Classy.
I pulled the keys out of his reach, and my lips as well. “Nice try,” I said. “But my mom is going to drive you guys home.”
“What the hell, Amber? They’ll know we’ve been drinking!” I was pleased to see that his face paled a bit. Maybe Ace’s threat had had an impact after all.
“They’d rather everyone be safe than judge. I know my dad came on pretty strong, but as long as I tell him you were good to me, he won’t shoot you.” I couldn’t resist adding, “Much.”
Viktor swore and made a grab for the keys again, but he didn’t have a chance to do anything else—Ace and a female agent I’d never met opened the door to the brownstone and quickly approached the car.
I got out, and so did Viktor. “My wife will drive you to the subway station,” Ace said in his dad voice. “I’ll follow behind and drive her home once we see you safely on the train. You can get your car tomorrow.”
“Thank you, Mr. Smith,” Viktor said awkwardly. “We’re really just a little tipsy—nothing too extreme, I promise.”
“Well, I won’t call the cops on you, if that’s what you’re worried about. Just go straight home, and there won’t be any problem.” He paused for a minute, then growled at Viktor, “Were you a gentleman tonight?”
“I was, sir,” he said. I had stepped out of the road. “I’m sure Amber will verify that.”
“He was, Dad. Please don’t embarrass me any more.”
“All right, then,” Ace said, and headed toward another car parked on the street—it must have been the one the female agent had come in. The agent was already in the driver’s seat of Viktor’s Escalade.
“Good night, Viktor.” I gave him a hug and turned to go into the brownstone. I couldn’t wait to take a shower and get Viktor’s smell off me. Then Viktor called out.
“Wait. You forgot your laptop. I’ll grab it for you.” He got back in the car and popped the trunk, but instead of getting out himself, he sent Mikado out. He handed me the computer, then leaned in close. “Whatever you do, don’t meet with Viktor tomorrow. I can’t say more than that. Just trust me.”
He got back in the car as if nothing had happened, and they all drove off, leaving me standing, completely shocked, in the middle of the sidewalk.
Chapter 15
I showered, scrubbing Viktor off me. I lay on the couch, waiting for my team to get back and thinking through everything that had happened. I fell into a fitful sleep. Viktor and Jericho kept invading my dreams, and whenever I woke up, Mikado’s warning echoed eerily through my thoughts. When Ace woke me, I grabbed his wrist and nearly pulled his arm out of the socket. He slammed into the coffee table and swore.
“Oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry! I thought… I thought…” I shook my head.
“Remind me not to ever wake you up.” He scowled at me.
I sat up. “I’m sorry. I just hardly slept, and when I did, I dreamt of Viktor, Jericho, and Mikado. They make for terrible dreams. I need to take another shower before school. I think I can still smell his cologne on me. Maybe that’s triggering the dreams.”
Ace’s scowl deepened, but this time it wasn’t for me. “I get it. To be honest, playing your dad last night has made me feel a little more paternal toward you. I don’t like the idea of you getting involved with those guys any more than Jeremy does.”
I sighed. “That makes three of us.”
“Four,” Halluis said from the doorway.
I squinted over at his silhouette. “What is this, a morning pow-wow?”
A look passed between Ace and Halluis, then Ace spoke. “Look, we just want you to know we have your back in this mission. I mean, not that we didn’t before, er, of course, you know—”
“What Ace is so eloquently trying to say is,” Halluis cut in, “you’re our girl, Christy. We won’t let anything happen to you.”
I started to speak, then had to cough and rub my eyes, feigning residual sleepiness to mask the tears welling up. They seemed to get what I was trying to say, and Ace patted my shoulder awkwardly before they both vacated the room.
“Thanks,” I whispered to the empty room. They were my team. I was their girl. Now if only I knew where I stood with Jeremy.
I rushed up to shower again. Sure I’d scrubbed every trace of Viktor off me, I headed down to get a bite to eat. When I saw Jeremy setting fresh bagels on the table I felt the urge to run to him and let him wrap his arms around me. The thought brought a flush of heat to my cheeks. Obviously some part of me was still Christy the mouse, searching for a protector—I’d thought I’d left her far behind. Great, Hadden, I thought. That’s a perfect way to prove to Jeremy how capable you are—run to him like a scared little girl. I ducked my head, trying to hide the embarrassing thought from Jeremy and the rest of the team, already seated around the table. Luckily, they were deep in conversation, and no one noticed my discomfort.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, and Jeremy looked at me sharply. “Any word from Viktor?”
I nodded. “He’s sent me a few texts already. I’m to meet him at five at a restaurant called Mishka’s.”
Jeremy’s jaw tightened, and he shook his head, but then he just sighed and bit back whatever argument he wanted to make.
“Well, if we’re moving forward with this,” he said, shooting Halluis a dirty look, “then I want you to be prepared. Come on, let’s run through a few scenarios before we send you off to school.”
I sighed inwardly, though I didn’t let my face show anything but patient compliance. Why wouldn’t he just trust me?
For the next hour, he drilled me on different scenarios, going over and over again what I should do, what I should say, how I should look. Finally, Halluis cut in.
“Look, Jeremy,” Halluis said. “There’s no way we can discuss every eventuality. It’s likely that nothing we talked about will happen. Christy is more than capable. She’ll be able to figure it out.”
I turned to him and said, “Why, thank you, Halluis. Jeremy seems to always beat things into the ground.” I shot Jeremy an exasperated look, but then felt bad for encouraging the division between the two men. Still, it felt good to know he had my back—and that he believed in me, too.
“I just want to help her be ready for the most likely problems. That’s all.”
Jeremy’s phone chimed. “That’s my cue to leave. I’ve got some stuff to do before the dinner.”
***
I had a hard time focusing on keeping up my cover during the school day—I was so preoccupied with my upcoming dinner with Viktor that I barely even registered a word any of my teachers said. At least I had Jericho’s party to excuse my lack of concentration. Every other kid who’d gone was fighting to stay awake all day, so the teachers, though frustrated, didn’t seem particularly suspicious.
At lunch, I bypassed the tables with all the popular kids like Mikado, Viktor, and Jericho to sit with Hank and his friends. Carson was nowhere to be found once again. Much to my surprise, both Gina and Karina joined us at lunch. If anything lasting was to come from my stay at Bell, I hoped Gina and Karina would find some friends. Hank and his gang swept them into their group and didn’t look back.
Finally, the tedium of the school day was over, and I headed back to the brownstone. As I changed, I gave myself a pep talk that Viktor wasn’t creepy at all and that I could handle him. Someone knocked on my door right after I got dressed. I opened it to find Jeremy standing there.
“Hi,” I said, somewhat awkwardly. We hadn’t had a one-on-one conversation since the night of the dance, and it felt odd to be alone with him. The urge to pull him in for a hug was strong, and to fight it, I shoved my hands into my pockets. “Did you need something?”
He leaned up against the doorjamb. “I just wanted to talk to you about this dinner tonight. I want you to be really careful. This guy Viktor—I don’t like what I’ve been hearing on the audio feeds.”
I shuddered. “I know. I wish it wasn’t necessary—he’s such a creep. But the more I learn
about him, the more I think he’s probably involved. He could be the one to lead us to the car. I can’t pass up that chance.”
Jeremy sighed and ran his hand over his face. “You know, Christy—I’m not sure it’s worth the risks you’re taking.”
“What do you mean?” I turned away from him and moved into my room to sit on the bed, hoping he’d come, too, and explain to me what was on his mind. But he stayed leaning against the doorjamb.
“It’s…” he started, but then shook his head. “It’s nothing. I just want you to be cautious. Extra cautious. There’s no reason to put yourself in any extra danger.”
I felt a little heat rise up in my chest, and I couldn’t keep the irritation out of my voice. “Jeremy, how many times do I have to tell you, I signed up for danger? I knew what I was getting into. Can you just please trust me to handle myself?”
He grimaced. “Of course. But you have a team for a reason. Halluis will be shadowing you, and he’s going to put surveillance in Viktor’s car so we can follow and listen in. We’ll also try to get a tap on his phone. We haven’t been able to get into Jericho’s yet, but cross your fingers Viktor’s will be easier.
“I wish we could bug you, but I don’t want to chance that anyone would discover you were wired. That would be disastrous.” He tipped his head back to me. “Halluis will be close at hand, but it will have to be up to him to step in if you’re in danger. You can’t signal him or call out to him in any way. It would ruin the mission if they discovered someone was watching you.”
“You think?” I said, fighting back the urge to roll my eyes. To shake off my irritation, I got off the bed and grabbed a pair of raggedy shoes to go with my jeans and T-shirt.
“Do I look like I’m financially challenged?” I threw my hands onto my hips and pushed my bottom lip out. “Really, I’m going for desperate. How’d I do?”
“You always look desperate to me, so…”
I punched him. “Thanks a lot!” I smiled, and he grabbed me into a hug that quickly turned awkward.
With our faces too close, he said, “You’re amazing. You’ll do just fine.”
I pushed away, though it was harder to let go than I expected. “What did you have to do last night?”
“I went to NY Division HQ and worked with the computer guys to make sure your new past was all in place in case someone looks into it.”
Halluis had already set up my record—Jeremy was a bit of a micromanager, never satisfied that people actually did what they were supposed to when it came to me and my safety. A rush of frustration flooded me. It was fine for him to be protective of me when I was in witness protection, but I was a full-fledged agent now. Why wouldn’t he just let me do my job? I wanted to call him out on his behavior, but I held my tongue, if only barely. He was the mission leader, and things were going to be done his way. If nothing else, I could at least show him that I could follow orders. I’d prove to him I was every bit an agent, and not a little girl needing to be saved.
“And everything’s in order?” A sense of calm settled over me before he even spoke.
“Yep, and it will definitely stand up to any test anyone throws at it.” His face held a satisfied expression.
“Perfect. We better get downstairs.”
He gave me a quick nod and opened the door for me to go through.
Once downstairs, Jeremy had us run through the plan one last time so that they would know my whereabouts.
Ace said, “We’ll be here listening in on Jericho. Good luck, Christy. Oh, and Halluis was able to get into his Gramercy Park condo and bug his landline. How would it be to have a mansion on Long Island for the weekend and a luxury condo while at school during the week?”
“Yeah, he lives a hard life. And I bet those aren’t the only houses his family owns.” I took the car keys and headed out. Jeremy left out the back door—as always.
***
Once at the restaurant, I told the hostess I was meeting someone, and she directed me to the table where Viktor sat. He was alone. It surprised me. It made me wonder if he was not only a recruiter, but the boss. There was a spooky feel in the restaurant. The lights were kept low, and the décor was all in black and deep red fabrics. I couldn’t see all the way across the room. Creepy, just like him.
I walked hesitantly up to the table, and Viktor stood as the waiter slid my seat back. I sat, and he helped me move closer to the table. I smiled, easily slipping into my alias of Amber. The waiter poured me water and then asked what I’d like to drink. I glanced over at Viktor. He was already drinking what looked like Coke.
“Could you just bring me some lemon for my water? I’d love that.”
The waiter nodded.
One side of Viktor’s mouth shot up and he huffed a bit, but said nothing.
I kept folding and unfolding my hands like I was nervous. He kept looking at them. He reached across the table and put his hands on mine when I placed them, folded, on my plate for the fiftieth time.
“Just relax. We’re two friends sharing dinner together.” His eyes lingered on mine, and I felt heat enter my cheeks. He was handsome in an angular way. His eyes seemed to probe mine. It was a shame he was so ugly inside. I took it as a good sign that he was sitting across from me. Maybe we were entering a more business-like relationship now. I could only hope. His warm hands on mine sent a terrible jitter up my spine. My spidey senses were raging. Real danger was here. I wondered if it was him or someone else in the restaurant. I would have to wait it out to see.
“I couldn’t believe how fast you were last night. I’ve never, and I mean never, seen anyone beat Wind in a foot race, even when he was twice the distance away from the goal.”
I pulled gently on my hands, to let him know I was okay. I clasped them in my lap. He smiled.
“I’m really great with a keyboard, too. Fastest fingers in the east.” I laughed, but the joke fell on deaf ears because the waiter came up with a nice salad and asparagus and asked what we would like for our meal. We had no menus, so I looked at Viktor with a question on my face.
“You like steak, don’t you, Amber?”
“I love it, actually.”
“Great. Get us two filets, please, and some garlic potatoes on the side.” He turned to me. “I hope that sounds good to you.”
“Sounds great. Thanks.” I licked my lips, lifted my napkin, and whispered. “But I don’t have any money to pay for it.” I wanted to drill in the fact that I needed money.
He smiled. After sending the waiter away, he said, “I got this. No worries.”
“Oh, good, cause this place is screaming money.”
“My parents own it.”
I looked around, letting my mouth turn into a frown. “Wow! This place is great.”
He nodded.
“You didn’t tell me you were a richie, too.” I took a big bite of salad.
“Just because my parents are rich doesn’t mean I am. And yeah, they have a lot of money, but nothing like Jericho’s parents.”
After swallowing the salad, I said, “Sorry. Do they make you work here?”
“I used to, but now that I can drive, I have a much better job.”
“Oh. Am I going to need a car for this job, because my parents—” I wanted him to tell me more without censoring what he wanted to say.
He put up his hand and waved it back and forth while shaking his head. “No business during dinner.”
I stared at him, open mouthed, wanting to look a bit silly.
“Okay?”
“All right.”
“So, tell me about your parents.” The question was direct and demanded an answer.
We then went into a long conversation about my life. I was glad that Jeremy had made me go over everything a thousand times, it truly felt real as I told him about it.
“They’re teachers.” I made my voice monotone, uninterested. “They work at Helman’s Academy for the Blind. They feel it’s important to give back to a distressed community. My summers are all spent
in other countries, doing some sort of service project.”
“I get it. Your family isn’t poor. They just choose to spend their money on others instead of you.” He raised an eyebrow.
I looked down at my empty bowl of salad and half-eaten plate of asparagus, trying to look like that really bugged me.
Our main course came, and we ate and talked until the last bite left the fork. He told me freely about his family and his past. He didn’t live a charmed life like I’d thought. While he revered his father, I could tell there was tension there. When he told about his father forcing him to kneel with bare knees on rice for ten times the duration of his lateness, no matter the excuse, to show him the importance of keeping his word—no matter what—I couldn’t help but soften toward him, but that didn’t mean I condoned his choices. No matter his past, he could choose for himself who he wanted to be. What surprised me was that he agreed with his father’s methods after having to endure them.
My stories of woe didn’t come close, but he seemed to bury the true feelings he had for those encounters and create a wall, thick and rough to keep people back. No wonder he was so awful, he’d been denied love and acceptance in exchange for discipline and loyalty his whole life.
“Why don’t we switch gears now?” Viktor wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin.
“Did you just say switch gears?” I smirked.
“Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, it just not normal teen speak, that’s all.”
He glowered at me, a look of distaste spread across his face.
“I mean, are you really a teenager? Seriously?”
He seemed to suddenly find it all very funny and laughed outright. “Do I seem like the kind of person who would return to high school after he left it?”
I chuckled. “No, but your choice of words was odd. It’s funny.”
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