CHAPTER SIX
“HAVE A SEAT, TESSA.” PRINCIPAL PELLI MOTIONED to the boxy wooden chair in front of his desk. I’d been a little nervous before, but now, actually being in his office made me very uneasy. The return of SOS had frayed my nerves.
“What’s going on?” I asked, sounding guilty even though I was sure I’d done nothing wrong. At least, nothing lately.
“It’s about the squad.” The principal took off his glasses and began cleaning them with the white handkerchief from his desk. “We have a problem.”
Lucy in the sky with diamonds! Did he know about the copy-Kitten? Did he know what we’d been doing for the past two years? “Problem?” I squeaked.
Principal Pelli nodded, slipping his glasses back on his nose. “I’ve sat in on a few of the Smitten Kittens’ practices, Tessa. Things are not looking good. Coach Taylor is concerned.”
“He shouldn’t be. Kira is completely capable and—”
“I know she’s your friend.” Principal Pelli held up his hand to stop me. “But last routine, they had to call an ambulance after Izzie fell during a lift.”
“Human pyramid,” I corrected.
He raised his eyebrows.
“Sorry. You were saying?” I wasn’t sure what exactly Principal Pelli wanted from me. I wasn’t the captain.
“Listen, Tessa,” he said in a quiet voice. “The squad has been very popular over the last few years, bringing in tons of revenue from the games. Lord knows the team wasn’t attracting the crowds,” he mumbled.
The Wildcats had been on a three-year losing streak until they’d made Aiden point guard for his senior year. I smiled. He was so athletically gifted.
“But after last season’s playoff debacle,” Principal Pelli continued, “things haven’t been the same. The Smitten Kittens don’t inspire the image we want for the school, and they definitely aren’t preselling many tickets. Part of that is due to your hasty exit, and part is due to Kira’s inexperience. If I don’t see some changes quickly, I’m going to have to ask her to step down.” He paused before delivering the final blow. “I need your help.”
My face grew hot as embarrassment washed over me. It was one thing for my personal trainer and hairdresser to know about my meltdown in center court last year, but it was something completely different for the principal—the education chief of staff—to call what happened a debacle. I mean, he was right. But it still stung.
“How can I help?” I asked quietly.
“I want you back on the squad. I want you to make sure that the homecoming game goes off without a hitch. Or an ambulance. It’s our biggest game of the season.”
I shook my head, confused. “But sir, I’m not on the squad anymore. I can’t just… show up in uniform.”
“Can’t you?”
I looked down into my lap, perplexed by this new turn of events. I’d given the power to Kira. It wouldn’t be right for me to just take it away without letting her have a real shot. Besides, it wasn’t totally my decision. Smitten Kitten rules would require a vote. “No,” I said, meeting his gaze. “I can’t.”
He exhaled loudly. “Then I’m sorry, but I—”
“However,” I interrupted, holding up my index finger. “I will sit in on the practices and help the squad put together some cheers for the game.”
He smiled, looking relieved. “Thank you, Tessa.”
I nodded and stood up. My anxiety returned as I began to consider how I would tell Kira about this conversation, but then I decided that maybe it was best if I didn’t. Kira wasn’t great with pressure. And it would be totally natural for me to show up more, given the recent turn of events.
Yeah, Kira and stress didn’t mix. Last time we went to our annual cheer competition, she’d puked in her megaphone during the finals. It was horrific.
After closing the principal’s door behind me, I passed through the front office. Peggy was giving me a wayward glance—like maybe she’d been listening over the intercom the entire time. I tried to look cheerful, but the pain in my back made me pause mid-step.
“Everything okay?” Peggy asked. I winced but forced a smile.
“Peachy.” Truth was, I felt sourer than I wanted to admit.
When lunch arrived, I found out that the Smitten Kittens were having a squad meeting (that I wasn’t invited to), and I was left to hurry through my test, then plop down in the cafeteria among the smells of processed meat and steamed corn. It wasn’t a really great day, and now I only had a few minutes to regroup.
“Hey, Tessa,” Chris Townsend said, coming to stand at the end of the lunch table.
I turned in my seat, surprised to feel more than a little relieved. Sitting by yourself was rather humiliating, especially when the word around campus was that I was a desperate ex-Kitten who still hooked up with her ex-boyfriend (sort of).
“Hi,” I replied, motioning for Chris to sit down. He offered me a flawless smile as he eased onto the seat. His cologne was a bit stronger than I preferred, but his adorable button-up shirt made up for that. I was trying really hard to notice the little things about people. The barista at Starbucks said it’d be good for me.
“So I was wondering,” he said quietly. “Would you come to my party Saturday after next? If not, it’s totally cool. I just—”
“Oh…” I hadn’t been expecting that. It wasn’t like I had plans, but—
“Party?” Izzie squealed, appearing suddenly and plopping down in the seat next to Chris. She looked positively elated. I knew I’d been out of the loop for while, but it seemed odd for her to be that pleased. Izzie didn’t really like jocks. “Is it a costume party?” She beamed. “I love those.”
“No…” he said slowly.
“Tessa will be there,” Leona said, walking over to sit across from us. Her lips were dark red, making her resemble a fifties pinup model. It was a fabulous look for her! I hoped this meant she’d worked things out with Marco.
“I will?” I darted a glance around the table just as Leona kicked my shoe.
“Yes,” she said through gritted teeth. “We’ll all be there.”
“Awesome.” Chris grinned, looking completely stoked that it’d been decided. I felt a little uneasy but forced back a tight smile. I liked to leave my weekends open in case Aiden came to town.
“Sounds great.”
I waited until he was gone and crossing the crowded lunchroom before turning to face Leona. “What was that about?”
Leona popped a stick of gum in her mouth, looking bored. “You’ll see,” she said with a wink.
Izzie giggled from next to me. They were definitely up to something, but it would have to wait. My phone vibrated in my pocket.
Holy Macintosh! It was Mary again. Before I could decide what to do, the ringing stopped. Had she hung up? Hm. Maybe she’d misdialed. I decided to wait to see if she’d call back. It could have been considered stalling, since I had no idea what I’d tell her about SOS or cheerleading, but I liked to think of it as proper etiquette. Oprah once pointed out that a person should plan what they’re going to say before speaking up. And Oprah was never wrong.
After lunch, Izzie and Leona went to the library for study hall as I slowly made my way to sociology class. I was halfway to my locker when I heard it—a new rumor. I only caught pieces of the story as I walked, but it still made me stop cold in my tracks.
SOS.
It was Robert Bullard. SOS (the real one) had caught him last year, cheating on his girlfriend with her cousin. It had been a really messy assignment. Lots of stakeouts, lots of…positions. Gross. Sometimes I hated thinking about those days.
I glided over to the right side of the hall and bent down, pretending to take a drink from the water fountain as I listened.
“Yeah,” he said, his nasally voice tinged with anger. “Apparently some bitches put together a website about cheating boyfriends.”
I choked on the water.
“No way.” Robert’s friend Shane rubbed at his pimply chin. “Wait. That would totally explain that break-in!”
“Yep.” Robert shook his head. “Heard about that. Some dude’s computer got f*cked. Then there was this list of guys posted on the internet. Something called the ‘Naughty List.’ ” He scoffed.
“And no one knows who’s behind it?”
I gulped, my breath coming out in gasps. The copy-Kitten must have done something. A…website? I was about to hyperventilate.
“Nope,” Robert said. I sighed with relief. “But they call themselves SOS.”
“Oh, shit, man!” Shane said. “Do you think that’s how Melinda found out about you last year?”
“Probably,” Robert said, looking angry. As if SOS was the problem and not his cheating. “Like you said, it explains a lot. All I know is whoever it is, they’re going down.”
“I’m with you, bro.” Shane reached out to slap hands with him.
I straightened, my heart in my throat, and backed away from the fountain. Just as I was about to hurry down the hall, Robert called out to me.
“Hey, Tessa,” he said, his voice making goose bumps crawl across my flesh. (Once you’d heard someone talk dirty, even the most innocent remarks felt tainted.)
“Hi,” I replied, forcing a smile.
Robert grinned as Shane ogled me. “Heard about you and Aiden,” he said. “That’s too bad; he’s a real good guy.”
I couldn’t tell if he was being honest or checking to see if he had the go-ahead to ask me out. By the pervy smirk on his lips, I decided it was the latter.
“Thanks. I’ll tell him you said so.”
His smile faltered. “Cool,” he answered, nodding. “Well, see you around.”
My heart was still racing. They’d just been talking about SOS. They knew there was an SOS. And now it was just a matter of time until they found out the Smitten Kittens had started it! My fingers began to tremble, and I started to walk down the hall.
“By the way,” Robert called after me. “The squad sucks now. You were the best one.”
“And the hottest,” Shane added, and they both chuckled.
I swallowed hard and raised my hand in a gesture of acknowledgment, blinking back my tears. SOS was out. Now all of our tails were on the chopping block.
I wasn’t feeling emotionally stable enough to endure Mr. Rothstein’s latest sociology rant—probably a lesson on ethics again or the cruelty of popularity in today’s society. Instead of heading to class, I took out my phone and dialed Aiden’s dorm room.
“Please answer,” I murmured, feeling the flood of tears that was about to break through me.
“Hey, it’s Aiden. I’m not here, so leave a message.”
My heart nearly crumbled. I needed him. Right now. “Aiden, it’s me,” I said into the phone, my voice cracking. “When you get this, can you call me back? It’s an emergency.” He wasn’t answering. Seemed like lately, he was never there when I needed him.
“Hey, Tess.”
I jumped and spun around, clutching my phone like a weapon. “Joel!”
He laughed, holding up his hands as he stepped back. “Um… have you been taking a lot of self-defense classes lately? Because you’re starting to scare me. You’re like Master Tessa with the kung fu phone.”
I smiled, breathing deeply to calm myself down. At least my back spasm had temporarily disappeared. “More grasshopper than master.”
“Naw. You’re a total black belt.” Joel checked his watch and glanced back at me. “You’re late,” he said. “Were you calling for a ride or something?”
I knitted my eyebrows. “Ride? Oh, no. I was desperately trying to get a hold of Aiden.” Suddenly the worry came back over me. SOS. People knew.
“Kira told me you and Aiden broke up,” Joel said.
“Sort of.” I really wished people would stop pointing that out. I mean, did I go around making verbal observations about anyone else’s love life? Or “sort of” love life?
“Sounds complicated,” Joel said, making a face. “And I think complicated”—he leaned toward me—“kinda bites.”
I nodded. “Believe me, it does.”
We both sighed at the same time and looked at each other. “Jinx?” he asked.
“No, I think we have to say the same thing for it to be a jinx. Sighs don’t count—”
“Don’t count—” He broke in to finish my sentence.
We both paused. “Jinx.” We laughed.
“Okay,” he said. “Don’t talk yet. What were you desperately in need of? Now, I’m no Aiden Wilder—mostly because I suck at sports—but maybe I can be of service in another way. I’m a good listener.…”
My smile faded. I needed Aiden. I had major life drama to deal with. First, Principal Pelli’s ultimatum with the squad and then the SOS outing—which would most certainly lead to a Smitten Kittens outing, eventually ending in social upheaval. It was almost too much. I wanted to talk to someone, but I didn’t think Kira’s boyfriend was the obvious choice.
“Sorry, Joel,” I said. “It’s a secret.”
He smiled deviously, and his offset tooth looked extra-adorable under his curved lip. “Secret, huh?” he whispered, leaning closer to me. “You know that only makes me want to know more, right?”
Hm. He had a good point. “It’s not important,” I said, in an attempt to dismiss it. But when he rubbed his palms together excitedly, I knew I’d said too much.
“Okay.” I took his arm to pull him closer. “But you can’t say anything. Not a word.”
“Um…” He looked around the hallway, swinging his head back and forth dramatically. “Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” He paused, crinkling his nose. “Not really. Not the needle thing—it sounds much too painful.”
I stared at him for a second, then laughed. Even though Joel and I hadn’t known each other that long, I liked him. He seemed completely trustworthy. And right now, I couldn’t say that about a lot of people.
“So Principal Pelli called me into his office,” I whispered.
“Troublemaker,” Joel teased.
I gave him a mock glare before continuing. “He…” I swallowed hard. “He wants me to take back the captainship of the Smitten Kittens.”
Joel straightened up and ran his hand through his brown hair. “Whoa. That’s bad.”
“I know. Kira would die. I have no idea how to tell—”
“Hey!” Kira called, jogging down the hall, her cheer skirt flopping up as she came to stand next to Joel. She hooked her arm in his. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she said to him, smiling.
“Right. Sorry.” Joel stared at the ground, looking worried. I regretted telling him anything, because it would surely put him in an awkward position. He looked at me. “I was…helping Tessa with something.”
Kira glanced between me and Joel. She furrowed her brow. “With what?”
“K, I need to talk to you,” I said firmly. I didn’t want Joel to be the one to tell her first. Once Kira heard that the principal and coach didn’t believe in her cheerleading ability, her self-esteem would be blown. But I had to say something. Right? I mean, how else would it look if I started coming to all the practices and telling her what to do?
Joel cleared his throat and shook his head slightly. “I have to go,” he said loudly. “But Tessa, I’ll get in touch with you later about that physics assignment.”
“Ugh,” Kira said. “I hate fortune-tellers.”
Both Joel and I turned to her and then back to each other. He smiled. “Don’t start on it without me, okay?” he asked.
Obviously he didn’t want me to tell Kira about the squad stuff, and maybe he was right. I was ready to take any excuse to get out of what would be an uncomfortable conversation with Kira. And besides, I had bigger pom-poms to shake.
“Okay,” I agreed.
Joel mimed wiping sweat from his forehead and then leaned down to give Kira a quick kiss on the nose. “I’ll catch up with you after school,” he said, untangling his arm from hers.
“But I thought…” Kira looked confused, a pout pulling at her well-glossed lips. “Never mind. I’ll see you then.”
Joel gave her hand a quick squeeze before walking away and down the hall. When I looked back at Kira, she was crying.
I widened my eyes and reached out to touch her arm. “Weeping willow, K! What’s wrong?”
“I think he’s breaking up with me,” she sobbed. “You know what I realized, Tess? He said space, as in needing space! He doesn’t like me anymore.”
“My word, no!” I immediately wrapped my arm around her in a hug, her blonde curls tickling my face. I couldn’t believe she was thinking so negatively. “Hey,” I said, pressing my lips into a smile as I pulled back to look her in the eyes. “He’s totally smitten with you, K. He practically told me so earlier.”
“Earlier?” she squeaked, blinking quickly. She dabbed at her black mascara, which had begun to pool under her eyes. “What did he say?”
I rotated my torso a few times as I spoke, stretching out my back. “I saw him in the hall after the meeting and mentioned the space thing. Sorry, K. It just slipped out. Anyway, he said that he thought maybe you wanted a break, but I assured him that you didn’t. And he was completely relieved.” I smiled, but Kira didn’t look happy.
“You guys were talking about our relationship?”
“Not really, we just…” I exhaled. I’d really thought it would cheer her up, knowing that he still adored her. But now she was getting upset instead. “Look, he loves you, K. That was all he said.”
Her jaw clenched just a little before she finally smiled. Kira had been stressed lately, and I didn’t need to make it worse by bringing up her boyfriend or mentioning cheerleading. No, I would have to go about this differently. Carefully.
Just as I was about to apologize again, Leona came running down the hall with Izzie in tow. “Bathroom,” she called. “Now!”
My stomach twisted at the urgency in her voice. Kira and I darted ahead of them into the girls’ room, exchanging a nervous glance.
Then the bathroom door swung open, banging against the wall with a loud clang. Leona was standing there with her cell phone in hand, her brown hair wild around her face.
“Holy crap, where have you two been?” she demanded, letting go of Izzie’s sleeve.
“I was looking for Joel,” Kira said, splashing cold water on her face. “And Tessa…was talking to him. To Joel, I mean.” She paused, water dripping down her cheeks before she reached over to crank out a paper towel.
“Look,” I said toward the girls, making my tone very serious. “Before you say anything, I need to tell you . . . I heard something awful in the hallway.”
Leona narrowed her eyes and looked me over. “What kind of awful? Spill.”
I took a deep breath. “I overheard Robert Bullard talking about SOS. He knew the name.” My heart was pounding in my chest, but Leona didn’t look nearly as stunned as I’d thought she should. “Did you hear me?” I asked.
“Tell her,” Izzie said, nudging Leona with her elbow. My breath caught in my chest. The floral smell in the bathroom mixed with my newly perspiring underarms was making me nauseous.
“Don’t get your bloomers in a bunch,” Leona warned. “But you have to look at this.” She held out her cell, and I leaned over its tiny display. I squinted. It showed a new message from the SOS e-mail account.
“They have a blog?” Well, it wasn’t a website, but close enough. And just as bad.
Kira pushed in next to me. “Really? That’s awesome. Why didn’t we think of that?”
“Because we were top secret, stupid,” Leona snapped.
“Or maybe you didn’t know how to set up a blog,” Kira shot back.
Leona scoffed, brushing her bangs away from her face. “Please, blogs are so easy to set up, even you could do it. And we both know how hopeless you are with technology. Hello, Facebook disaster of sophomore year.”
“I’ve been working on it!” Kira shouted back.
My brain was going fuzzy with tension overload when the bathroom door swung open, nailing Leona on the shoulder.
“What the hell?” she screamed. The culprit behind the swinging door was Chloe Ferril.
Chloe’s red mouth spread into a sarcastic grin as she looked from face to face. “Did they relocate cheer practice to the bathroom now?” She laughed to herself and waltzed in, her boots echoing through the tiled room. “Probably a good idea, since your routines are shit.”
Kira growled under her breath as Chloe elbowed past us into the handicapped stall and closed the door. Leona came to stand next to me, rubbing her shoulder. “Are you setting up the surveillance?” she whispered in my ear, nodding toward the closed metal door. “I just know it’s her. Bitch hit me with a door.”
“And my routines rock,” Kira hissed quietly, biting at her nail and sidling up next to me. “We just need more practice. God, I hate her. You should totally fight her again, Tess. Only this time, kick her ass.”
I darted a glance at her. I felt a hand on my shoulder as Izzie joined us. “I can’t believe she’s using the handicap stall,” she whispered. “That’s so tacky. She’s not even disabled.”
The toilet flushed with a loud whoosh, and we scattered to our respective sinks, as though we hadn’t been loitering.
“Ready for homecoming?” Chloe asked, stepping up behind Kira and me to run her hands under the water.
“I’m not a cheerleader, remember?” I answered, holding her stare.
She turned off the faucet before shaking out her hands into the sink. “That’s right.” She winked. “Forgot.”
She moved back, studying her reflection as she brushed her hands through her long blonde hair—the only evidence of the old Chloe, the schemer who’d tried to steal Aiden. She sighed. “Well, good luck with that,” she said, shooting a glance at Kira.
“Thanks, wench,” Kira returned, turning away from her.
I half expected Leona to trip Chloe as she walked out, but instead she held open the door for her. Once Chloe was gone, Leona pushed the door closed and turned back to us, her mouth hanging open.
“Did you see that?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Kira said, bending toward the mirror to reapply her lip gloss. “Black is so not her color.”
“Not that,” Leona said. “She didn’t even use soap to wash her hands! That’s completely unsanitary.”
“And totally nasty,” Izzie echoed.
Although I fully agreed that hygiene was important, we needed to focus. I’d been hoping that Robert had been mistaken about SOS breaking into someone’s house to wipe their computer files. I mean, SOS had hacked plenty of computers, but to clear the hard drive? That was harsh. Still it was obvious after the latest message—and now the news of the blog—that this faux Kitten meant business.
I rested my shaking hands on the cold porcelain of the sink. I’d never thought the copy-Kitten’s ruse would get this far. Saying you’re the Society of Smitten Kittens was one thing, but actually performing missions? That was appalling!
“I meant to tell you,” Izzie said, looking at me wide-eyed. “While Sam and I were arguing last night, my grandpa clicked in to tell me that someone had broken into his garage. He didn’t think anything was stolen, but my bet is that some of our equipment is gone.”
“Figured that,” Leona said. “I don’t blame them. I had an impressive spy gear collection.” She looked at Izzie. “And sorry about the arguing with Sam.”
Izzie waved it off with her hand. “It was nothing. No bigs.”
I wanted to crawl into a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. This copy-Kitten had rep-assassinated us and stolen our goods. Would the horror never end?
I let the voices of the squad fade to background noise for a minute as I concentrated hard. I rubbed my eyes and, when I finally opened them, I stared at my reflection. Blotchy. Scared.
“I have to go,” I said suddenly, spinning to face them. I had an assignment to complete.
“Now?” Leona asked. “You look like you’re going to puke, Tess. Maybe you should sit down.”
“Ew, on the toilet?” Kira asked, scrunching her nose in the direction of the stall.
“Maybe we can go to the mall?” Izzie interjected, obviously still itching to use her plastic.
Leona and Kira seemed to consider this, but I interrupted. “No,” I said. “You girls need to practice, get your cheers in order. I have other business to handle. Business involving a certain pouty blonde with an affection for the unholy.”
“Black is still not her color,” Kira added.
“Totally,” I agreed, keeping my voice authoritative. (It helped inspire confidence.) “Now, I’ll run my surveillance and call to set up a rendezvous point for later. Agreed?”
The Kittens stared back at me, looking a bit stunned.
“Whoa,” Leona said, a smile tugging at the corners of her dark lips. “You sounded like the old Tessa just now.”
“It was pretty cool.” Izzie giggled.
“Well…good.” I straightened my posture. The old Tessa would have totally kicked spying tush right about now.
The bell overhead rang and Kira groaned. “I’ve got to jet. Practice immediately after school,” she said, holding up her finger in warning to the girls. “Spread the word.”
“Yes, captain,” Leona said with an eye roll and a salute.
Kira glanced at me. “Good luck, Tess.” She smiled supportively and I nodded, watching as she left.
After Leona and Izzie followed her, I waited and turned to examine my reflection once again. Did I still know how to spy? Investigating someone like Chloe, someone I was clearly connected with, was a conflict of interest. Would I be able to objectively collect information?
The skin under my eyes looked puffy, and I sighed heavily. Then with only the sound of my shoes echoing on the tile floor, I walked up to the bathroom door, yanked it open, and headed out.
It was time to get back to basics. It was time to channel the skirt.
ASSIGNMENTS 1 & 2
5:00 P.M., SEPTEMBER 15
Riley and Jenn were sitting together in a vinyl booth at Mel’s Pizza sharing a slice as the operative observed them. Both seemed a little distracted, but every so often, Riley leaned in to give Jenn a quick kiss. The operative squinted, trying to understand.
Both Riley and Jenn were starting relationships with other people—or so it seemed. How could they so boldly flaunt their infidelity, then act affectionate in public, as though nothing were wrong?
The operative adjusted her black baseball cap downward before reaching for the straw of her cherry Coke, all the while peering from beneath the cap’s bill. She’d never seen a case like this. It would require a serious cheater case study.
Just then, the door to the pizza shop jangled open. The operative glanced over and nearly choked on her carbonated beverage. It was Megan Wright…and she looked stunned.
Riley had been resting his head on Jenn’s shoulder, laughing easily when Megan walked in. Living life, unaware that his sins were about to confront him. When he saw her, he immediately straightened up, but the hurt on Megan’s face was plain. Even as she bravely tried to smile.
“Meg!” Jenn called out, waving her over. “Sit with us.”
The operative tilted her head, enjoying this turn of events. There’d be no way Megan could act her way through this. She was about to get busted. The operative slipped her hand into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out a tiny metal device, which she slipped in her ear. From across the room, she’d be able to hear anything. Even a whisper. Thank you, infomercial.
Megan looked from Jenn to Riley, then she pursed her lips and nodded. She walked over to the booth and slid in across from Jenn—directly next to Riley. The tension was delicious. The operative happily picked up her slice of pizza and took a bite.
“I haven’t seen you in forever,” Jenn said to Megan, reaching in her purse to pull out a tube of lip gloss. “Where’ve you been?”
“Um…I’ve been studying. My classes are tough this semester.” Megan glanced sideways at Riley, but he kept his eyes trained on the table.
“You’re such a nerd.” Jenn laughed, touching her mouth with the napkin.
Riley started to open his mouth, then looked quickly back down at the table. Had he been about to defend his accomplice? The operative smiled. Riley exposing himself like that would be a lethal mistake.
Jenn sighed and glanced at her watch. “I have to babysit in half an hour,” she said to Riley. “You ready?”
He nodded, his face turning a deep pink. Jenn looked at him strangely, then rolled her eyes and slid from the booth. “I’ll be right back; I have to pee first.” She took one last sip from her drink before heading past the counter to the back restrooms.
“I’m so sorry, Meg,” Riley murmured to Megan the minute his girlfriend was out of sight. “I didn’t mean to—”
“I have to go,” Megan said, the vinyl of the seat sticking to her thighs as she moved away from him. “I can’t do this anymore. Tell Jenn I’ll call her later.” Megan grabbed her purse angrily before jumping to her feet.
The operative tilted her head. For a second, she admired Megan’s loyalty to her friend. But what she saw next made her lip curl. Megan paused at the end of the booth; suddenly she leaned down, her blonde hair falling forward to block the operative’s view. She bent toward Riley’s ear.
“I love you too,” she whispered. Then, without even buying what she came for, she walked out of the shop.
The operative’s stomach turned. She was momentarily stunned by Megan’s careless statement. Megan wasn’t allowed to tell him that. She wasn’t allowed to do that! This was treachery in the first degree.
Reaching up to remove the listening device from her ear, the operative accidentally bumped into the table, knocking over her cherry Coke.
“Shit,” she said, jumping away as the liquid streamed to the floor. When Riley glanced over his shoulder at her, she nearly passed out. But he chuckled at the party foul without seeming to register the operative’s presence.
Exhaling in relief, she then grabbed her leather backpack and headed toward the exit, trying to wrap her mind around the interactions she’d been witnessing. This was too complicated, and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to prove anything.
“I know, Tate.”
The operative stopped mid-step and glanced down the hallway to the bathroom. Jenn was standing there, pressing her cell to one ear.
“I’ll be there,” she murmured. “Ten thirty tomorrow at Skinner Butte.” She smiled. “I’ll see you then.”
Before Jenn could look up, the operative turned on her heels and made for the front door. Score one for the spy.