The Unwanted Spy

by Scarlett Haven

  Don’t pack a bag?

  We’re leaving Florida if I need a coat, because it’s still hot here. But ‘not packing a bag’ does not sound good at all.

  What in the world does West have planned for us?

  Suddenly, West telling me to get sleep last night because ‘you’ll need it’ makes a lot more sense now. I’m a little upset that he didn’t tell me then I’d be getting a two am wakeup call, but maybe he wasn’t allowed to tell me. This order must be from somebody else—like Michael Sinclair.

  I go to the bathroom really fast, brushing my teeth and hair faster than I ever have in my life, and then I head back to my room. I get dressed in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. I stuff a couple of ponytail holders into the pocket of my jeans, just in case, and I put on a hoodie. Once I get my running shoes on, I grab a jacket from my closet and meet the rest of the guys in the living room.

  The guys all have messy hair—they definitely didn’t take to the time to brush their hair like I did.

  I don’t like that I don’t get to bring a toothbrush or a hair brush with me. And I definitely don’t like not bringing underwear or clothes. I have a really bad feeling about this.

  “How does she get five minutes to get dressed and still look like a freaking beauty queen?” Kal complains.

  I don’t think he meant it as a compliment, but I am going to take it as one.

  I wish I looked like a beauty queen.

  Eh, maybe not. I don’t like wearing that much makeup.

  “I could braid your hair in the car and make you look pretty, too,” I offer. His hair is too short to really braid it. I could probably do Alek’s though, but I doubt he’d let me anywhere near his hair, especially if I said I want to braid it.

  “Let’s go,” West says, not paying attention to Kal and my bickering.

  “Where are we going?” Ian asks, his voice scratchy from being woken up at two in the morning.

  “You’ll know soon enough.” West walks ahead, leading us out the door.

  I do not like his ominous answer. It makes me think that maybe even he doesn’t know where we’re going, which is totally possible.

  I’ve heard stories about Spy School dropping agents off at a cabin in the middle of the woods for a few weeks and letting them ‘live off the land.’ So, they could only eat what they killed. And that does not sound like my idea of a good time. I’d rather starve than eat a squirrel or a bunny.

  All five of us cram into the Jeep. I am crammed in the back between Ian and Kal.

  As West drives from the condo, I notice he’s driving in the direction of the airport, but that doesn’t mean anything. There are a lot of things in this direction.

  “Can’t you tell us something about where we’re going?” Kal asks.

  West shakes his head, refusing to give an answer.

  Alek looks half asleep in the passenger seat of the car and Ian is already snoring slightly in the backseat. I lean my head over on Kal, closing my eyes, but I can’t sleep. My mind is racing way too much for that, almost like it was last night.

  Kal reaches his hand around my shoulder, pulling me closer into him. Even when he’s mad at me, I still find comfort in his embrace.

  I open my eyes, looking up at him. He’s watching me, too, and I wonder what he’s thinking right now. Maybe he is just thinking about the mission, or maybe he’s thinking about me.

  Kal has been my friend pretty much from the beginning. He was the only one who didn’t hate me after I accidentally got him shot. In a weird way what happened bonded us and it definitely made me stronger. He’s always been here for me, and I don’t know what I would do without him.

  He squeezes my shoulder and leans down to give me a kiss on the forehead. I smile at him, getting more comfortable. Before I can close my eyes, I meet West’s eyes in the rearview mirror. For once, he isn’t scowling or glaring at me. Instead, his eyebrows are scrunched together as he looks between the road and me, like he’s trying to figure me out. I want to tell him good luck with that, because even I don’t have me figured out.

  While I look at him, I stop worrying about whatever we’re doing. I know that even if we are all stranded at some stupid cabin in the woods, we can handle it. I fully trust my team. And even though we don’t get along very well right now, we still have each other’s backs. That’s what’s important.

  Ian shuffles beside me and his head ends up on my lap. The back seat in this Jeep is very cramped and I definitely am squished between Ian and Kal, but I don’t mind. I reach my hand down and play with Ian’s hair while he sleeps.

  “We’re going to be okay,” Kal whispers.

  I know that.

  As strange as it sounds, even with all of us fighting like we have been, this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time. I’ve found a place where I belong, and I’m not going anywhere.

  Whatever Michael Sinclair throws our way, we are ready. We’ll show him exactly how The Royals do it.

  What is going on?

  We board a private jet at a local private airfield about ten miles away from our condo. It’s not until we board the plane that I really start to worry. As we are boarding, we have to hand over all our electronics. The guy even does a scan to make sure we pass everything over. We can’t even have our cellphones.

  Once I’m on the plane, my stomach doesn’t settle when I see that all the windows on the plane are covered, so we won’t even be able to see where we’re going. There isn’t even a clock, so we won’t be able to tell how long we’re on the plane or anything, which is probably the point.

  We all sit down in our seats, buckling up. I sit down first and Ian deliberately sits down in a seat that is the farthest possible spot from me. I roll my eyes at him for being dramatic.

  Kal goes to sit down by me, but Alek pushes him out of the way and takes the seat instead. I have no idea what is going on with the guys, but they’re acting strange this morning. It’s way too early for this.

  Alek pats his shoulder. “If you get tired, you can sleep on me.”

  I really thought Alek hated me, but maybe he doesn’t.

  I ignore his comment as West and Kal sit down in front of us. Our seats face one another, except for the seat that Ian is in. He’s facing the front of the plane, pretending the rest of us don’t exist. Part of me wishes I could go sit by him and just pretend like all of this isn’t happening. I’d much rather be at home on my comfortable bed, even if it means sharing a room with West.

  The plane starts moving.

  “What is going on?” I ask West.

  He shrugs. “I don’t know. I just did what Michael Sinclair ordered. I wasn’t worried until...” He points at the window behind him that is covered up. It’s not just covered with curtains, but there is black out paint on the windows.

  They really don’t want us seeing out of the windows.

  “Crap,” Alek mumbles.

  I second that.

  “I had a date for Halloween tonight.” Alek frowns, shaking his head. “She was hot.”

  Alek had a date?

  I’m not surprised by the fact that he has girls lined up to go out on dates with him. He’s unbelievably attractive. But I am surprised by the tinge of jealousy I feel in my gut at the thought of him going out with some other girl.

  “Sounds like she dodged a bullet,” I joke.

  Alek puts his arm around me. “It just means I get more time with my favorite female.”

  His favorite?

  I refuse to feel giddy about the fact that he just called me his favorite.

  I throw his arm off. “You just told me you had a date lined up with another girl. I’m not going to let you flirt with me right now. I refuse to be your backup plan.”

  Before Alek can respond, the airplane takes off. He does glare at me while the plane goes upward and as soon as it hits altitude, he turns to me.

  “She was attractive,” he says.

  “Congratulations.” I hate myself for feeling jealous. I wonder who the girl was, but
it’s none of my business, because I don’t even like him. Nope. Not even a little bit.

  “Guys, can you just not fight?” Kal says.

  West looks at Alek. “Go sit with Ian. We all should get some sleep while we can. I don’t know what is going to happen when we land.”

  Alek lets out an annoyed breath as he unbuckles his seatbelt and stomps off to the front of the plane.

  Kal gets up as Alek leaves and sits beside me. West narrows his eyes at Kal and me but he doesn’t say anything.

  Kal is kind of mad at me, too. I think he’s mad at me because of what happened between West and me. I didn’t realize it until yesterday, but Kal really likes me. Like, he wants to be my boyfriend, and I haven’t really had time to process it just yet.

  “Why do I feel like it’s my fault we’re all fighting?” I frown, not liking that I’m causing animosity between the guys.

  “I blame West.” Kal keeps his voice low so West can’t hear.

  All the guys are mad at West, that much they made clear yesterday when we were having our ‘meeting.’ Even yesterday afternoon, when I was hiding out in my room, I could hear all the guys fighting with West.

  Kal wraps his arms around me and pulls me tight against him. “Don’t pout.”

  I lean into his embrace, but when I look over at West, he is frowning at us.

  Why does it feel like everything I do is wrong? What West and I did felt very right in the moment, but now I feel like it screwed everything up. I feel like cuddling with Kal is somehow wrong, because I can see the annoyance on West’s face.

  Maybe I should leave The Royals. I know that this is my dream. Being part of something so special is incredible. But I don’t want to do it at the cost of the guys. Now that I have gotten to know them, I realize how amazing they are. They will do amazing stuff with or without me. I wish it were with me, but maybe...

  I’ll just see how this goes. When we get back, I’ll think about leaving, even though I really don’t want to.

  “Do I need to separate the two of you, too?” West asks.

  Kal’s arms tense up around me. “Why? So, you can have her all to yourself again?”

  West frowns at the harshness of Kal’s words.

  Kal never talks back. He’s always the laid back one. There is a reason he became my friend before any of the other guys. He forgave me so quickly after I got him shot. So, it’s probably strange for West to see Kal act like this.

  I sit up. “Kal is comfortable and you told us to get some sleep. That’s what I was trying to do.”

  “Whatever.” West unbuckles his seatbelt and walks toward the front of the plane where Alek and Ian are sitting.

  I look at the empty bench across from us. “I sure can clear a crowd.”

  Kal kisses the top of my head, pulling me back into his arms. “West is just grumpy this morning.”

  “How is that different than every other morning?” I mumble.

  He chuckles. “You’re right, but he’s extra grumpy today. He is a control freak and us being on a plane with blacked out windows, and no idea where we’re going to end up, has him anxious. This is his literal worst nightmare.”

  I guess I can see that. Maybe I should be nicer to West. I probably should also apologize, but Kal is very comfortable and warm. And it’s still the middle of the night, so I am sleepy.

  “Go to sleep,” Kal tells me. “The pilot will wake us if we need to get up.”

  I relax against him. “Are you going to sleep?”

  “Yeah,” he replies.

  I hope I don’t make him uncomfortable, because I am so relaxed like this. I drift off to sleep within seconds.

  Trusting my enemy with my life.

  “Rise and shine, Princess.”

  I jump as I wake to West’s loud booming voice.

  My pillow, Kal, is now gone. All four of the guys are up, running around the plane. We haven’t landed yet, but I assume we will be soon if West is waking me.

  When I see the parachutes on the floor of the plane, I wake up really quick. Wherever we’re going, we’re not going to land there—we’re going to jump from the plane.

  Who needs caffeine to get them going? Not me. I jump from airplanes to wake me up.

  “Hope you’re not scared of heights,” Kal comments.

  I shake my head.

  This won’t be the first time I’ve jumped from an airplane, or even the tenth time. It’s something everybody at Spy School has to do—part of a ‘face your fears’ kind of training. But heights have never been something I’m scared of anyway. I’m actually kind of excited about this.

  I count the parachutes because it doesn’t look like there’re enough for all five of us.

  1–2—3.

  No.

  Heck, no.

  Why are there only three?

  Alek hits West on the shoulder. “I think she just figured out there are only three parachutes.”

  West looks at me. “Some of us have to double up.”

  No.

  My jaw clenches as I look at West.

  “Please don’t make me trust somebody else,” I say. Because that is my fear. I have problems trusting somebody else with my life. And the thought of entrusting my life to any of these guys while we’re jumping from the sky is terrifying.

  West smirks, holding up an envelope. “Sorry, Princess. Michael Sinclair was clear with the instructions. You have to buddy up with somebody and you don’t get to control the parachute.”

  Oh, God.

  I am definitely going to be sick.

  Kal kneels down in front of me. “Hey, it’s going to be okay. Jumping from a plane seems scary, but it’s actually kind of fun—you’ll see.”

  “It’s not that. I just don’t like to trust people,” I say. “I like to be the one in control.”

  He puts his hand on my knee. “Sorry. This is going to suck for you.”

  Kal wouldn’t be so bad to jump with. I trust him more than anybody else in group. He literally jumped in front of a bullet to save my life—who better to trust with my life now?

  I glance over at West. “Can I jump with Kal?”

  West shakes his head. “Kal and Ian are jumping together.”

  “Then I’m with Alek,” I say quickly, before he can strap me to himself.

  He shakes his head again. “Nah, you’re with me.”

  No. I don’t want to jump with West. This is like my literal worst nightmare. Trusting my enemy with my life is the worst kind of torture imaginable, but I know I don’t have a say in this. West’s words are final and leave no room for argument. He is the leader and I can’t argue with him. Besides, he has to follow whatever orders Michael Sinclair left. I’m sure he wants me to jump with him about as much as I want to jump with him.

  West tosses me my jacket, which is sitting on one of the other seats, telling me to put it on. I zip it up over my hoodie.

  Wherever we’re jumping must be cold. I wish I knew how long we had been on this flight—I’m guessing probably quite a few hours.

  Everybody gets suited up in their parachutes. The situation goes from bad to worse when I am strapped to the front of West—there is literally no getting away from him now. I’m locked in.

  My heart is racing as the back of the plane opens up. The wind makes my ears pop. As we step forward to the edge, I get my first glimpse of where we are, but my heart is racing far too much to even care.

  “If you kill me, I will haunt you,” I yell at West.

  “If I don’t pull the parachute then we will both die, Princess,” West yells back.

  Ah, right.

  Then I’d be stuck in some afterlife with freaking West Newman—for all eternity. If that isn’t purgatory, I don’t know what is.

  “Then please don’t kill us.”

  My palms are so sweaty, and my stomach churns.

  I have to trust West right now and it’s terrifying. I put my hand to the base of my throat and just focus on breathing.

  Truly, I do trust West
. If somebody had a gun pointed at me right now and West were there, I’d be fine—calm, even. But this isn’t somebody pointing a gun at my head. This is me trusting West to pull the parachute at the right time. It’s me having no control whatsoever. And I don’t like it, not one bit.

  I like being in control of... well, everything. And trusting West right now is a lot.

  Ian and Kal jump first, followed by Alek. I watch as they free fall from the plane.

  “You ready?” West asks.

  I’m absolutely not ready. But he doesn’t wait for my answer. He just leaps forward, bringing me with him.

  Since I am strapped in the front, all I see is the ground below us. I can feel West’s body against mine. I wish I could see him. I want to watch and make sure he pulls the parachute at the right time. But the view is... stunning.

  Jumping from an airplane is always exciting. It’s one of those things that I love to do. Most people would probably be too scared or nervous to ever do something like this, but when you’re Spy School, you are used to putting your life in danger. You do scary things. And jumping from an airplane is pretty mild compared to disarming a bomb. So, even though my life is in West’s hands, I still enjoy this. The free falling—the unknown. It’s exciting.

  As we are falling, I study the gorgeous landscape beneath us. There are super tall trees as far as the eye can see. Literally, I can’t see anything but miles and miles of trees. Redwood trees, if I’m correct, which would probably put us somewhere in Northern California. It’s then that I realize how screwed we are. There are no houses. There is no cabin waiting in the woods for us. We are going to be finding our way out of a forest with no technology, no food, no water, nothing.

  Michael Sinclair has royally screwed us over.

  This has got to be a punishment because of our fight yesterday. He heard us arguing and he thought that dumping us in the middle of the woods and giving us a common problem to solve would help us get along better, but he’s wrong.

  He’s so wrong.

  We aren’t going to go into the woods and suddenly learn how to get along. Honestly, we’ll be lucky if we don’t kill each other while we’re in there. All of our personalities are going to clash in the worst ways possible and it’s going to be a disaster.