Be the Death of Me Read Free Page A

point. “Meet your new partner.”

Tucker
    She’s somewhat less than thrilled to meet me, that much is painfully obvious. Steam practically pours from her ears as she storms out of the office and into the corridor.
    Aside from the scowl, she’s just as pretty as I remember, nearly translucent skin, pale blue–gray glow. Her once blonde hair looks almost silver now, sparkling beneath the soft haze that surrounds each of us.  Beautiful in life, radiant in death: the unfair trade with which we’ve all come to terms.
    Then again, unfair trades are the currency of this new existence. Hope for complacency. Expectation for obscurity. Possibility for indifference. Years of one–sided deals that sting like a dog bite and last for what feels like an eternity.
    But now, after years of applying for a job as a Guardian, I’m finally getting the chance to prove myself. And maybe, just maybe make up for lost time and past mistakes. True, Billie does have the worst record of any agent in the field, but perhaps that’s why the Captain put the two of us together. I know she doesn’t remember me–I would never be foolish enough to dream she would–but maybe the Captain thinks working with someone she shares a common bond with will put a spring in her step and smile on her lovely face.
    He is so very wrong.
    “Listen,” Billie says suddenly, tearing me from my thoughts. Her voice bounces around the bare, windowless corridor. “Just so we’re clear, I didn’t ask for this. So please don’t delude yourself into thinking this is some cosmic gift, alright? It isn’t fate. It isn’t karma. It’s a mistake. Plain and simple.”
    “I’m Tucker,” I say for the simple reason of forcing conversation. “Tucker Reid.” I sneak a glimpse in her direction, looking down at a shining ring of blonde hair.
    She ignores me. “It’s like Cap has no faith in me. Absolutely zero.”
    “I wouldn’t say zero. More like 50/50.”
    “Well, I hate to break it to him, but the last thing I need is a partner.”
    “Oh, I’m not your partner,” I volley into the rather one–sided conversation.
    “Meaning?” she asks without turning around.
    “The Captain . . . and the Elders . . . well, they think it might be best if I’m charge of this assignment. Not you.” I wait a moment, twisting the end of my tie into a loose knot. “So I guess that means I’m sort of . . . your boss now.”
    If I thought she was angry before, I was horribly, horribly mistaken. The look on her face stops me cold. She stares up at me.
    “What did you say?” she asks through clenched, albeit perfect teeth. She pinches the bridge of her nose like she’s preventing an oncoming migraine. I’ve suddenly lost the capacity to speak. It’s amazing how someone almost a foot shorter than me has the ability to make me feel as if I’m two feet tall. I stall by clearing my throat.
    “I’m . . . in charge?”
    She’s in my face, or level with my chest anyway, in less time than it takes for me to blink. “You’re wrong.” She shakes her head, spilling silver–blonde hair over her shoulders.
    I calmly place a hand on her arm. “Let me ask you something. In the last four years, how many assignments has the Captain given you?”
    She pulls away, either out of shame or lack of annoyance. “Six,” she calls back to me, traipsing ahead.
    I jog to catch up. “And out of those six, how many died under your watch?”
    This time she stops, frozen mid–step.
    “That’s what I thought,” I say, sweeping around to face her. “Listen. I want this to work, and I hope we can get around this particular obstacle, but this is how things are now. I’m sorry. I really am. I’m not trying to take your job, I swear, but–”
    “Don’t say you’re sorry if you’re not. I hate that,” she interrupts. “You’re not sorry you’re in charge of this assignment. You probably think this is great. You not only get promoted from your job in Sacrifice, you also