Cassidy Jones and the Luminous (Cassidy Jones Adventures Book 4) (12 page)

“So just money?” I hoisted myself onto a stool.

“
Just
money?” Emery sighed and shook his head.

“Well, you’d better not get too attached to
yours
! Jason is obviously short on cash again, and he’s also giving your dad a run for his money in the spying business.”

Emery glanced at the security feed on the screen and grinned. “And getting a tan while he’s at it, I see. Crenshaw, you multi-tasker.”

“This isn’t a joke.”

“Trust me, I take Jason seriously,” Emery assured, peering into a microscope. “I have him
right
where I want him.”

I snorted, crossing my arms and legs. My foot flicked with irritation. “He knows that there’s something fishy about your remodel.”

“And I know that he sells coveted artifacts and jewels from
Gods and Kings
to the highest bidder. Not within the game, mind you. But for cold, hard cash.”

“He sells items from that video game to other players for
real
money?”

“Indeed he does. He has created a very lucrative business for himself. You should see his clientele list. Celebrities, politicians, tycoons, racketeers—”

“How do you know this?”

“Explaining how would bore you,” Emery eluded. “Jason has remained anonymous through these business transactions, which are in direct violation of
Gods & Kings
’s licensing agreement. If Jason were caught, he’d be banned from the game and would lose his cash cow. You pay a hefty price for items from
Sera, Ruler of the Seven Kingdoms
’s treasure trove.”

“So you’d turn Jason in?”

“If push came to shove. But it won’t. Jason is well aware that I’m as busy collecting dirt on him as he is on me.”

“Collecting dirt,” I repeated, watching the tip of the ballpoint pen I clicked go in and out of the cylinder. “That’s what Nate just said. Why did Jason call me over, then?”

“He knew he could fluster you, especially shirtless.”

Heat rose in my face, and I kept my gaze locked on the clicking pen tip. I sensed Emery’s smug smile. Was I that easy to figure out for
everyone
?

“Cassidy, don’t worry about Jason. This is just a game we play.”

“Well, I wish you’d both leave me out of it.” I dropped the pen. “Serena, do you need blood?”

“You don’t normally offer,” she remarked as she jotted down whatever it was she had observed on the slide. Emery’s eyes followed what she wrote.

“You’re right. Don’t know why I’m being so generous. I’ll take that as a
no
.” I slid off the stool.

“That can’t be right,” Emery said to Serena, referring to her notes. He angled her microscope toward him and squinted into the eyepiece. “How could you not see this?” Emery admonished her.

I couldn’t believe Serena let him talk to her like that. My mom would flip out.

He took her pen, slashed through her entry, and started writing his own. Serena didn’t protest, or even look miffed. She appeared more worried than anything.

“Is something wrong, Serena?” I asked.

She didn’t hear me. She was studying her son’s profile.

“There,” Emery said as he finished writing. He pushed the journal toward his mother.

Serena drove the worry from her face and read his notes. “You’re right. I should have caught this. It is obvious.”

Something told me whatever Emery had written wasn’t obvious. Something also told me that this had to do with whatever King had done to him.

“Is there something you want to discuss, Serena?” I prodded. She would have to come clean someday.

Serena gave me a strange look. “What an odd question.”

“Well, I’m an odd girl,” I grumbled, slumping.
Haven’t there been enough secrets?

“Dear, didn’t you say you had to leave?”

I frowned at her dismissal. Why did she want me to leave?

“I need help with math first,” I fibbed and flopped down on the exam table. I wasn’t going anywhere yet.

“Luckily for you, your boyfriend is at the top of our class,” Emery pointed out.

I glared at the ceiling.
Does Emery want me to leave, too?

“I don’t have a boyfriend. I can’t date until I’m sixteen, remember?”

“Minor technicality.”

“I dare you to tell my dad that! And Jared is
not
at the top of our class.
You
are.”

“But only you know that.”

“Are you going to help me with math or not?”

“When have I not helped you?” he challenged, but I could hear in his voice that he was happy I wanted to stay.

I smiled at the ceiling, happy that he was happy.

I entered our kitchen the next morning to find everyone in the household milling about, including Ben.

“This is insanity,” Eileen said, referencing the latest missing person report. With her teal suit, crisp white shirt, and blonde hair that was swept into an elegant French twist, she definitely looked the part of a fashionable businesswoman. Even her fingernails, sporting a polished French manicure, coordinated with the white steaming mug her long fingers wrapped around.

“Totally,” Ben agreed. The rapid rhythm his hands absently drummed on the cherry tabletop revealed his agitation. Being perturbed was highly unusual for him. “I don’t get why more isn’t being done. Like a curfew or something, especially since these abductions are happening at night.”

Helping myself to a slice of toast, I pondered Ben’s word choice. Knowing him, he probably thought space aliens were involved in the “abductions.”

“Dude, you say that like you think people are being beamed up to the mother ship,” Nate voiced my thoughts.

“Show some respect,” Ben said, snapping the back of his hand against Nate’s chest. “No bodies, no witnesses, no evidence—why discount anything?”

“Good point.” Nate popped a grape into his mouth.

Across the table, Jared fixed me in his gaze. I decided I could get used to the view.

But it won’t last much longer
, I remembered sadly. Jared’s eyebrows rose at my frown. He and Eileen were going home when she returned from the business trip that she was leaving for that morning. After a discussion with her ex-husband the night before, she felt confident that she and Jared wouldn’t be harassed again.

Only six days left to savor this yummy sight
. My teeth tore off a chunk of toast as I stared wistfully at Jared. He appeared ready to laugh. His gaze flicked to my dad, a precaution.

“Mandating a curfew would violate a few amendments,” Dad said, unaware that my eyes were devouring Jared as my mouth devoured my toast. “Only under the most extreme circumstances would the state consider setting a citywide curfew.”

“Eight missing people in three weeks isn’t extreme?” Ben challenged.

And that doesn’t include missing homeless people
, I thought.

“Believe it or not, no.”

“This is insanity!” Chazz copied Eileen’s remark.

I tried to hide my smile. Chazz had a huge crush on Eileen.

“Chazz, eat your breakfast,” Mom sang from the sink, where she was scrubbing the pan she had cooked the scrambled eggs in. I hadn’t realized until that moment how out-of-place her soft humming was, considering the topic of conversation.

“I can’t eat these eggs,” Chazz stated. “My throat is as dry as the desert.” He forced a scratchy cough. He just didn’t want to eat the eggs.

Mom giggled. I glanced back at her. That was strange.

“You have legs,” Nate told Chazz. “Go get yourself a glass of water.”

Chazz coughed more loudly.

“Chazz,” Dad began to reprimand, but Mom interceded.

“You’re thirsty?” She twisted the top off a Luminous Water bottle and placed it before Chazz. “Drink up.” She moved behind Dad and rubbed his shoulders. “Eileen, the spring auction is coming along beautifully.”

Mom launched into the auction news with fervor. She really got into helping organize school events, but wasn’t normally that peppy in the morning.

“And we get to go on a boat
with
a swimming pool!” Chazz relayed, showing as much excitement as Mom.

“We’re hosting another family on the cruise,” Mom explained as she planted a kiss on Dad’s cheek. Dad glanced at her sidelong in surprise.

“What side of the bed do you think she woke up on?” Nate whispered so low that only I could hear him. At the same time, Eileen said, “That will be a very lucky family. Maybe even us.” She elbowed Jared.

I sighed loudly at the idea of going on a cruise with him.

~~~

On the way to Levy’s class, I glimpsed Robin Newton down the hall, flanked by her top remoras, Mindy Ames and Jessica Blanchette.

My stomach tightened, as it always did when I saw Robin, which irked me to no end. Why should I care what she thought of me?

But I did. And it drove me crazy.

Robin hated my guts because I’d broken her nose. It had been an accident, but try to tell her that. And the fact that her arrogant, on-again/off-again boyfriend, Chad Dunham, had hit on me also hadn’t helped matters.

“Have you heard from your dad?” I asked Emery, just to make conversation. I wanted to look at him and pretend not to see Robin. Her scent had already invaded my space.

“No, and you know I won’t until he gets back.”

Gavin had gone on a “business trip” four days earlier, meaning the government had sent him on a covert mission.

“Oh, yeah.” I studied the passing locker bank as though it were an awe-inspiring work of art. My nose told me Robin was almost upon us.

“Hey, Cassidy,” she said.

I almost walked straight into the lockers.

Robin smiled at me, and it wasn’t her usual disgusted sneer. Her smile actually appeared genuine.

“Hi . . . ?” I floundered as she took a swig of water.

“Wonders never cease,” Emery teased after Robin and her remoras were out of earshot.

I chuckled. “Maybe Ben is on to something with alien abductions.”

~~~

Mr. Levy shuffled to the front of the room, though I noticed he lifted his feet a little higher off the floor, and his face was a little less pinched and sour-looking than usual. I wouldn’t say he appeared happy per se. Just less miserable.

“Whoever she is, I hope she keeps giving him big smooches,” Miriam whispered to me, but everyone within a twenty-foot radius heard her. Luckily, Levy hadn’t, and he jauntily called roll.

“Wonder what else he has in that water?” Rodrigo whispered, making a drinking gesture with his hand.

I slid a glance at the trashcan overflowing with Luminous Water bottles, snickering softly with my tablemates. Miriam released a snorting laugh.

Levy’s face puckered. “Miss Cohen, would you care to share what you find so amusing with the rest of us?”

Miriam looked as though she were actually considering it.

I cleared my throat to discourage her.

“Uhhhhh . . . no,” she said, much to my surprise. I was positive she was going to ask if he had a flask hidden in his desk drawer. “That wouldn’t be such a good idea.”

“Miss Jones, would you agree?” Levy goaded.

“W-with her?” I stammered. Why was he picking on me?

“No. With the Maharaja.”

“Levy, you prig,” Emery said.

“Emery!” shot out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

My outburst startled everyone, except Emery. He stared at me with that inscrutable expression of his, and became engrossed in deep thought.

“You seem quite confused today, Miss Jones,” Levy mocked. “I am Mr. Levy.”

There were a couple of snickers, which died out quickly when other scoffers didn’t join in. My face burned bright red.

Satisfied with my humiliation, Levy took a long drink of water, his thin lips curling into a wretched smile around the bottle’s mouth.

I loathed him. Absolutely loathed him.

~~~

“Levy is such a jerk,” I complained at the lunch table. I hadn’t been able to shake off the humiliating scene.

“I know!” Miriam shook her ringlets in agreement.

“Cass, it’s no big deal,” Jared assured me, again. “He made an idiot of himself, not of you.”

“I don’t know,” I grumbled, twisting the top off the water bottle Mom had packed for me. I took a swig as the degrading scenario replayed in my head.

Nope. Idiot sums it up
.

I took another drink. Luminous had a pleasant fruity taste. No wonder Mom was guzzling so much of it. “I can’t believe he didn’t jump all over Emery.”

Across the table, Emery, who’d been rather quiet, stared at me.

“For what?” Miriam asked, confused.

“How could you have not heard him? You sit right next to him!”

Miriam’s eyes lit up. “What’d you say?” She shook Emery’s arm.

Emery shrugged and glanced around the room, as though bored with the conversation. Everyone was acting so weird lately.

“What’d he say?” Miriam demanded of me.

“Nothing, I guess. Must’ve been hearing things.” I took another drink of water. What was up with Emery?

The conversation moved on to the latest and greatest indie bands and then to conjecture about the missing people.

“It’s a serial killer,” Bren concluded.

Jared’s hand sought out mine under the table. I drained the water bottle and noted that Carli stared at where our arms disappeared from view. My chest swelled with pride. She knew Jared was holding my hand. I was the luckiest girl in the entire cafeteria.

“I don’t think so,” Cheyenne challenged Bren. “Because of that mom who ran off.”

“So
all
these disappearances are just
a
coincidence
?”

“Wishful thinking,” Bobby agreed with Bren.

Jared’s thumb gently rubbed the outside of my hand.

“Dudes, I vote for alien abductions,” Nate said.

“Alien
experimentation
.” Bobby raised his hand high.

“Are you volunteering, Bobby?” Jared ribbed.

I laughed, and tasted my turkey sandwich coming up my throat.