Maybe Uncle Brendon was right about reapers.
Dont you want to know why I called, Kaylee Cavanaugh? he taunted.
Umyeah. But I was no longer sure the information was worth dealing with Tod-the-reaper, who seemed more and more grim with each word he spoke.
Good. But I should probably tell you that the terms of our agreement have changed.
I bit my lower lip, cutting off a groan of frustration. What does that mean?
Springs creaked over the line as he settled deeper into whatever he was sitting on, and I could almost taste his satisfaction seeping through the earpiece. I agreed to look at the list in exchange for your last name. Ive done my part but no longer need the agreed-upon reimbursement. Fortunately for you, Im willing to renegotiate.
What do you want? I asked, pleased to hear that suspicion was just as thick in my voice as delight was in his.
Your address.
No. I didnt even have to think about it. I dont want you sneaking around here spying on me. Or revealing himself to Sophie, whose parents didnt want her exposed to this brave new Netherworld.
Oh, come on, Kaylee. I wouldnt do that.
I rolled my eyes, though he couldnt see me. How do I know that? You were in Nashs house tonight.
Thats different.
How is that different? I tugged my covers up to my waist and let my head fall back against my headboard.
Itdoesnt matter.
Tell me.
He hesitated, and hinges squealed softly again on his end of the connection. I knew Nash a long time ago. And sometimes I justdont want to be alone. The vulnerability in his voice resonated in my heart, only further confusing me. But then his actual words sank in.
Youve done this before? What, do you hang out there?
No. Its not like that. Kayleeyou cant tell him! In spite of the earnestness of his plea, I knew Tod wasnt afraid of Nash. He was afraid of embarrassment. I guess some things dont change in the afterlife.
I cant not tell him. Tod, hes supposed to be your friend. At least he used to be. He has a right to know youve been spying on him.
Im not spying on him. I dont care what hes doing, and Ive never He stopped, and his voice grew hard. Look, swear you wont tell him, and Ill tell you what I found out about the list.
Surprise lifted my eyebrows halfway up my forehead. He was willing to pay me to keep his little secret? Terrific. ButWhy would you trust me not to tell?
Because Nash said you dont lie.
Great. A grim reaper was holding me to my honor. Fine. I swear I wont tell him in exchange for what you found out about the list. But you have to swear to stay out of his house.
For a moment, there was only silence over the lineTod obviously wrestling with his decision. What could be so important about hanging out at Nashs house? Why on earth would he need to go back?
Deal, he said finally, and I exhaled silently in relief. For some reason, I was sure he would keep his word too.
Good. I tossed back my covers. I was awake, so I might as well be up. So did you get a look at the lists?
I caught a bit of a break there. My boss was out of the office for nearly an hour dealing with some kind of complication in the northern end of the district. And since I happen to know his password
How do you happen to know his password? I sank into my desk chair and plucked a blue metallic pen from a clay jar Id made in Girl Scouts a decade earlier, then began doodling on a purple sticky pad.
Last month he accidentally locked himself out of the system, and as the only reaper in the office who actually lived during the digital age, Im kind of the de facto tech guy.
Oh. Weird, but Id take it. So what about the lists?
They werent there.
What? I dropped the pen, anger blazing a white-hot trail up my spine, splintering to burn down to the tips of my fingers. Id just bargained for nothing? Sworn to keep a secret from Nash only to find out that Tod couldnt get a look at the lists?
The names. They werent there, he clarified, and relief drenched most of my irritation. Followed quickly by renewed fear on behalf of every girl I knew. You were right, Tod continued. Not one of those girls was supposed to die.
After talking to Tod, I couldnt sleep. I needed to tell my uncle that my suspicion had been confirmed: one of Tods fellow reapers was working overtime on some unauthorized soul-snatching. But I saw no reason to wake him after two hours of sleep, even for news of this magnitude. None of the other girls had died before noon, so if the pattern persisted, we had a while before the next one would die.
I would tell my uncle and father at the same time, so I wouldnt have to say it twice. And in the morning, so that hopefully I could avoid having to explain how a grim reaper got my phone number and why hed called me in the middle of the night.
But telling Nash couldnt wait.
My pulse thudded as I scrolled through my contacts list for his name, my heart heavy with what I had to tell him and with what Id sworn not to tell him. I firmly believed that keeping secrets wasnt good for any relationship; my family was living proof of that. But Tod had sworn not to go back to Nashs house, so his secret was now harmless, and thus more than worth the lives that might be saved by me keeping it to myself.
Right?
The phone rang three times in my ear, with agonizing slowness. Yet part of me hoped he wouldnt answer. That I could put off telling Nash for a few more hours too.
He answered in the middle of the fourth ring.
Hello? Nash sounded as tired as I felt.
Hey, its me. Too nervous to sit now, I stood to pace the length of my bed.
Kaylee? He was instantly alert, an ability I truly envied. Whats wrong?
I plucked a round glass paperweight from my dresser and rolled it between my palms as I talked, my head crooked at a painful angle with the slim phone pinched between my shoulder and my ear. The girls werent on the list.
They werent? How do you know His breath hissed in angrily, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the explosion. That bastard! He found you?
Just my phone number.
How?
Iyoull have to ask him. Id sworn not to tell Nash, but I wasnt going to lie.
Just my phone number.
How?
Iyoull have to ask him. Id sworn not to tell Nash, but I wasnt going to lie.
No problem. Something scratched against the mouthpiece as he covered it, but I still heard him shout. Come on out, Tod!
You knew he was there? I couldnt quite squelch a smile, even knowing how angry he was.
Hes not half as stealthy as he thinks he is, Nash growled.
I set the glass ball on my dresser and took my phone back in my hand, turning to avoid a glimpse of my bed-head in the mirror. Neither are you. Your moms going to wake up if you dont quit yelling.
Shes working eleven to seven at the hospital tonight.
Well, Im sure Tods gone now. Surely he hadnt called me from Nashs house.
A door squealed open over the line, and floorboards creaked beneath Nashs feet. Hes still here.
How do you know?
I just do. Another pause, and this time he didnt bother to cover the phone, because he was done shouting. Im not playing, Tod. If you dont show yourself in five seconds, Im calling your boss.
You dont have the number. Tods voice was unmistakable, even at a whisper. He had called me from Nashs house!
Why? Just to rub my boyfriends face in it?
I told you to stay away from her. Nashs voice was so deep with anger it was almost unrecognizable.
By contrast, Tod sounded as calm as ever, which probably pissed Nash off even further. And I havent been anywhere near her, but thats not because of anything you said. She just hasnt invited me over. Yet We all three heard the unspoken qualifier, and even through the phone I could feel Nashs rage.
Then I heard it.
What the hell do you think youre doing? he demanded, and his voice had gone soft and dangerous.
I dont answer to you, Nash.
Get out of my room, get out of this house, and stay away from Kaylee. Or I swear well show up at the hospital tomorrow and make your entire shift a living hell.
I froze in the middle of my fuzzy purple rug, horrified by the very thought of standing between a reaper and his intended harvest. Nash, he was doing us a favor. But they both ignored me.
You come to my work again, and Ill haunt your ass like the ghost of Christmas past! Tod snapped.
That was a one-night haunting, Nash mumbled, but the reaper made no reply, and finally Nash sighed. Then springs squeaked as he dropped onto what I assumed was his couch. Hes gone.
Why didnt you tell me he was dead?
Because I was already throwing information at you left and right, and I was afraid one more supernatural fact of life might really freak you out.
No more secrets, Nash. Irritated now, I sank onto the rug and plucked at the twisty purple threads in the dim glow of my lamp. Im not fragile. From now on, tell me everything.
Okay. Im sorry. You want to know about Tod? His voice went distant, as if he regretted offering before hed even finished speaking the words.
I crawled onto my bed and turned off the touch lamp, then lay with one cheek on the cool surface of my pillow. Not everything. But at least whats relevant to me.
Nash exhaled deeply, and I could almost feel his reluctance. Part of me wanted to take it back, to tell him he didnt owe me any answers. But I didnt, because the other half of me insisted I needed those answers. Tods behavior scared me, and if Nash had information that could help me understand what I was getting into, I wanted it.
Ive known him forever, Nash began, and I went still to make sure I didnt miss anything. It was weird in the best possible way, talking to him in the middle of the night, in the dark, in my bed. His voice was intimate, almost like he was whispering in my ear. And that very thought made my pulse whoosh harder and warmed me all over.
We used to be close. Then he died a few years ago, and the reapers recruited him. He took the job because thats the only way to stay here. With the living. But he had a hard time adjusting to the work. Nash paused, then his voice became almost wistful. Thats why I thought hed be able to help you understand deaththat its a necessary part of life. Because he went through the same thing, wanting to save everyone. But he got over it, Kaylee, and his adjustment came with serious consequences. He doesnt think about things the way we do anymore. Doesnt have the same values and concerns. Hes truly a reaper now. Dangerous.