Page 78 of Grim

“There can be noslipsin this, and yet here we are, on our back with a banana peel on our face. You gifted that mortal unknowable knowledge and forgot to hang on to the receipt.”

“I didn’t mean to! I already apologized. What else do you want me to do?”

“I can tell you what you shouldnotdo, and that’s take a mortal on your assignments like she’s on a school field trip to the zoo.”

“She’s twenty-six, D. She can just go to the zoo if she wants.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Big D fumes, and I can literally see smoke come out of his ears as he paces. He reaches down, yanking a Twizzler from the bubbling water, and takes a bite off one end before pointing it at me like a sword. “This isn’t a buddy-cop comedy, Kane. She’s not your sidekick. She’s your burden. You supervise her. Until she crosses. Got it?”

I bristle internally. Big D always grates on my nerves, but his flippant tone and dismissive attitude where Rue and her last days are concerned twist a particularly sensitive spot inside me.

“I cannot tie her up every time I have to leave her side, D. That’s ridiculous.”

“Of course you can. And you will. This is a run out the clock situation, Kane. Make sure she doesn’t play any tricks on Fate and Time. You don’t want to piss them off any more than you already have.”

“Got it, boss,” I say in a clipped tone.

“You’ve reaped thousands, maybe tens of thousands of souls, Kane. She’s just one more.”

The second he utters the glib remark, I cannot stop the thought from forming. Rue is so much more than just another soul to me. Her spirit brims with untapped energy and shines with an earnestness I’ve never seen before. She deserves so much more than she’s gotten out of life, and she will get as much as she can from her last days, even if it means sacrificing my own soul in the process to make that happen.

“Watch your tone, D.” I speak in a low growl, the words coming unbidden.

Now the center of his dark black eyes sparks with flame.

I’ve done it again. Why can’t I keep my mouth shut?

Big D’s mouth breaks open in a huge grin. “She isjust another soul, right?”

My spine straightens. “Sure,” I say quietly, unable to say anything else. Apparently, that works, too, because my silence is speaking volumes to him.

He claps his hands once with thunderous effect. “Oh Kane, don’t tell me you’re getting sweet on her.” At my blank response, he laughs—a deep, resonant sound that physically moves the air around us. “This is too good. You’re growing feelings for the mortal whose timeline you distorted, and now you’re dancing very close to the realm of Fate’s tapestry. I can’t imagine she’s got enough thread to weave you into Rue’s picture. Oh, I cannot wait to see how all this plays out.” He brings his hands in front of his mouth and claps obnoxiously before dancing his fingertips against each other like a cartoon villain.

“She’s kind,” I murmur, jaw tight. “Kind in a way I haven’t seen in centuries. She listens, even when she’s scared. She believes in people, even when she shouldn’t. She stayed to comfort an old man who had nothing left in the world but a dog.”

Big D quiets. Just for a second. His smirk falters. “So, you’re willing to put your position of privilege in my very regimented society on the line because she had a chat with a doddering old man?”

“I’m willing to make sure her last days matter.”

His black eyes spark gold, then red. “You’re getting reckless, Kane. This is exactly what Fate warned about.”

“She’s not hurting anyone.”

“Not yet.” He throws up his hands and spins toward the bar cart. He stops abruptly, his right hand flying to the top of the cart.

D presses an intercom button, and a squeaky voice immediately speaks. “Yes, sir? What is it, sir?”

“April, make me one of those free-standing popcorn machines. With the good butter.”

“Whatever you wish, sir,” April, his receptionist, responds, no hint of confusion or surprise in her voice. She must field ludicrous requests from him on a regular basis.

“She’s not a source of entertainment,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Oh, but she is,” Big D hums, pouring a drink. “And it sounds like you might be the leading man in the tragedy to come.”

“I’m not developing feelings, D. Unless you considerpain in my assto be a feeling.”

“Methinks the reaper doth protest too much.” D smirks.