by Ivy Smoak
“Do we have a deal?” Rob asked.
“Fine. Come to my practice today. The hitwoman has been to a few of my games and practices. We’re hoping she shows up again.”
“Done. See you later,” he hung up the phone just as I pulled up to Tanners’ apartment building.
Tanner was going to be pissed about worrying him last night, sure. But he was going to be more upset about Rob joining our secret mission tonight. And completely devastated when I said Rob was my best friend in front of him. Fuck.
I slowly made my way inside and onto the elevator. Why wasn’t I allowed to have two best friends? Honestly, I had four. Because Mason and James were up there too. Crap, I had to apologize to James too. I’d promised Penny.
The doors dinged open and I crossed the footbridge, avoiding looking down at the moving tarp. Really, what the hell was in that water? The door was unlocked so I let myself in. Despite the fact that the sun had risen, the apartment was pitch black. And I had no idea where the light switches were.
I kept my hand on the wall and tried to make my way into the great room. Seriously, how was it so dark? Did he have blackout curtains in his main living area? And if so…why? I found the corner of the wall and knew I was turning into the great room. But I didn’t have to guess where I was for long, because a light turned on in the middle of the room.
Tanner was sitting in an antique wingback chair that I’m pretty sure hadn’t been in the great room last night. The small lamp lit up him and only him. He calmly folded his newspaper and set it on the end table that also hadn’t been there before. It was like he’d set up this whole little scene just to make a point. “Do you have any idea what time it is, Matthew?”
Oh no. Whenever he used my full name I knew he was mad. Kind of like how he always called Rob Robert. This wasn’t good. “Like, 7:30.”
“7:30. In the morning! I expected you home by midnight, young man. Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? I’ve been up all night waiting for you.”
“I’m sorry…”
“You’re sorry? I thought you were dead in a ditch!”
“Tanner, I really am sorry. But I didn’t know I had a curfew.”
“Of course you have a curfew! How else am I supposed to know if you’re alive?” His voice cracked.
Tanner didn’t look that angry. He looked more…sad. And I wondered if this had anything to do with him losing his girlfriend when he was young. He’d never told me much about her. But had she not come home one night? Is that what this was about? “I’m okay, Tanner,” I said. “I just lost track of time. I really am sorry.”
“Just don’t do it again, man.”
“I won’t.” I didn’t want to see him look this upset again. I had a feeling that if Tanner suddenly started crying, I’d start crying too. And no one wanted that.
He nodded. “Where were you?”
“I spent the night with an old friend.” Wow, that sounded way more sexual than I meant for it to. “A friend from high school. Kennedy. Actually, she was Brooklyn’s best friend. But we were friends too. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about her before.”
“Did you sleep with her?” Tanner asked.
“No.” I guess he thought it was as inappropriate as I was worried it was.
“Are you going to?”
Oh. He wasn’t concerned about the fact that it was immoral to sleep with Kennedy. He was just concerned because he loved to meet all the women I slept with ahead of time. Because he was Tanner. “Um.” I didn’t know how to answer his question. Because I didn’t know the answer.
“Are you going to sleep with her?” Tanner asked again.
I sat down on the sofa across from his makeshift worried-dad scene. “I mean, we’re friends.” It would be wrong, right? To sleep with Kennedy? To even want to? I ran my hand down my face. Fuck. Did I want to? I smiled, picturing her in her adorable pajamas.
“Penny’s your friend and you want to sleep with her.”
“Yeah, but I think Penny and I are better off as just friends.”
“I guess your dinner to seduce her went poorly?” Tanner asked.
I nodded. “She brotherized me.”
Tanner laughed. “Brotherized? What is that?”
“When someone friend zone’s you in a brother way. It’s even worse than a friend zone.”
“Ouch. So you haven’t secured the camera then?”
“No, I got it.”
Tanner just stared at me. “So where is it? Wait, don’t tell me.” He stood up and started examining my shirt.
“I meant I will have it. Rob’s bringing it by practice.”
Tanner let go of the collar of my shirt. “But he can’t come. It’s a best friend’s secret mission.”
“He’s my best friend too.”
Tanner lowered his eyebrows. “Best friend isn’t plural.”
Seriously, Tanner and Rob might as well be twins. How could they not see that they had the same sense of humor? And the same obsession with singular and plural nouns? Why did they hate each other so much? It was ridiculous. “He didn’t give me a choice,” I said.
“Stubborn little ass. Well, that’s fine. We’ll get his camera and tell him to get lost.”
“Why can’t the two of you just get along?”
“Because there’s only room for one of us in this town. And I’m not leaving. I love it here.” He sat back down.
“Then why haven’t you properly moved in yet?”
“I have.”
I gestured to the sheet that was covering what I thought was a tree.
“Oh that?” He laughed. “Nigel already has so much to dust. It’s just easier this way. Speaking of Nigel, he was worried sick too. You owe him an apology as well.”
“I’ll do that when I see him. But right now I need to go home and change before work.” I stood up.
“No need, Nigel brought all your things.”
“All my things?”
Tanner pointed to the couch I’d been sitting on.
I turned to look at the very familiar couch. “Is this my couch?”
“Yes. Nigel has a good eye for these things. As he put it, ‘a leather couch has no business being in photos to sell a family home.’ He let Bill know you’d need a few more things for the staging.”
“So my clothes…”
“All in your room here.”
Okay. “Well, I should probably go change.”
“I’ll be waiting. We can take my car to work. I’ll just have my driver drop you off first.”
I knew Tanner was trying to keep me safe. But I couldn’t be in his sight all the time. I left Tanner in the great room and wandered down the hall to the room I’d stayed in the other night. I swear the room seemed bigger. And everything but my couch was in it. Really, how did this room not look more cramped?
I opened up the closet to see all my suits, perfectly organized by color. Just the way they had been at my house.
“Mr. Caldwell,” Nigel said.
I jumped. “Nigel, please stop sneaking up on me like that.”
“Sorry, Mr. Caldwell. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve removed everything from your home and brought it here.”
I looked around. Actually there was one noticeable thing missing. All my paintings of Brooklyn. Probably because the room was locked.
It was like Nigel could read my mind. “Well, everything but the paintings, sir. They weren’t my taste.”
I looked over at him. Not his taste? Maybe he was just jealous that I’d been painting Brooklyn’s face and not his. If anyone else had seen them, I would have been embarrassed. Or worried they would think I was crazy. But Nigel was staring at me like he always did. And it didn’t seem like he thought I was weird or crazy. There was only love in his eyes. A little too much love. But still love. Or was that just the look of a man hoping to get a dick pic?
I cleared my throat. “Nigel, I’m going to need a minute.”
“Of course.” He stepped into the corner of the ro
om and just stared at me.
“In private, Nigel.”
“Of course, Mr. Caldwell. I’ll be right outside the door when you need me. Don’t worry about calling for me. I’ll be back in exactly in one minute.” He bowed and left me alone.
I sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. Yes, my bed. I guess I lived with Tanner now. And Nigel. That was a lot to take in. And I should have been thinking about that and the secret mission tonight with the hitwoman. But for some reason my mind was fixated on Kennedy. And the way she’d smiled when she chucked her slipper at my face. And the way she laughed. And the way she didn’t judge me when I cried.
I put my face in my hands. I shouldn’t have been thinking about her at all. So why couldn’t I get her out of my head?
I heard the door open and knew Nigel was staring at me. But I didn’t even care. It was better than him staring at me while I was naked again.
Chapter 29
Wednesday
Jefferson fell over as he kicked the ball, somehow sending the ball behind him. He was closer to getting it through the other goal post than his own. How the hell was he getting worse? I’d tried everything. I’d studied videos and read tips and tried to figure out if it was some kind of mental block. But I was seriously out of ideas.
Jefferson was a terrible kicker.
I ran my hand down my face with a sigh. Jefferson might go down as the worst kicker in the history of Empire High. And no one wanted that title. But how could I fix it if nothing worked?
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. There was a text from Tanner: “Ready and in place.”
I texted him back. “Where are you exactly?”
“At 7 o’clock.”
I looked down at my watch and another text came through.
“Not the time. The direction. At 7 o’clock means behind you.”
I laughed and turned around but didn’t see him.
Another text: “Sorry, more like 4 o’clock.”
I turned my head but only saw a homeless man sitting on the bleachers. The homeless man proceeded to stand up and wave frantically at me.
I squinted at him. Yeah, the guy in the frumpy clothes was Tanner alright. With a big fake mustache. I couldn’t help but laugh. It reminded me of all the times Rob had tried to convince me that Tanner was great at disguises. That he walked around the city in fancy suits and a man bun. If Tanner’s current ensemble and the fuzzy caterpillar sitting on his upper lip was any indicator, he was freaking awful at disguises.
Tanner texted me again: “So we’re both set. Only one loose thread. Where is stupid Robert?”
Super clever burn. “I told him to be here a little before practice ended. He’ll be here soon.”
“Practice ends in 20 min. Cutting it close if you ask me. He has no respect for top secret missions.”
I shook my head and turned back to practice. Maybe Jefferson was still struggling because I couldn’t ever focus anymore. At the beginning of the season, I had been daydreaming about Penny all the time. Then I started worrying about Poppy and Mr. Pruitt. And now I was thinking about Kennedy all day. Which made no sense, because I was probably 20 minutes away from being killed by a hitwoman. Kennedy should have been the last person on my mind. She should have always been the last person on my mind in that way. But seeing her again had been a breath of fresh air.
“Just kick the ball!” Smith yelled at Jefferson. “It’s not that hard.” Smith grabbed the football off the ground, placed it in the dirt, and then proceeded to kick a perfect field goal.
Fuck. I blew my whistle. “Sprints. Now.”
Smith turned to me. “But Coach…”
I blew my whistle again. I didn’t want to hear what smart remark he had. The last thing Jefferson needed right now was to feel even worse. Couldn’t Smith see that? “Everyone. Now.”
The whole team groaned. But they started to run back and forth on the field, because they knew if they didn’t, I’d just demand they do something even worse.
“What did the team do to deserve that?” Rob asked as he joined me on the sidelines.
“Roughing the kicker.” More or less.
Rob laughed. “That scrawny little guy? What the heck is he even doing on the team?”
I looked at Rob. Honestly, I had no idea what Jefferson was doing on the team. I had been trying to make his time at Empire High easier, but all I was doing was making it worse. All of that was suddenly in the back of my mind though because Rob was also dressed like a homeless guy.
“What the hell are you wearing?” I asked.
“A disguise.”
“I didn’t tell you to dress up.”
“Right. But it’s a top secret mission. Which always require disguises.” He scrutinized my sweatpants and Empire High t-shirt. “I guess we chose the same disguise.”
Why did everyone keep making fun of my coaching outfit? “I’m not dressed like a homeless guy.”
“Whatever you say.” He patted my back. “So what’s the plan? Is the hitwoman even here?”
“I haven’t seen her yet.”
“I guess I should go hide somewhere? Oh yeah, here’s the camera.” He pulled the camera out of a small case in his pocket. “Don’t break it.”
“I won’t. But um…how does it work?”
Rob laughed and peeled it out of the case. Yes, peeled it out, like a sticker. It was clear and he stuck it next to the Eagle emblem on my t-shirt. It was completely undetectable. I even knew where it was and I could hardly see it.
“I need your phone,” he said.
I handed it to him.
He pressed a few buttons and then handed it to me. “It’s all linked up now. The video feed is already rolling and it’s getting uploaded directly to your phone.”
“That’s amazing.” I looked at my phone and could see what the camera was recording.
“It is pretty crazy. So where should I hide? I was going to hide in the stands, but I don’t want to be next to that homeless guy.”
“That’s Tanner.”
Rob squinted. “Are you sure?”
I laughed. “If you can’t tell that’s him, how do you expect me to believe you when you tell me about his other disguise?”
“I see his stupid face now. I can tell it’s him. Just like I can tell it’s him when he’s rocking a man bun. What the hell kind of mustache is that, anyway?”
I stared at Tanner. “I have no idea.”
“Well, I’m glad all three of us coordinated to dress like homeless men,” Rob said.
“I’m not dressed like a homeless person.”
“Whatever you say. I’ll wait at the entrance instead of in the stands. I don’t want to be anywhere near Tanner. And speaking of Tanner…how about you wave him down here so you can tell him that I’m your best friend right in front of his mustachioed face?”
“Let’s wait until after. I don’t want the hitwoman to see us all together before we try to corner her.”
“Fine. But you have to tell him. In front of me.”
“I will.” Honestly, if I was still alive in a few minutes I’d do whatever Rob wanted. Because I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without his camera.
I watched as Rob walked over to the entrance. And that’s when I saw the hitwoman coming into the stadium.
I opened up a group chat between Rob and Tanner and sent them a text. “That’s her walking in now. Keep an eye on her.”
“Get me out of this group chat,” Rob texted back.
Tanner’s message popped up next: “I concur.”
“You guys, focus. I need to wrap up practice and then we can surround her.”
“Fine. I’ve got eyes on her,” Tanner said. “She sat down right in front of me on the bleachers. I can’t see a gun, but it’s probably under her coat.”
I swallowed hard as I watched the kids do sprints. This was it. Either the end of Mr. Pruitt or the end of me.
“We need a mission name,” Rob texted.
“I ac
tually agree with Robert on this,” Tanner replied. “How about Operation Robert Shouldn’t Be Here?”
“Or Operation Tanner is a Liar.”
“What have I ever lied about?”
I put my phone in my pocket and ignored them. Honestly, it was nice that they were here. But I didn’t want to put either of them at risk. I wasn’t going to tell them when I was approaching her. Hopefully she’d start moving away from Tanner soon and then I’d get there and restrain her before Rob and Tanner even reached us. That way I would be the only one in danger.
And I couldn’t wait till the end of practice. I’d already made the team sprint for far too long anyway. I blew my whistle and waved them in.
I wanted to make Smith apologize, but I knew that would just make him hate Jefferson even more. “Great practice,” I said instead. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
Smith grumbled something under his breath.
I also didn’t have the patience to reprimand him right now. I could feel the hitwoman staring at me.
“Coach Caldwell?” Jefferson said.
I didn’t have any advice for him right now. It was back to the drawing board. “I’m sorry, Jefferson,” I said. “I actually have to get going.”
“Oh, okay.” He looked down at his feet and started walking toward the stands.
What was he doing? “Jefferson, wait. I’ll talk to you. Just let me clean up this stuff. I’ll meet you by my car.”
He smiled and nodded, then hurried off to the parking lot.
The hitwoman was already on the move. Shit. I tried not to look like I was staring at her, as I hurried towards her. But I was pretty sure she saw me because she picked up her speed. Not fast enough this time, though.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I ignored it as I caught her arm.
She turned around and looked up at me. “Matt.” She didn’t say it like she was about to kill me. She said it like she had no idea why I was touching her.
“I know you’re working for Richard Pruitt.”
“What?”
Rob and Tanner were coming this way. I gripped her wrist a little harder. “Tell me everything you know and no one needs to get hurt.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
