“Tess, I have to talk to you. I’m so sorry—”
I held the phone away from my ear as I took a moment to breathe. I wouldn’t be able to handle what came next. Not able to hear that he’d moved on—to Mary!
I gripped the pink connection to Aiden, at the call I’d been hoping would come for two days. And then I hung up. I closed my eyes. Someone at school must have told Aiden that there were rumors about him and Mary. And since I hadn’t called him (which I had been prone to do), he would have figured out that I knew.
Feeling shaky, I lay across the couch, staring at the blank TV. If only I could just start over, start fresh somewhere else. But I knew that wouldn’t really solve my issues. I needed to stop dwelling and get my ribbon on straight.
After a minute of dwelling, I grabbed my phone and scrolled through my speed dial. When I found Leona’s number, I exhaled.
“Hey, Tessa,” Leona said when she answered. Her voice sounded choked off, sad. Hearing that made my fur stand on end.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, sitting up on the couch. It wasn’t like Leona to sound so vulnerable. Heck, I was calling her for strength.
“There’s been an incident,” she said with a sniffle.
I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. “Is everyone okay?”
“Everyone but me.”
“Oh, no.” Grief flooded me. “Is this about Marco?” Leona had been accessorizing again. I thought it’d meant that Marco had decided to accept her as she was, but apparently things hadn’t gone according to her plan.
“No, my cat ran away. Of course it’s about Marco!” she choked out between sobs.
My shoulders slumped. “Hey,” I said soothingly. “Why don’t you come over and we’ll have a beauty-treatment night?” Some self-therapy could be just what the beautician ordered right now.
“Yeah, sounds like a blast.”
“I have pore minimizer….”
“Fine,” Leona said, unable to turn down an offer that would help her complexion. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. And I’ll bring the cucumbers.”
When Leona arrived, I was shocked. Her dark eyes were ringed in red, her nose was pink and stuffy, and her hair—well, it was just too awful to describe.
We started in the kitchen, slicing up cucumbers for our eyes and mixing oatmeal and egg for our faces. Once our products set, we moved into my bedroom, surrounded by soft colors and fluffy comforters.
“Okay,” I said as I smeared a lumpy spoonful on her face. “Tell me what happened.”
Leona sighed, staring up at the ceiling as I smoothed the mixture under her eyes. “Marco told me that he’s not interested. Turns out…he has a girlfriend.”
I nearly dropped the bowl of goop into my lap. “What? Are you serious?”
“Deadly. He’s been seeing some chick from West Washington since summer but never brought it up. So when I took your advice and asked him to ask me out…” Her eyes welled up. “He said he couldn’t.”
“Oh, Leona!” I set down the mixture and wrapped my arms around her in a hug. This was horrible! She’d been trying so hard. I saw her in the halls when she was talking to Marco, and she was smiling! She smiled for him!
I straightened up and held her by the shoulders, giving her my very best supportive expression. “This isn’t awful,” I said. “At least you found out that he had a girlfriend. This could have gone on until senior prom.”
Leona pressed her lips together, blinking away her tears. “You’re right,” she said. “And at least he wasn’t trying to cheat on his girlfriend.”
“Exactly.” Her eyes locked on mine, and I knew we were both thinking the same thing. “Sam?” I asked.
“I think he was seeing someone else before he broke it off with Izzie,” Leona said quietly. “And I have to tell you, Tess, I think Izzie has gone off the deep end. She isn’t answering calls, and when I went by her house last night, her car was gone. I think she might be stalking him.”
It was entirely possible that Izzie was stalking. She was very dedicated by nature. I clenched my jaw, trying to think of the right course of action. “This is bad,” I murmured.
“Horribly bad.”
Just then my cell phone vibrated on my rosewood side table. “It’s Kira,” I said to Leona.
“Power trip,” she sang out, picking up the bowl of oatmeal and walking over to my vanity to continue the application process.
“Hello,” I said, touching once the drying mixture on my face.
“It’s me,” Kira said. “I was wondering if you had a second?”
I smiled, or at least I tried to. The mask I was wearing was making my skin tight. “Of course. I love to help.”
“I know.” Kira sighed. “Look, I’m sorry if I’ve been a pill lately. You know I’ve missed you as a Smitten Kitten. Without you, we just don’t have that same pep.”
That was sweet of her to say. It reminded me of how much I missed her. “Aw…thanks, K.”
She laughed, sounding happy with my happiness. “So I guess what I’m saying is…I’ll stand up for you, Tess. I want you on the squad. Full-time.”
I straightened, completely caught off guard. It was the best thing I could’ve heard. I felt completely vindicated. “Really?”
“Yes,” Kira said. “Being captain takes a lot of stuffing, and I’m just not sure I’m enough Kitten for it. I need more time for my life, my boyfriend. So I could use your help.”
My eyes were beginning to tear, and I shot a glance over to Leona, who was still at my mirror applying oatmeal to her face with the back of a spoon.
“You have no idea what this means to me,” I murmured. “Thank you.”
“Course,” Kira responded. “No one cheers like you, Tess. No one.”
After we’d hung up, I put my phone back on the side table and sat down on my bed, wrapping my arms around my knees. Finally I had part of me back. I was going to be a Smitten Kitten again.
“What was that about?” Leona asked, turning to look at me through a face of oatmeal.
I met her gaze and smiled (sort of). “I’m back on the squad!”
Leona pursed her lips as she seemed to consider it, then she shrugged. “It’s about time.” Then she flipped over her wrist to look down at the watch she always wore. “Hey, I have to babysit my little sister tonight. I’ll just keep this junk on my face until it falls off. My pores have been seriously neglected.” She began walking to my bedroom door.
“No cucumbers?” I asked. She paused.
“I’ll take a few for the road.”
After Leona was gone, I decided to treat my eyelids to a little cucumber time of their own. I stretched out on my couch and closed my eyes, dropping two perfectly circular veggies on my eyes.
I was a cheerleader. I was a Smitten Kitten once again. And by golly, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it.
I must have fallen asleep, because the sound of my doorbell startled me. I darted upright, the cucumbers falling off my eyes. I could see the sun setting out the window as I got up and began walking toward the door. The bell rang again.
When I got there, I pulled the door open, still a bit hazy from falling asleep. Joel gasped when he saw me.
“Holy shit, Tessa! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
I tried to pull my eyebrows together when I realized that I couldn’t. My oatmeal and egg mask had hardened on my face, resulting in a look that was undeniably insane. “Oh my!” I yelled, running for the bathroom.
It took nearly ten minutes and a lot of hot water to get the concoction off my face, but when I looked up, my pink skin looked smooth as a baby’s you-know-what. Overall, I was pleased.
When I came out, Joel was still near my door, but he had come in and shut it.
“Sorry,” I said. He waved me off.
“No worries, I love horror movies.” He smiled. “And I probably shouldn’t have just shown up.”
“True,” I said, leaning against the counter. “And why again are you here?”
>
“To jump you,” he said, and then his eyes got wide. “To jump your car. Your car needs the jump. Oh God.” Joel rubbed his chin. “Have you gotten your car yet?” he asked.
“I have not.”
“Would you like to? My plans for tonight got canceled, and I thought, ‘Wow, fixing Tessa Crimson’s car sounds like a great time!’
“You thought that?” I knew he didn’t, but I appreciated him thinking of me. In fact, my day seemed to keep improving. I was glad I had Joel to share it with.
“Yeah,” he said, like I’d asked a silly question. “Now let’s go get greasy!” He rubbed his hands together like he was ready to get down to work.
Since my parents still weren’t home, I decided to take him up on his offer for help. It was better than lying around with cucumbers on my eyes.
“Let me just change real quick,” I said, motioning down to my beauty-ritual sweats. Joel nodded, and I dashed to my room.
I slid on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt and then slicked my hair back into a ponytail. I finished with some gloss. “Ready,” I called as I came back in the room, grabbing my purse from next to the couch.
“Actually,” Joel said, looking me over. “Since you look normal now, did you want to stop for a corn dog first?”
I scrunched my nose, thinking. I hadn’t considered the issue of dinner.
“There’s a fair in the parking lot of the mall. Wanna go?” he asked.
“The one where you can get killed on the rides?”
“Yep.”
I laughed. They did have good corn dogs there. I considered it.
“I’ll even take you on the super-slide,” he said, nodding enthusiastically. “Twice!” He held up his fingers.
“Sold.”
I adjusted my purse strap over my shoulder and followed him out of my house to his car. I wasn’t sure why, but an evening at a fair sounded like a really great idea. In fact, it was the best idea of the night.
ASSIGNMENT 2
7:00 P.M., SEPTEMBER 23
The operative watched from the booth as she sipped casually on a latte and slid on a pair of dark sunglasses. Tate and Jenn were across the way, in line for the mini-Ferris wheel. It seemed bold to go on a date to a very public local fair, but then again, cheating on your boyfriend wasn’t exactly subtle.
Tate put his arm around Jenn, and after she took a cautionary glance around, she snuggled into his shoulder. The operative’s stomach turned. It looked like Jenn’s betrayal was finally going to happen. In a way, the operative had hoped that they would rethink the affair, especially since Jenn was the original one to order the investigation. But the operative knew all too well that it would be a one-hundred percent cheat confirmation—it had been ever since the first day SOS had started.
The operative took one more sip from her vanilla-flavored coffee before tossing it in the trash. She tapped her foot, waiting patiently for Tate and Jenn to move up in line. When it was their turn to board, she made her move.
Without drawing any suspicion, she stalked across the paved ground and stepped up behind them, just close enough to drop a chip into Jenn’s oversized beach bag. Once it was released, the operative smiled and moved back, watching them get in the cart. Neither suspect turned.
It took a minute for the next cart to arrive. When it did, the operative climbed into its purple steel cage. From where she was, she could see Tate and Jenn nestled closely together. The ride began to spin slowly, swooping them up into the sky.
The operative slid the earbud in and put her finger over it to listen. With her other hand, she pointed a small camera in their direction. She’d already caught one pair of cheaters. Now it was going to be two for two. And then she’d outshine Tessa in every way.
“I don’t want to hide anymore,” Jenn whispered, looking up into Tate’s face. “I want to be with you.”
“Oh my God,” the operative murmured, shaking her head. Jenn just went from flirt to full-fledged cheater in three seconds flat. She was amazed at the lack of remorse.
Tate smiled widely, leaning down to softly touch his lips to Jenn’s, just a peck. “Babe,” he breathed as he stayed close to her face. “I want you too.”
They stayed together like that for a full turn of the Ferris wheel as the operative gritted her teeth, both excited and sickened by the culmination of it all. She zoomed in to capture their tender kisses.
“What am I going to tell Riley?” Jenn asked, reaching up to play with Tate’s hair.
“Tell him you’re in love with me.”
Jenn shook her head. “That’s cruel.” She sighed. “Maybe I’ll break up with him, and then we can wait a week or something so it doesn’t look suspicious.”
The operative scoffed. Oh, now they were going to lie about being together? They were disgusting. She began tapping her foot, almost feverishly.
“I don’t want to wait a week,” Tate whispered, kissing her again.
“I can’t believe I stayed with him so long. I should have been with you,” Jenn said, her hand sliding suspiciously lower into the seat of the cart.
“Slut,” the operative called out, her anger too much to suppress.
Jenn sat up straighter, swinging her head around, but the operative put her cell phone to her ear to pretend like she was on the phone and not paying attention. After a minute, Jenn turned back around, looking a little less comfortable in Tate’s arms. The operative smiled, enjoying Jenn’s reaction. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more reaction she wanted. She considered how she could make things right. What sort of…revenge she could have.
Tapping her nails on the steel seat of the Ferris wheel cart, the operative turned to look out over the parking lot, wishing the ride would stop. She was hungry. Spying sometimes did that to her. She gazed over to the food tents and—
The operative flinched when she saw her—Tessa Crimson, walking by the rows of games, laughing. But she wasn’t alone. She was walking with a guy.
Reaching to get her camera, the operative zoomed in on their faces. Tessa’s smooth features were perfect as always. Her dark, shiny hair was pulled back into a perky ponytail, flowing down behind her shoulders. Her wide smile flashed, not only drawing attention from the guy she was with, but from the filthy fair workers watching her.
The operative moved her lens, taking in the face of Tessa’s companion. It took a second from that height before she recognized him. It was Joel Fletcher! She gasped as she scanned him from head to toe. His hazel eyes were set off nicely against his light skin. He had on a vintage-rocker T-shirt and a faded pair of loose jeans that completed his look.
The operative clenched her jaw. “Again?” she whispered, her voice nearly a growl. As if one cheating friend wasn’t enough, now there was Tessa Crimson with an attached guy—eating a corn dog!
Was Tessa the ultimate cheating accomplice? Getting away with it all by being perky and cute. Slipping under the radar. Narrowing her eyes, the operative aimed the camera at the two of them, clicking off shot after shot until she ran out of film. She wouldn’t stand for this.
No, Tessa Crimson was going down.
When the Ferris wheel stopped, the operative climbed out, her fist clenching the strap of the satchel over her shoulder. Heading toward the parking lot, she thought about the best way to take Tessa down. She didn’t need proof this time. Tessa was a repeat offender—she’d already been through this with Christian.
About halfway across the concrete she paused, remembering the mission she’d just accomplished. Jenn and Tate.
It took a minute to find it, but when she spotted Jenn’s Honda Accord, she wasted no time. She stomped over to it, darting around cautionary glances. When no one was near, she squatted and took a metal letter opener out of her bag. She gripped it in one hand and drove it into the smooth part of the driver’s-side tire. She twisted and turned the blade, her face pulled into a snarl.
There was a hiss as the air escaped from the rubber. The operative pulled out her weapon and slid it
back into her satchel as she straightened up. She doubted that Jenn knew how to change a tire. And depending on the kind of guy Tate was, he might not know either.
With that, she brought a business card out of her back pocket, kissed it, and put it in the jamb of the driver’s-side window.
Now it was time to catch a Kitten.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“THIS LOOKS DISGUSTING.” I LAUGHED, TWIRLING the corn dog stick in my hand.
“Come on.” Joel knocked his elbow into mine as we walked across the fairgrounds. “Hot dogs covered in batter and shoved on a stick? It’s like the most delicious combination on the planet.”
I didn’t mind coming here with Joel. I was really enjoying it. Even though Kira, Leona, Izzie, and the other girls on the squad were great, I really missed having a guy around. Not in a boyfriend way, but just that male presence. In fact, it was nice to not have to worry about the boyfriend baggage.
“So Kira told me she was going to put you back on the squad,” Joel said as we passed the Ferris wheel. “Did she?”
“Yep. I am officially a Smitten Kitten, a member of the fiercest squad in Washington.”
“Ah,” Joel said. “Taking your rightful place at the helm soon, hopefully.” He finished his corn dog and tossed the stick in the trash as we passed it. “It’d be a good thing,” he added. “I was starting to think that Kira was going to lose her mind with all the practices and infighting. You all are a feisty bunch!”
I pursed my lips and then nodded. “Yeah, but we love each other.”
“So sweet,” Joel cooed, placing his hand over his heart.
“Zip your lip!”
“Wait.” Joel took my arm and pulled me sideways. “We have to go see this!”
“What?” I followed him as he dragged me over to the haunted house, which was really a renovated trailer. “They might have real ax-wielding murderers in there,” I said, raising my eyebrow.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered as he paid the carnie in tickets. “I’m a trained assassin.”
“Wow.”
“Yep. Deadly. Ninja-like reflexes.”