The Professional Alibi

Chapter 10: Ending a Life

Wade stands in front of me, smelling of some sort of spicy musk, distracting me with his thumbs running up and down the sides of my biceps. He inclines his head, as if agreeing with me. "One thing I've learned during my time at APEX is that the spy community," he points from me to him and back to me again. "Our spy community is relatively small. Yes, we work autonomously to a degree, but we have situations like yours and mine where we work with other agents. The pool of agents is small. We stick to our own agency and don't recruit outside ourselves. Chances are you'll see or work with an agent more than once during your career."

Wade drops his hands from my arms and sits back against my desk. "Once a person is erased from the public they never come back. Not really. Not until they are completely discharged and decommissioned from service. At some point in your careers, you and Keeley will cross paths again for work. When that time comes, when Keeley comes to terms with whatever's happened, and the two of you have distance from this situation, you will talk, heal and become friends again."

"Do you think so?" I stare up at Wade's face, praying that he's right. Praying that she didn't leave Apex feeling alone and abandoned.

He squeezes my shoulder again. "I know so."

I close my eyes and send a little prayer up to heaven that Keeley is all right and that she will forgive me for not being here for her when she needed me.

It doesn't fix things, but it eases the pressure in my chest a little. Enough for me to look around at the chaos of my room, and to remember my diploma case is still empty.

I lift the case so he can see it, irritation fizzling back to the surface. "Did you take my message?"

"Did you leave it out where anyone can find it?" He lifts a brow. "And did you tell your boyfriend about your assignment?"

The irritation evaporates into hesitation. "Not exactly."

"Either you did or you didn't, Charlie. Which one is it?" He narrows his eyes. "No. You didn't tell him about our assignment. There's no way he would've been kissing you like that if he knew. But you told him something. What was it?"

"Nothing," I say, looking away. "I broke up with him."

Wade snorts. "No, you didn't. That was no break-up kiss. That was an 'I want you in bed' kiss."

"Excuse me?" I jerk my gaze to his, my cheeks burning. I straighten to every inch of my five-foot six-inch height in front of him. "You do not get to judge what my relationship is or isn't, remember? What did you say? I'm the one who calls the shots when it comes to my body. Not you. Not anyone. If I wanna kiss my boyfriend one last time after we break up, then I'm gonna damn well do it."

Wade's eyes widen with surprise, but he doesn't back down. Worse, he stands, rising to his full height too. Geez he's taller than I remember. It must be the wall of muscles I'm staring at, and the way he seems to become even broader when he's mad. He must be at least six-foot-three inches. At least.

I swallow and lift my head to get a better look at his face, but I refuse to back down. Adrenaline courses through my veins. My fight or flight instincts are in full gear and it's taking every ounce of willpower I possess to keep from getting distance from him.

What did the teacher say in leadership class? Come in like a lion, and leave like a lamb? When you're in a new situation, show force first, and then ease up. It's easier to relinquish control than it is to earn it after the fact.

Wade slowly lowers his gaze. "What did you tell him?" he asks again, his voice low and deathly calm.

I lift my chin and say completely deadpanned, "I told him that his mother was a hamster and his father smelled of elderberries."

Confusion washes over his face, then his expression smooths and he straightens before running a hand through his hair. I get a good look at the tattoo on his bicep. Its three military chevrons fashioned to look like the back portion of an arrow, with a semicolon as part of the arrow's shaft.

"You had a code phrase?" he asks, peering down at me.

"Of course, we had a code phrase. Apex Academy is a spy school. What did you expect?"

His gaze snaps to mine, and his lips purse. Again, his voice is dangerously low, as he gets so close I feel his breath on my face. He says, "I expected you to keep your mouth shut. It's for your safety and his. If you can't keep this a secret, how can I trust you to keep anything else we do a secret?"

I ball my hands into fists to keep them from trembling, then I stare over his shoulder as if at attention. "It was a mistake. I will never do it again."

He doesn't move. His gray eyes, dark and stormy, rove over my face as if trying to detect whether I'm lying or not. My gaze snaps back to his and does not waver. The little hairs on the back of my neck are standing on end, screaming at me to back down, but I'm in this now, and I will not back down.

He's testing me. I know it.

I've never backed down from a challenge, and I'm not going to start today. If he wants to get in my space; If he wants to make me uncomfortable; If he wants to watch me crumble; he's going to be sorely disappointed.

We're both quiet for an uncomfortably long time. Another tactic I learned about in classes.

Finally, a gleam appears in Wade's eyes, making me instantly wary.

"How do I know you'll be a professional from here on out? Less than twenty-four hours into it and you've already broken a major rule."

I lock gazes with him again. "You have my word."

He chuckles and looks away, but whips his head back to me. "How can I trust your word?"

My breath stalls in my throat at how close his face is to mine. It's jarring, probably designed to keep me off balance. Damn if it's not working.

"I guess I'll have to earn it back."

"How are you going to do that?" he asks, tilting his head.

I'm so wound up, I'm about ready to bite the guy just to relieve some of this tension between us. Or kiss him.

No. I'm pretty sure I wanna bite him. Hard.

I don't answer.

"Do you have what it takes to keep your mouth shut and keep your guys safe?"

"Yes."

"Do you have what it takes to roll with the punches and pivot if the plan goes off the rails and we have to improvise?"

Where is he going with this? I nod. "Yes. Of course."

His eyes bore into mine. I stare back, trying to figure out what this game is he's trying to play. What is he trying to learn? What is he hinting at that I'm not getting?

Without any warning, Wade sighs and runs both hands through his wavy black hair, and paces away from me before returning back to his spot against the desk. "I guess you'll have plenty of time to prove yourself to me and the others. Right now, we need to clean up your mess. There will be no trace of you left behind. Nothing that can be used to track you back to the Academy."

Wade stands and strides toward the door. "Start packing. We've got five hours to make you disappear.