Down to the Wire (23 page)

What does it matter?
I rolled my eyes.
You’re locked in here with David, remember?

I looked at him then, propped against the shelves, arms crossed, staring back at me. His intense dark eyes made my stomach flip.

“Somebody know won’t we’re in here?” I shook my head. “I mean, won’t somebody know we’re in here?”

“Maybe. Doesn’t matter.”

“Oh.”
Think of something to say, you idiot.
“Um—”

David pushed off the shelves.

Suddenly, it’s very warm in here.

He took a step toward me, and I backed up. Not sure why I backed up. I wasn’t afraid or anything.

Well, a little. But scared in a good way. Like excitedly fearful, if that made sense.

David took another step, leaving barely any space between us.

I swallowed.

He ran his hand down my jacketed arm. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I breathed.

David trailed his finger over the top of my hand. “Nervous?”

“N-no.”
Okay, it’s not warm in here. It’s hot.
Very
hot.

I reached for my zipper. Wait.
You can’t take your jacket off, you imbecile. He’ll think you’re undressing.

“No?” He smoothed my hair behind my ear. “I am.”

“You are?”

Nodding, David shifted closer, and I swayed back, finding the door solid behind me. Good thing, because his nearness shot my balance.

He stretched his arm above my head, and my heart skipped a beat. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot.”

“This?”

David toyed with the hair on top of my head. “This.”

“K-kissing?”

He pressed his body against mine, and I stopped breathing. “Speaking of which.”

“I haven’t brushed my teeth,” I blurted, then realized what an extremely stupid thing that was to say.

His eyes crinkled. “Hmmm, did you brush them this morning?”

“Yes,” I croaked.

“Good.” He tilted his head.

“Bu—”

David’s lips touched mine, and all rambling thoughts poofed
from my brain. His cologne flowed through my senses, buzzing every skin particle on my body.

Soft. Warm. Yum.

If not for his weight holding me up against the door, I would’ve slid down to my butt.

Cupping my cheek, he slid away from my mouth and over to my neck, nuzzling it. “Better this time?”

Oh, yes. Much better.

Tilting my head, I gave his talented lips and bristly cheek better access. Goose bumps pricked my skin. My breath drained out in a moan.

“GiGi?”

“Hmmm?”

“Is that a yes?”

“Mmm-hmmm.” I didn’t open my eyes. “Can I have another one?” If not for the turned-on haze fogging my brain, I would’ve died from asking a question like that.

“Definitely,” he murmured.

A week later, specialists
Teams One and Two, along with Jonathan and Chapling, packed the conference room.

David and I stood side by side along the wall. I tried to focus on what TL was saying, but my brain wouldn’t cooperate.

David.

David. David. David.

Even though inches separated us, his warmth permeated my clothes. I closed my eyes and inhaled.

His scent.
Oh, his scent.

Nothing like it in the whole world. If I were blindfolded and had to sniff a hundred guys, I’d pick out David in a second.

I opened my eyes. TL was still speaking. I’d find out from Bruiser later what he said.

David shifted, and his shoulder touched mine. On purpose? Accidental? He left it there, barely skimming.

On purpose.
I smiled, and warmth crept into my face. I remembered all the kisses we’d shared over the past week.

Did I distract him as much as he distracted me?

He folded his arms, drawing my attention (not that I had any anyway) away from TL. David’s muscles stretched the fabric of his long-sleeve T-shirt, molding it to the contours and lines of his arms.

Everyone in the room applauded, and I snapped to attention. Quickly I brought my hands together, clapping, glancing around.

I tried to read expressions, but couldn’t figure out what we were celebrating.

“TL recapped the Rissala mission.” David nudged me. “You better pay attention. You might get in trouble. I’ll have to lock you in the pantry again.”

“Shhh,” I hushed, although I loved the teasing.

TL lifted his hand for silence. “And now onto the next thing.
With Erin gone, we have an opening in the Specialists. I’ve asked Katarina Leosi to fill the slot, and she’s accepted. She’ll be our special-entry operative. Her code name is Cat.”

Oh, wow!

TL opened the door, and Katarina stepped inside. She wore a yellow ribbon, the Ghost’s signature, around her ponytail. The necklace Wirenut had bought her back in Rissala hung from her neck.

It made my heart all mushy.

Everyone applauded, and I joined in (this time for real). Across the room I caught her eye and waved. Grinning, she waved back. Sitting at the table, Wirenut grinned, too.

So great to see him happy again.

The noise died down, and TL dismissed us. “David and GiGi, I need you to stay.”

Huh. Wonder what’s up?

Please, not another mission. Pleasepleaseplease, not another mission.
I needed time to be me. I wanted to get back to classes. I had to kiss David some more.
Had
to. I wanted to hang out with Bruiser and Katarina and the rest of my friends, my team.

Wait. Maybe TL’s going to get onto us for making out in the pantry.

Groan.

TL closed the door, giving the three of us privacy. “Have a seat. There’s something you two need to know.”

David and I sat beside each other with TL at the head. He
slipped a tiny envelope from his back pocket and laid it on the table.

“I thought it was time to show you this. Open it.” He slid it toward us.

David flipped open the unglued envelope and pulled out an old picture. A tiny blond girl stood beside a dark-haired boy a little older. They appeared to be around four to six. Dressed in shorts and T-shirts, they held hands, cheesing it for the camera.

I studied the girl’s long hair and blue eyes and then zeroed in on her missing-tooth smile.
Wait a minute…what the…?

I glanced up at David.

Frowning, he stared down at the picture.

I looked back at the boy in the picture and over to David. It couldn’t be, could it? “Is this…”

TL folded his hands on top of the table. “Yes. That’s a picture of the two of you.”

“What?” I gasped. “How?”

“You both lived here and knew each other when you were children. I thought it was time you knew.”

I looked up at David and saw his confusion.

I was too numb to understand.

What does this mean exactly?

Somehow, I think I’ll find out when TL is ready to tell us the whole story.

Read on for a sneak peek
at the next book in the series:

The
specialists
The winning
element

Prologue

Sisisysy. Sisisysy. Didid yooouuu hear whwhat I aaassskkked youyou?

Sissy pried open her heavy eyelids and focused on the fuzzy image of Ms. Gabrier. Her lips were moving, but Sissy couldn’t make out the teacher’s words.

Ms. Gabrier stopped talking and stood still.

From across the classroom Sissy squinted, bringing her teacher into focus. She was looking right at Sissy.

Ms. Gabrier’s lips started moving again. Her words filtered into Sissy’s ears, slowly swirling through her head, echoing off her skull in distorted vowels and syllables.

Sissy dragged her dry tongue around her mouth, trying to moisten it, and smacked her lips. She needed a soda.

Faintly, she heard some giggles, and in her blurry peripheral vision she saw other students laughing at her.

So what? She couldn’t care less. Let them and their perfect little selves laugh.

“Sisisysy?”

Dragging her head from the desktop, Sissy slid her butt down. She propped her boots on the desk in front of her and let her eyelids fall back down. Sleep. Beautiful, much needed sleep.

“Sisisysy?”

“What,” she grumbled. Couldn’t they see she wanted to sleep?

“Priscilla,” Ms. Gabrier snapped.

Sissy’s eyes shot open. “What?” she snapped back.
Nobody
called her Priscilla.

Her teacher’s eyes narrowed. “Do you realize you’re failing this class?”

Sissy shrugged. Of course she realized she was failing. She never turned in any homework or studied for tests. Her mom didn’t care. No one cared. Sissy’s life wasn’t going anywhere, anyway. And why did teachers always ask stupid questions they knew you knew the answer to?

“All right.” Ms. Gabrier jabbed the OFF button on the overhead projector. “You know what?” She pointed her pen at Sissy. “I’ve had enough of you. I don’t care if you
do
have the highest test scores in the school. I don’t want you in here. If you don’t care, I don’t care. Look around you. Look!” her teacher shouted.

Sissy jumped, took her feet off of the desk, and sat up. She’d never heard her teacher raise her voice.

Ms. Gabrier’s jaw tightened. “I said look.”

Suddenly very awake, Sissy dragged her gaze over the thirty or so other students in Advanced Chemistry. Mostly preps and nerds. Everyone was college-bound. Some with scholarships, others with daddy’s and mommy’s money. All of them were staring back at her with mixed expressions. Haughty, disgusted, amused, pitying, scared.

Scared of what? Scared of her?

Ms. Gabrier tapped her nail to the podium. “Do you see any of them sleeping through this class?”

Sissy swallowed.

“Do you?”

She barely shook her head.

“That’s right. Because they know what an honor, what a
privilege
, it is to be in here.” Ms. Gabrier placed her pen on the podium. “There are exactly seventy-one students on the waiting list to be in this junior class. Do you know how many students are on the waiting list to be in this high school?”

Sissy shook her head.

“One thousand eight hundred and twenty-three.”

Silence.

She’d had no idea that many kids were on the waiting list.

“You were placed in the Jacksonville Academic Magnet School because of your brilliance. This school made the top-ten list in the nation. Do you know how incredible that is for a public school?” Ms. Gabrier closed the teacher’s edition lying on her podium. “What a waste. I’m tired of trying. This is what it’s like day in and day out with you…when you’re here.”

Ms. Gabrier pressed her fingertips to her temple. “I’m done. You’re out of here.” She closed her eyes. “Go fry your brain on drugs in someone else’s classroom.”

The blond girl beside Sissy snickered.

She turned and snarled back at her. Why did everyone assume Sissy did drugs? She was just tired. Exhausted. Working the night shift at the laundromat would do that to you.

Her teacher punched the projector back on. “Jami, please escort Sissy to the office. And Sissy, take all your stuff. You’re not coming back.”