CHAPTER EIGHT
I WASN’T QUITE SURE HOW TO GET RID OF AIDEN. The situation had gotten dicey when the phone rang three more times during our hookup, but I was in no position to answer it. Leona was probably furious. And now it was nearly dark, and my mission to dig into Chloe’s extracurricular activities hadn’t even started.
I wound up convincing Aiden that he’d beat traffic on the freeway if he left right then. When he finally agreed, I told him to call me when he got back to the Washington State campus. I nearly brought up visiting him there but chickened out at the last second. I really needed to consult Cosmo on how to handle this situation first.
Once Aiden was gone, I texted Leona to apologize for missing her call, blaming it on a bad connection. Then I told her I’d call her the minute I’d collected the surveillance. Her only reply was “whatever.” Seemed that for me, spying and lying went hand in hand.
After deciding that being out in public in uniform—when I wasn’t a cheerleader—might be a bit obvious for undercover work, I changed into loose-fitting jeans and a gray Wildcats T-shirt. It still inspired a little pep.
I drove the winding Redmond streets toward Chloe’s father’s apartment in the old-town district. All the buildings here were nearly a hundred years old. Large porches, pastel exteriors—completely charming. Too bad none of that charm had worn off on Chloe.
It didn’t take long to find her because the minute I pulled onto Harper Boulevard, she came barreling out of the double doors of a mint-green house on the corner. I had to slam on my brakes and veer over to avoid being seen. Wow. That was close. My heart was racing.
While I waited for her to pull out of her driveway, I checked my reflection. A small smile tugged at my lips. My face was flushed, giving me that bit of color I’d seemed to be lacking lately. Spying suited me. Too bad it left my insides in knots.
When Chloe left her street, I began following her, careful to keep at least three car lengths back. It was probably better that it was evening. The fading light helped to conceal my car color.
She pulled her Honda into a near-empty parking lot, and I did a double take. A bookstore? Really? I mean, I’d discovered long ago that the bookstore was an excellent pick-me-up when I was feeling down. Especially the romance section. But Chloe didn’t strike me as the escapist type. Then again, she could be on an assignment of her own. Hm.
At least they had great coffee there—caramel Frappuccino (non-fat, of course)—and if I had a sec, I’d pick up a new mystery novel. It might take my mind off the real mystery that had become my life. I paused. I needed to refocus on this task. My mind was totally wandering! Very unprofessional.
I parked a row over and watched Chloe get out of her car, checking her reflection once in the side mirror. When she was inside, I pulled out my phone and texted Leona.
Target in sight. Bookstore.
She immediately answered. Funny. Didn’t know she could read.
I snorted and shut my phone, slipping it into my pocket. I didn’t have any official spy gear, but that was okay. I’d need to rely on my Kitten senses. In fact, this was the most alive I’d felt in weeks.
Careful to look casual and unnoticeable, I strolled toward the glass doors of the entrance. My intuition was telling me that Chloe was here as the copy-Kitten, but I’d have to catch her in the act. Maybe she was planting a listening device or conducting surveillance of her own. I narrowed my eyes and scoped the scene.
The well-lit store was complete with tall aisles of wooden bookcases that towered over me. The patterned maroon carpet had small pictures of coffee cups and pastries that pointed the way to the café in the back. My mouth was beginning to water.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a figure in black and immediately turned and headed for the first aisle, quickly grabbing a book and opening it to hide my face. When I felt like the coast was clear, I peered over the top of the binding.
Chloe was at the register, fingering through the bookmarks as she waited for a cashier. She didn’t have anything else in her hands, so I figured she was going to ask a question. I twitched my nose. Maybe she wasn’t here spying after all.
“Don’t get that one.” I jumped as someone spoke over my shoulder and lowered the book from my face. “The husband killed her for the insurance money. Totally obvious.”
I spun around to see Joel there, toting a stack of books in his arms. He smiled, flashing that adorably crooked tooth of his. He was wearing a striped button-up shirt, and his brown hair was tousled expertly. He was dressed up, but in a not-really-trying sort of way. I glanced down at the lavender cover in my hands and then back at him. “What are you doing here?” I asked, still trying to catch my breath. “You scared the dickens out of me.”
Joel stared, his mouth hanging open, then shook his head before reaching out to take my book. He set it on his stack, as though he planned to carry it for me. He was so chivalrous. “Dickens? Nice.” He laughed.
“I thought you and Kira were having dinner tonight.” I glanced back to see that Chloe was still at the register, talking to Jenn Duarte. Huh. Didn’t know she worked here. After a quick chat, Chloe headed off to the Self-help section.
“We are,” Joel said as I looked back at him. “But she was running late, so I’m just going to meet her at the restaurant.” He tilted his chin toward the registers. “Check out?”
I wondered if Kira and Izzie were with Leona as I crossed the patterned carpet. When we got to the register, Joel set the books down with a thud. Jenn smiled her hello, her short brown hair tucked behind her ears. Then she began unstacking the books to ring them up.
“So what are you doing here?” Joel asked me. “I saw your ex-boyfriend at school today. Thought maybe he was in town to see you. You two back together?”
My lips parted, but no response came to me. Even though I’d just spent the last few hours making out with Aiden, I knew we were no closer to being back together. What was happening to my self-worth? Oprah would be ashamed! My eyes began to water.
“Oh, shit. Did I say something wrong?” Joel reached over to touch my wrist. I batted my eyes, trying to contain my tears. It seemed like I’d been crying more often than not these days.
“No,” I said, my voice cracking. “I’m fine.” But I wasn’t. I felt…sort of trashy.
“Here,” Joel said, leading me by the elbow over to the café. Books temporarily forgotten, I let him lead me forward over the cups and croissants embroidered in the carpet.
We stopped at a bar-height table, and Joel pulled the stool out for me, its legs screeching on the wood floor.
“Stay here,” he said, looking worried.
I glanced out into the store but didn’t see Chloe in between the stacks of books. She’d probably left, which meant I’d failed my mission. My spying capabilities had obviously gotten a little rusty. I sighed heavily and took a napkin from the table. I shredded it quickly, only to put it back together as a mini-pom-pom. I sniffled. I missed cheering!
I tried to control the new flood of tears that had begun to wash over me, but before I knew it, something frosty nudged my forearm. I looked up to find a Frappuccino in front of me and a smiling Joel sitting in the other chair with a large bag full of books.
“For me?” I asked, holding up the drink.
“Yep. You looked like a Frap girl. Vanilla, right?”
I took a sip, smiling down at the calorie-laden drink. “Caramel,” I said between sips. “But this is pretty darn close.”
Joel sipped from his coffee cup and glanced around the room before looking back at me. “Do you want to talk about why you just dissolved into a blubbery mess at the register?” he asked.
“No, thank you.”
“Then we won’t. Do you want to talk about the meeting you had with the principal?”
“Ick. Not really.” I took a long sip from my drink, taking comfort in the yummy goodness of the whipped cream. I sat up straighter and met Joel’s kind stare.
Joel nodded as if truly considering something. “Fine,” he said. “Then we’ll talk about…” He paused and rubbed at his chin. “Fishing.”
I smiled. “Fishing?”
“Yeah,” he said, as if I was crazy to question the topic. “Fishing.”
“With worms and hooks?”
“So you know of it?”
I opened my mouth, trying to figure out if he was serious or teasing me. He looked completely serious—not even a smirk. “Yes, Joel. I’ve heard of fishing. Even went a few times with my dad when I was little.”
His mouth softened. “Really? Ever catch anything?”
“Not a thing.”
“Wow.” He shook his head. “You must have really sucked.”
“Be quiet!”
“It’s okay.” He laughed, reaching out to pat my hand. “I’m sure it was the fishes’ fault.”
I leaned into the hard backrest, feeling decidedly less depressed, but I crossed my arms over my chest in mock anger and narrowed my eyes. “And how about you, know-it-all? How many fish have you caught?”
Joel’s hazel eyes were amused. “Never been.”
I gasped, and he sipped at his drink like he hadn’t completely led me to believe he was a fish-catching expert. “Wow,” I mocked, running my fingertip down the condensation on my cup. “You must have been really lame as a kid.”
“Totally was,” he said without missing a beat. “Read mystery novels and taught myself to play guitar while everyone else was impaling worms on hooks. Weird, huh?”
I started laughing just as a figure came into view behind Joel’s shoulder. I gasped.
“Hey, Tess.” Aiden walked up, his hands shifted in the pockets of his khakis. “Saw you sitting over here. Wanted to say hi.”
My heart leapt from my chest as I ran my eyes over my favorite guy. “Hi,” I answered. I’d thought Aiden left for campus a while ago. Maybe he stayed for me. Maybe he missed me!
Joel extended his hand to Aiden. “Hey, man,” he said. Aiden nodded in greeting. “I should probably head out.” Joel exhaled, motioning at his seat for Aiden as he stood up. Then he faced me, his expression soft. “Thanks for the talk, Tessa,” he said. “And good luck hooking that fish.”
I smiled, wrapping both hands around my nearly empty cup. After Joel walked away, Aiden plopped down across from me, but it was obvious something was wrong. His eyes were a little red and his T-shirt was wrinkled. I was suddenly filled with dread. Why did he look so upset? Especially when he’d stayed behind to look for me?
“You look positively dismal, Aiden. Is everything okay?” I reached over to put my icy fingers on his. He looked down and smiled weakly. When he finally lifted his head, he stared deep into my eyes. But rather than being comforting, his gaze was completely unsettling. There was something on his mind.
“Everything’s all right,” he finally said, squeezing my hand reassuringly. “I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. When I saw you sitting here earlier…you just looked so sad. I couldn’t leave you like that.”
“Aww…” He really was sweet as honey.
“I—”
“Oh my God! A!”
My stomach twisted as Chloe Ferril came out from behind a bookshelf and beelined straight for my ex. Drats! She hadn’t left after all. And now she was taking away my Aiden time. I might have growled under my breath.
“Uh…hey,” Aiden said, looking back at me. I had just opened my mouth to talk when Chloe leaned in for a quick hug.
I tried not to let my blood boil over, seeing them together again. I had a lot of bad memories there. And it certainly didn’t help that Chloe’s red nails were clutching Aiden’s tanned skin possessively.
“Hey, Tessa,” she said without looking at me. Then she reached out to brush at Aiden’s hair. “You look so grown,” she cooed. “Oh, did you know that Mrs. Foster mentioned you in class the other day? It was so funny. She…”
The remains of my Frappuccino melted in my hand as I watched Chloe ramble on, obviously excited about Aiden’s return. And even though she still looked gothy—black blouse, dark eyeliner, heavy boots—her cleavage had made a return. Hm…you’d think she’d known to expect him.
“Did you want to grab a coffee?” she asked him, motioning toward the barista. She glanced at the clearly empty drink in my hand but didn’t invite me. The claws were about to come out.
It didn’t matter if Aiden and I were technically broken up; he could not—absolutely not—drink any kind of beverage with Chloe. If he said yes to her, there might be a Kitten fight in here.
“Sorry,” Aiden said, running a hand over his newly shortened hair, looking uncomfortable. “I have to head back up to school. I was just stopping to see Tessa.” Aiden looked at me and my stomach stopped twisting.
“Sure,” Chloe said, tossing her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “Well, I guess I’ll catch you next time you’re in town. Talk to you soon.”
She had started to walk toward the other side of the store when she paused and turned to me. “Hey, Tessa.” She smiled broadly, looking proud to have touched my ex-boyfriend in front of me. “Could you stop following me now? You’re really starting to creep me out.”
I squeaked with surprise, nearly too stunned to answer. I could feel Aiden glaring at me as I nodded. For the first time, I’d been busted while spying. It was humiliating!
With that Chloe spun toward the exit doors, looking completely pleased with calling me out.
“So,” Aiden said to me. I looked over, and he put his elbow on the table and rested his chin in his palm. “I’m not even going to ask what that was about.”
“Good.”
He shook his head. “You make me crazy, you know that, right? I couldn’t keep you out of trouble even if I tried.”
“Probably not,” I agreed. My entire body was tense with the situation. I couldn’t believe I’d been spotted. How was that possible? I’d been so careful.
“And you didn’t have to growl,” Aiden added. “I wasn’t going to get coffee with her.”
I laughed softly. So I actually growled? Even more embarrassing. “Aiden, you could have if you wanted. I’m not trying to hold you back.” But I was just saying that to sound less needy. Fact was, I was trying to hold on to him.
Aiden twitched his mouth, staring down at the table. “About that.” He paused, his green eyes not nearly as sparkly as before. “I was thinking…maybe you should consider dating a little. Other people, I mean.”
My entire body went rigid. I couldn’t respond; I just stared back at him, not moving.
“It’s just,” he continued, seeming to struggle with the words. “You’re so unhappy, baby. And I know I’m the reason—”
“Are you seeing other people?” Please say no. Please say no.
“No.”
I exhaled, completely relieved. But I couldn’t shake the stress rushing through me. “I don’t want to see anyone else, Aiden,” I whispered, trying to smile. “I like being with you.”
He pressed his lips together, reaching out to run his index finger down the skin of my arm. “I like being with you too. Sorry I brought it up.”
Well, glad that was settled. I would have pushed him to explain his thinking, or maybe the old Tessa would have, but I was completely stressed out. I needed to figure out (a) how to catch the copy-Kitten, (b) how to help the squad, and (c) what the hay was up with Aiden and me.
Aiden shifted in his seat. “All right, baby,” he said as he stood up. “I have to take off. You going to be okay to get home?” He glanced over his shoulder toward the books and, for a second, I thought of Joel. How he tried to swoop in and save me from a complete public meltdown.
“Yes,” I answered, climbing out of my chair to walk over and wrap my arms around Aiden’s waist, resting my head on his chest. He sighed, twisting my ponytail in his hand, and then he let me go, leaving me a little chilly.
“I’ll call you this week.” He smiled and turned around to begin walking toward the exit. He didn’t look back at me. Not once.
Slowly I began to cross the patterned carpet toward the glass doors at the front. Oh, wait. My book? I stopped, thinking about my lavender book and where I’d left it. I was about to go back to the checkout counter when something caught my eye.
I turned toward the figure leaving the store, her face ducked and her hands empty and without books. She was wearing a khaki skirt, and by the toned muscles in her legs, I was sure I knew her. I jogged after her, her thick brown hair pulled back into two short ponytails, her pink T-shirt tight enough to show off her athletic frame.
But the minute I was able to get out into the darkened parking lot of the bookstore, she was gone. I swung my head from side to side, looking for her, trying to remember what her car looked like, but she wasn’t there. Neither was Aiden’s car.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure out if she’d seen me and if she did, why she hadn’t come over.
Because I was pretty sure that I’d just seen my ex-captain. I’d just seen Mary Rudick.
ASSIGNMENT 1
9:00 P.M., SEPTEMBER 18
The operative looked in her hand mirror and slicked on the Midnight Red lipstick that had become her personal trademark. When it was set, she pressed her lips together, smiling.
She’d been getting a ton of cases lately, but this one, this one was special. It was like watching the anatomy of a cheat—something that could easily be a Dateline investigation. She was privy to everything, and now, she just needed to catch the final act.
After slipping a black stocking cap over her head, the operative slid on leather gloves and watched the front of the motel intently. Originally she’d planned on tracking Jenn and Tate tonight, but then she’d intercepted a text from Megan. She’d asked Riley to meet her here, at the Sunset Inn at 9 p.m. She was still amazed that Megan would do that; from her observations, she’d seemed so much classier. Still, the operative knew that this was the moment she’d been waiting for. Finally.
She swallowed hard and narrowed her eyes, looking at the red-painted front door of the motel room. Riley had gone in there close to ten minutes ago, but the operative hadn’t seen Megan arrive. She couldn’t decide if Megan had beaten her there or if Riley was waiting.
With a sigh, the operative reached back into her car and grabbed her satchel. She’d filled it with the night-vision camcorder and an audio recorder, although she’d known it’d be difficult to hear much from outside.
As she strode across the loose gravel of the parking lot, the ground crunched under her black, high-heeled boots. The sound relaxed her and made her feel powerful, even in this cheater-filled world.
When she stepped onto the walkway in front of the door, she paused. The curtains were drawn tight; there was no way to get video. She narrowed her eyes.
Quietly she reached out to try the motel door, but it was locked. She’d figured it would be. With a glance toward the office window, she considered her next move. She pulled the knit hat off her head and shook out her hair. Armed with her deadly shade of red, her secret weapon, she made her way over to the management.
“Excuse me,” she said sweetly through the Plexiglas window to the man inside. He smiled at her, his front tooth missing.
“Hey, there,” he said, a little too friendly.
The operative smiled, trying to hide her revulsion. “I hate to bug you,” she cooed. “I got locked out of room twelve, and my boyfriend must be in the shower because he’s not answering. Do you think I could get another key?” She bit her lip suggestively.
At first, the dirty old man just watched her, but then he looked toward the walkway and smiled. “Okay, but make sure you turn in all the keys when you leave.” He walked over to the key rack, taking a second to locate the peg numbered 12. When he turned back around, he grinned. “Tell your boyfriend he can thank me later.”
The operative’s stomach turned, but she tried to maintain a pleasant expression as she took the key. “Yeah, I’ll let him know,” she mumbled, turning back toward the room. She hated that this was taking so long, that it was so hard to confirm. She just wanted to make SOS successful. She wanted to be the best.
The operative stopped. No. This was about more than just her. Riley needed to learn that he couldn’t dangle Megan along, and Megan needed to learn how to be a loyal friend. They couldn’t just cheat with each other. They needed to be taught a lesson.
When she got to the room, the operative leaned her ear against the door and listened. She was disappointed to hear talking and not moaning. She couldn’t complete her mission until they sealed the deal. But she could hardly break in with both suspects so alert. She chewed on the side of her lip and began to think. Then she smiled.
With purpose, the operative marched forward to the nearest fire alarm, glancing around once to make sure no one could see her. When she was certain the coast was clear, she slipped her fingers around the little white handle…and yanked it down.
Sirens filled the air, and the operative moved quickly toward her car, ready to grab her camera. Seeing Riley and Megan run out in their underwear (or less) would be all the proof she needed, especially given their location.
The operative ran across the lot, her boots crunching on the gravel. She slipped into the front seat of her car, grabbing her zoom lens and aiming it at the red door just in time.
Within seconds, the door swung open, and Riley popped his head out to look around. The operative clicked off a few pictures, stopping only when Riley opened the door the rest of the way. He was fully dressed. Behind him, Megan walked out, looking confused. And she was dressed too. As a maid (a real one).
“Shit,” the operative mumbled, lowering her camera. This was where Megan worked, not a steamy late-night rendezvous. Megan and Riley headed toward the glass window of the office, apparently intending to ask about the alarm.
That was the operative’s cue to get the hell out of there. Once again, she didn’t have proof. And now it was really starting to piss her off.