you count down the hours. Like a fish in a glass bowl …”
“You’re psychotic.”
Another shrug. “Nah. Just bored. But don’t mistake my interest for sympathy. Nothing will stop me from ending your life when the time comes.”
“When is that?” I asked, trying hard not to reveal how desperate I was for that nugget of information. “When am I supposed to die?”
For a moment, he only watched me, and I got the feeling he was trying to decide whether I’d suffer more from knowing or from not knowing. “I think this will be more fun as a surprise,” he said finally, and I groaned on the inside. “See you soon, Kaylee.”
Then he was gone, and I was alone with my own fear and anger. And with Styx, who glanced around the room, sniffed the air once, then curled up and went back to sleep, secure in the knowledge that the big bad reaper was gone.
But I couldn’t sleep—not after what had just happened. Not knowing it could happen again, at any time. Not knowing my father had spent the entire weekend painting a target on his own back, for me.
I lifted my cell from the charger on my nightstand and autodialed Tod. He answered on the first ring. “Kaylee?”
“Did you tell my dad how to find the local reaper office?” I demanded, without a greeting.
Tod sighed. “You in your room?”
“Yeah.”
Another pause. Then, “Are you dressed?”
For just a split second, I considered saying no, and I wondered if he’d take that as deterrent or motivation. Then I came to my senses. “Pjs.”
He appeared at the foot of my bed an instant later, already sliding his phone into his pocket as he pushed Styx over and sank onto the mattress. She growled at him until I patted a spot next to my right hip, and she curled up there, content to watch him in threatening silence.
“I’m sorry,” Tod said, one bent leg on my comforter. “I was trying to help.”
“How is telling my dad where to go beg for my life possibly helping? You know they’re not going to make the trade.”
“That’s why I sent him there. Because they won’t do what he wants, but they won’t hurt him, and Thane’s not going to make a move on him while he’s in a building full of other reapers.” He shrugged, and it got a little harder for me to stay mad at him. “Besides, that way I know where he is, and I can check up on him without having to hunt him down.”
“Oh.” When he put it like that, it sounded kind of … smart. “Well, then … thanks for keeping my dad out of trouble.”
Suddenly nervous, for no reason I could pin down, I fidgeted with the handle of Nash’s bat, and Tod noticed.
“You know, most girls sleep with a teddy bear or an extra pillow. But I gotta say, that’s kinda hot …”
My cheeks blazed on the lower edge of my vision. “Nash gave it to me. But I wasn’t sleeping with it. I …” I shook my head and started over. “Thane was here, Tod. That’s how I knew Dad was at your office.”
“Thane was here? In your room?” He sat up straight, eyes churning with cobalt streaks of anger like I’d never seen from him before. “Please tell me you bashed his skull in.”
“No, but I did slap him. He’s planning to watch me to see if I crack up, knowing I’m going to die in a few days. Can he do that?”
His dimple disappeared beneath a dark scowl. “Yeah, but he’s not supposed to tell you he’s doing it. You’re never supposed to see your own reaper.”
“Would that be enough to get him fired, if I told Levi?”
Tod shrugged. “If he were a rookie and you were a clueless human, yeah. But since he’s not, and you’re not, it’d probably just derail his promotion and get him knocked a peg or two down the ladder. Which would piss him off.”
“I don’t suppose you’re any closer to proving he’s done anything else?”
“Not yet. I’ll get him, though, Kaylee,” Tod said, and that look was back. His irises were too still, like there was something he didn’t want me to see. And when I realized how badly I wanted to see it, I glanced down and noticed I was playing with the bat again.
My weak
