do?”
“Master, please—” Tomas frowned “—don’t put extra worry onto your shoulders. That’s what you have us for.”
“I appreciate your concern, Tomas, Travis—” he nodded at the Texan Reaper who’d lost his relaxed demeanor “—but it is the role of a father to lose sleep over his children. What am I here for if not to fret?”
“But you’re more important than any one of us combined, Master,” Travis said. “You have bigger things on your mind. Please, let us handle Janika and Nikolas. They don’t have to be your burden.”
“Anyway,” Death breathed out. “What do you have to report, Tomas?”
The Reaper of California gathered his thoughts like sheets of paper in a file. “Nikolas is back to peak health. I’ve reprimanded him for draining the souls. He can be an impertinent pup from time to time, but he values his role as Reaper of Georgia.” Pride puffed his chest. “I’ve told him about the probation. He assures me that it won’t happen again.”
“And you trust his word?” Death raised an eyebrow.
“With my life,” Tomas answered as if his words had been set in stone long ago.
“And I trust you, Tomas. Let’s just hope that no one gets hurt in the end.” Death paused, reflecting on his own words. Then he faced his second most powerful Reaper. “Travis, how is Janika? I know she can be a handful.”
Travis coughed into a fist, which suspiciously sounded like a cuss word. “Among other things, Master. But nothing I can’t handle. She’s like a Bronco ripe to be broken. All she needs is an experienced rider with sharp spurs to show her what it means to be obedient.”
Lines rose over the planes of Tomas’s face. “Why does everything that comes out of your mouth sound dirty?”
“Oh, stop looking like you’ve just sucked on a sour lemon, Number One.” Travis entwined his fingers over his stomach. “You’re the one with your head in the gutter.”
“Stop calling me that!”
“Master,” Travis interrupted before Tomas could say anything else, “I believe Janika just wants attention. She has bite, and can certainly put up a fight, but she’s not malicious.”
Death inclined his head. “Is that assessment based on your personal experience?”
Travis flushed. “Aww, Master, you didn’t have to put it that way.”
Roaring laughter rolled out of Tomas. He slapped the armrest of his chair. Both Death and Travis stared at him.
“You seem happier than usual, Tomas? Something I should know?”
The Reaper in question sobered as if he hadn’t laughed at all. “I believe our young Reapers will be fine, Master. Janika can’t possibly get into the kind of trouble Travis cooked up in his day.”
“Can we drop this conversation, please,” Travis said.
“Do you remember the Civil War?” Death smiled affectionately at the Texan who’d managed to turn redder than he already was.
“Nothing like his Old West days,” Thomas finally let himself unwind. “Remember the blue chaps he wore… they looked so ridiculous on him.”
Death’s golden laughter, a gift from the choir of heaven, resonated from his chest to the farthest reaches of his realm.
Chapter 12
IN THE LUNCH LINE, Arianne could only gaze with dismay at all the food, each one begging for her attention like a dog at the pound. Tater tots. Meat loaf. Mac-n-cheese. The spaghetti and meatballs she’d had with Niko still partied in her stomach. She grunted.
“What? No appetite?” Ben bumped her hip with his, moving her along. He reached for the plate heaped with tots and a slice of pizza the lunch lady gave to him.
“Good luck at the game, slugger,” the lunch lady said.
Ben gave her a megawatt smile when he noticed the extra helping of pepperoni.
Arianne studied him. “When’s the game?”
“Friday.” Ben grabbed two milk cartons and dumped one on Arianne’s empty tray. “If you’re not going to eat anything, might as well have milk. It’ll keep you going for the rest of the day.”
They swiped their lunch cards at the end of the line and ambled to their table.
“Does your lack of appetite have anything to do with the little book hunt Darla organized for you?” Ben slid into his seat and set his tray on the table like a flying saucer in for a landing.
“You heard about that?” Arianne rolled her eyes. “I suppose you would have. Darla loves letting everyone know about her latest plan to humiliate me. She made me go to Mrs. Whistle first! You know how she freaks me out.”
“That old bat freaks everyone out. Why do you think no one hangs around the office if they don’t have to?”
“Darla actually asked about Niko in gym today. I should have known better than to think she wouldn’t be suspicious.”
Ben whistled. “Blood’s in the water. What did you say?”
“That we didn’t have a real connection except for being new partners in chem.”
“And she bought that?”
“For now.” Arianne waited for Ben to get at least two bites of his pizza in before she said, “About this morning.”
“Don’t remind me,” Ben said between chews. He glanced over her shoulder. “Since he’s in school, I’m assuming that he’s all right.”
She peeked over her shoulder at Niko. He nodded once at her before returning to his conversation with Desmond. Arianne blushed for a second. Then she remembered why she ended up in the In Between with Niko.
“You won’t believe what happened.” Arianne played soccer with her milk carton.
“What’s with the sad face?” Ben leaned forward until she met his gaze.
“I saw Tammy’s mother today.”
“How is that possible when she’s—” Ben stopped mid-sentence and moved his chair closer to Arianne’s. He hooked an arm over her shoulders.
She buried her face into his chest and breathed in his cool scent, winning her battle against a new onslaught of tears. “I ran out of the chem lab after Tammy was called away. Niko followed me. I cried in his arms and he took me to this place.”
“You cried in his arms? And he let you?”
“Oh, shut up!” Arianne smacked his shoulder. “He’s a nice guy. He comforted me. Brought me to the In Between.”
“The
“It’s this place. Like an alternate dimension where he controls everything. You should have seen it. A beautiful lake. A dock. And every time I asked for something, all he had to do was close his eyes and it would appear. He’s not human.”
Ben took his time repositioning his plate in front of him. “This is by far the craziest thing you’ve ever told me.”
“Why can’t you look me in the eye?”
“I’m thinking.”
“Of what?”
“How ridiculous this sounds.”
Arianne tore open the lip of her milk carton and drank several draughts. “I know.” She put the carton down
