“Listen up, girls,” I said. “Call the rest of the squad and schedule an emergency meeting for tomorrow morning. I’d like to open an investigation of my own.”
When I came into the living room, Aiden was sprawled across the sofa, looking completely bored.
“What was that about?” he asked. “Kira have another dating disaster?”
I walked around the couch and flopped down against his legs. “No,” I said, not wanting to bring up SOS yet. “Kira doesn’t have anymore DDs. She’s settled down.”
Aiden widened his eyes. “Seriously? Kira’s got a man?”
“I told you,” I said, running my hand down Aiden’s calf as I leaned on him. “That guy she met over the summer.”
“I don’t remember.”
“They’re totally steady. Heard he’s really nice, too. Not like her usual.”
“Huh.” Aiden considered this. “Well, good for her. I felt bad after the whole Darren thing.”
“Me too.”
I pulled a peach-flavored Jolly Rancher out of my pocket and began crunching it between my teeth. I was stalling. I knew that I had to tell Aiden about the faux SOS, but I was nervous. We’d had such a nice weekend, and bringing up the super-secret snooping society that I’d once used to spy on him might ruin the mood. I was torn. “So…”
“Uh-oh. What?” Aiden rested his elbows on his knees as he stared at me intently. It made my throat tighten.
“Something…happened,” I said.
“Wait, what? Are you okay?” Aiden reached out to touch my hand protectively. It made my mouth twitch into a smile. I hadn’t felt all that protected lately.
I exhaled and closed my eyes. “Today every girl in Redmond received a solicitation from SOS.”
Aiden cleared his throat and pulled his hand away. When I looked at him, his jaw was clenched. I’d promised him that my spying days were behind me.
“But I didn’t do it!” I said quickly, knowing that SOS was still a sore subject with us. “It was a fake communication. I didn’t send it!”
“A solicitation? And none of the Sex Kittens wrote it?” Aiden asked, sounding suspicious. “It said SOS, right?”
I shook my head, feeling a little annoyed. “It’s
Smitten
Kittens. And yes, it said SOS, but none of them were involved.”
“But the Smitten Kittens are the only ones that know how to pull off stuff like that, right? Didn’t you keep the files?”
I furrowed my brow, surprised that Aiden would mention our files. Thing was, Leona had asked to convert all of our paper forms into electronic ones last year. But since Kira had trouble figuring out how to open the documents, we’d kept both. I’d never talked about the SOS system with Aiden, so it seemed an odd thing to bring up.
“No,” I said slowly, shaking my head. “We stored the files somewhere safe.”
Aiden stared down at the wood floor of my living room. “Well, I don’t know what to say, Tess. My money would be on a rogue Kitten. But if you’re sure…”
“No,” I said. “Kira was over ninety percent sure that it wasn’t anyone on the squad. And it definitely wasn’t me. I trust the squad. They wouldn’t do this.” Aiden shrugged and I pursed my lips, looking him over. He knew about the SOS files. In fact, Aiden knew about
a lot
of things. “Hey, you…you didn’t mention SOS to anyone, did you?” Like maybe Chloe Ferril?
My ex-boyfriend spun to face me so quickly that I nearly choked.
“Me?” he asked, his mouth hanging open. “You think I ratted you out to the school?” He laughed. “Oh, baby,” he said, taking my hand again. “If I was going to spill your secrets, I’d make sure to blackmail you first.” He grinned wickedly.
I couldn’t help but smile as I wondered what exactly he’d want as payment. Aiden’s hand was warm on mine. I loved that feeling—that safe feeling. He looked over, but I saw his expression change as he ran his thumb over my hand. Aiden was thinking, and that was never a good sign.
“Hey,” I said, realizing that I’d just brought up the one thing that still hurt him. “I promised you that SOS would stop spying, and we did. I wouldn’t lie to you again.”
Aiden brought his fingers to my cheek, touching it softly. “I believe you,” he whispered. “I just…I don’t want you getting yourself into trouble again.” He leaned over to give me a quick kiss.
“Okay.”
He sighed, smiling a little. “Now what did this fake Kitty have to say?”
I felt better. Aiden believed me and he was looking out for me. He was my guy, even if technically he wasn’t really. “Well,” I began, “I only saw the one e-mail. No word yet if it went beyond that, but we have an emergency meeting scheduled for tomorrow.”
“Meeting?” Aiden glanced at me. “You’re not thinking of restarting SOS, are you?”
I shook my head. “No. But the squad needs to meet to discuss this. Aiden, e-mails are going out with the SOS logo on them. Someone who knows us is a total copy-Kitten! And I need to find out who it is.”
“
Copy-Kitten?
Oh, baby, you’re so cute.”
“This is not a time for cute!”
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. What can I do to help you?” he asked, his voice getting softer, as if he knew it would turn me into pistachio pudding.
I chewed on the corner of my lip. Surely with his ties to the boys at our school, Aiden would be privy to information I couldn’t get on my own.
“I need you to call Darren and some of the other guys from the team. See if they know about any funny business going on at school. But be careful not to out us. We don’t need anyone else knowing about SOS or that we’ve been heading it for the last few years.”
Aiden sighed again. “Tess, I haven’t talked to Darren in weeks. I’m not on the team anymore. I don’t even go to your school. Don’t you think it would look weird if I called him now?”
“Not if you play it smooth.”
He grinned. “Oh, I’m always smooth.”
“Are you going to call Darren or not?” But he was right. He was always smooth.
“Fine,” he said, sounding sort of annoyed. “I’ll call and check into it. But I guarantee they don’t know anything. If they did—” He stopped. Aiden knew the ramifications of our exposure. It might involve mobs with pitchforks.
“Thanks,” I whispered.
“Anytime. I’ve got to go,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. “I have to hit the gym, and I have class early in the morning.”
I frowned. “Will you call me later?” I asked, not wanting to move away from him. I knew I was being clingy, but I almost couldn’t help myself. With things so different between us, I felt like I had to fight for every second with him.
Aiden paused, making my stomach twist in pretzel knots. “I’ll try,” he said. “But I have…plans tonight.”
“Oh.” Did he have a date? I pressed my lips together, trying to remind myself that ex-boyfriends were allowed to date. Especially when their ex-girlfriends spied, lied, and cheated on them. But then I reminded myself that ex-boyfriends who slept over at my house were absolutely not allowed to date anyone. Except me. The rules of ex-dating still had me all turned around.
“Let go, Tess,” Aiden said, pulling out of my grasp. Then his eyes weakened. “It’s not anything like that,” he whispered. “I just have to get in a workout, and then I’m meeting a few friends for dinner. That’s all. Don’t look so sad. You know I can’t stand it when you’re sad.”
“I know.” I tried to sound as perky as possible. Still there was an ache in my chest, a dull one, but it was there. I tried to smile. “Call me tomorrow, okay?”
“ Course, baby,” he said, moving to kiss me deeply. When he pulled away, I felt a bit calmer. But only a bit.
I watched from my seat as he walked around gathering his stuff, never glancing at me. In fact, it seemed like he was trying not to.
Before heading for the door, Aiden moved in front of me. “You know how much I care about you, right, Tess?” he asked softly.
I nodded, reaching up to put my hands on either side of his face. I kissed him, wanting to keep him here, knowing I couldn’t. When I pulled away, his eyes were closed.
“I’ll call you soon,” he said. And then he walked away.
“I love you,” I called, but the door was already closed.
Alone, I covered my face with my palms.
Deep breath.
I needed to stay focused. There was a copy-Kitten out there, and they’d already inflicted serious damage.
For the love of unicorns! This was quite a mess—one that I’d have to rein in.
It was time for some serious sherlocking.
ASSIGNMENT 2
9:00 P.M., SEPTEMBER 13
The operative glanced toward her rearview mirror and slicked on a deadly shade of Midnight Red lipstick. A serious mission like this required serious color. Tate Donovan had appeared on the Naughty List, but his accomplice was unnamed. And even though Tate was single, the addition of his name meant that the accomplice was not. The anonymous texts were really coming in fast now that SOS had been restarted.
The operative smoothed her lips together and smiled. This would be easy. Tate was idling just a few cars away in his black Ford F-250, waiting for his order at the McDonald’s drive-through window. He had someone in the passenger seat—a girl—but the thick tint of his windows obscured her face.
As the truck pulled away from the window, immediately heading for the exit, the operative swung her car out of line to follow him into the street. Damn it. She really wanted some french fries.
She stayed far enough back to keep her face hidden from view in his mirror. After a few turns, the operative realized that Tate wasn’t heading to his home in the exclusive Redmond Hills. She narrowed her eyes and pressed on the accelerator. The operative was glad to see that
this
cheat was going according to plan. She’d beat Tessa’s record yet.
Minutes later, they arrived in a downtown neighborhood. One with small, wood-paneled homes tucked close to one another. The yards were unkempt, overgrown with weeds. Tate’s truck slowed and eventually stopped in front of a green, one-story house. He cut his engine.
The operative clicked off her lights and turned into a driveway several houses down from the suspect’s vehicle. Quickly she snapped her zoom lens on her camera. She rolled down the window just an inch and pointed the slim viewfinder at the truck, eager to catch the accomplice’s identity.
She could see only a vague silhouette as the couple turned to face each other. The operative held her breath, her adrenaline pumping at the thought of the impending cheat. It would be her first catch. Stupid tinted windows.
Every so often, the operative could make out Tate’s arm as he reached out for the girl, but the girl pushed it away several times. The operative pulled back from the camera, confused.
Just then, the driver’s door opened and Tate stepped out. He looked nice. His chin-length, chestnut hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he was wearing jeans and a pale pink sweater with a colored shirt underneath. The operative smiled at this. Only a really secure guy wore pink.
When he reached the passenger door, Tate glanced over one shoulder. The operative quickly dodged down, unsure whether she’d been spotted. She all of a sudden wished she’d parked farther away. Shit. She would need to be more careful.
Slowly she poked her head up just enough to catch a glimpse of Tate closing the passenger door, his arm draped protectively across the back of a female with a short brown bob. They had already begun walking toward the house when Tate leaned down to kiss the top of her head tenderly.
The operative felt a little flutter in her stomach. Did cheaters have hearts? She dismissed the thought and lifted her camera to zoom in, tense with the need to capture the girl’s face on film.
“Move,” the operative muttered, trying to see around Tate’s pink sweater. She brought her left thumb to her mouth and chewed on the nail nervously, flaking off the polish before she caught herself. Tessa would never walk around so unkempt. The operative burned with resentment.
Tate stepped back from his accomplice. Then, after a quick embrace, he turned and left her on her doorstep. The operative clicked the picture and gasped, straightening up.
“Jenn,” she whispered. The case had just gotten more complicated.
CHAPTER THREE
“TESSA!” IZZIE YELLED THE MINUTE I STEPPED INTO
the gymnasium. She jumped up from the bleacher and clapped happily. Her red hair bounced over her shoulders, somehow adding even more sparkle to her look. I noticed that her cheer skirt was well above regulation length, showing off her muscular thighs. But I wasn’t captain anymore. I needed to keep my advice to myself.
“Thank goodness you’re here,” she said, green eyes brimming with tears. “We’ve missed you.”
I furrowed my brow as I crossed the wooden planks of the gym floor to center court. “Izzie, we went out together for pizza Thursday night.” It seemed that out of the skirt, I was invisible.
She wrinkled her nose. “Tess, that was two weeks ago.”
I stared at her, confused. Had it been that long?
“Told you she’d be here,” Leona called to Izzie from across the court. She was sitting back, leaning against the bleacher in a well-worn skirt—one with the hem fraying at the edges. “Hey,” she said to me in greeting, popping her gum loudly.
“Uh,
hey
.” She wasn’t wearing her glasses, which seemed a bit odd. She hated contacts. And I could see why Kira had been so concerned about Leona taking body shop. She had the tiniest smudge of what looked like grease on her cheek. “Can I have a word?” I asked her.
Leona rolled her eyes, blowing her dark bangs away from her face. “Sure,” she mumbled, making her way toward me.
Kira hadn’t arrived yet, and even though I didn’t want to step on her sneakers, I knew that Leona was a tough nut to crack. I thought that maybe I could talk to her in private and ratchet down the animosity factor. It didn’t help that she and Kira consistently got under each other’s skin. They fought like an old married couple. But not in the adorable-old-people way.