“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.