Prologue

“It’ll be fine, trust me.”

I laughed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear.  I could never make a perfect ponytail; my hair would always fall out.

“I do trust you,” I said. “What I don’t trust is all of this.”

He looked at me with pleading blue eyes. “Oh, come on!  We’ve done plenty of missions just like this one, what makes you think it’ll end any differently?”

I bit my lip.  He was right, I was probably nervous about nothing. “Fine, I guess you’re right.”

He smiled and threw his arm across my shoulders. “That’s ma girl!” he exclaimed as he lead me toward the car that would take us to the site that needed secured.

Keith let me get in the car first, then slid in next to me and held out a little box with a bow on it.

“What’s this?” I asked as I took it from him.

“Just a little something I got you,” he said as I looked up at him. “Open it.”

I gave him a little half smile as the car started to move, untying the bow and opening the box right after.  Inside was a gold necklace with the words ‘Best Partner Ever.’

“Dude,” I said as I looked up at him. “What’s the occasion?”

He smiled the big, toothy grin he gave only me. “This will be our hundredth assignment.  Why’d you think I pushed so hard for us to take this job?”

I smiled and pulled him into a hug, thinking how cheesy it was for him to count our assignments like that.  I pulled away and took the necklace out of the box and undid the clasp, going to put it around my neck when Keith stopped me.

“Allow me,” he said as he carefully took both ends from me.  I just shook my head and turned as best I could in the cramped car as he slid it around my neck, my hand finding the gold letters as he clamped the ends together.

I looked up at his adorable grin and smiled.  He’s really the best partner ever, I thought.  Not me, him.

“You’re really cheesy, ya know that?” I said as the car stopped.

“Yeah,” he said. “But what fun would it be if I wasn’t?”

I had to admit, his cheesiness was one of the things I liked most about him, and I could never imagine a better partner to have my back in dangerous times like these.

We slid out of the car and walked up to the building, pulling the guns from our waistbands as we approached.  We looked at each other from each side of the door, then went in at the same time without even needing a signal.

We just knew each other that well.

He nodded towards the stairs and I understood immediately, heading for the steps while he checked down there.  I tried my best to be quite, evenly distributing my weight and trying my best not to lose my balance, but when one of the stairs creaked, I stopped dead in my tracks.

That’s when everything went wrong.

“Help!” I heard Keith shout from below, and I quickly turned and took the steps two at a time to get to him faster.  I went in the direction his cry came from, knowing that every moment was precious, finally rounding a corner and seeing him held at gunpoint.

“Put the weapon down,” I said, pointing my own at the man holding him by the shoulders.

“No,” he said, thrusting the point of the gun at Keith’s temple. “All of you are just ruining things!  Being trained so young!”

“What are you talking about?” I asked, taking a small step forward. “It’s always been this way.”

“No,” he said, taking two steps backwards. “No, it has not.”

He dropped the gun and I surged forward, but I was too late.  The man pulled out a knife and stabbed Keith in the throat, the blood oozing down his front as the man pulled out the knife.

I shot the man in the chest and he fell to the floor, dying within seconds as I crouched beside Keith, placing my hands over the wound to try and stop the bleeding.

“No,” I whispered as he looked up at me with dulling eyes. “Don’t you dare leave…”

It was no use; he died right after the words had left my mouth.  A sob escaped me and I huddled over his crumpled form, wondering why it had to be him--the best person as well as partner--and not me.  Why did he have to send me upstairs?

I subconsciously played with his dark brown hair as everything else was completely forgotten in those moments, and I cried over his body, afraid of what my future would be without him.

And then, everything came rushing back as it happened.