Lessons in SECRET (8 page)

“Tell her today,
Mason, and I’ll keep the assassins at bay.”

“Thank you.”

“I’m doing this for
her, and not you.”

“I know.”

* * *

Isa

I didn’t have time to
talk to Mase after he went off with Stella, and I can’t do it now,
either. I have to leave right after school to start getting ready for
my date. When Kurt told me the time, I was surprised. I guess I just
assumed that these things would happen at night, not around early
bird dinner time. I’m nervous, but with a little help from my
friends, I know I’ll be okay.

Tegan’s doing my hair
when Stella gets to my “parents’” house. We figured it was best
if I left from here in case anyone was watching me. Tegan’s been
posing as the housekeeper for a week, which I’m guessing is part of
her punishment for telling tales about her bestie last month. All has
been forgiven, and they’re as close as ever now, so I don’t ask
her to leave when I confront Stella.

“What did you say to
Mason today at the school?”

She doesn’t hesitate
to answer. “I told him I’d fuck him up really bad, but keep him
alive to feel the pain, if he hurt you.”

“What?” I ask,
jumping out of the chair so fast that I almost burn Tegan with the
curling iron.

“Damn, Isa. Warn a
girl, please. But you know what she told him is true. We’d all take
a turn at him if he broke your heart.”

“No. You wouldn’t,”
I tell them as I sit down. “It would be
my
problem. I’m tired of being treated like a little kid who needs to
be protected.”

“That’s not what’s
happening here,” Darcy says as she steps into the room. None of us
heard her enter the house—which was locked. That’s why she’s
going to be a big part of what happens tonight.

“Then please
enlighten me because it sounded like that was
exactly
what was happening. Again.”

“Stella threatened
him because she’s your friend. And Tegan said we’d all go after
him for the same reason. We’d go after anyone who hurt one of us.
We’re more than a team, we’re family. At least I think of you all
that way.”

“I love all of you.
You
are
my chosen
family. It’s just…my biological family sheltered me so much
because I was, well, the way I am. And I see you all do it, too. I’m
rarely sent on missions, and you all keep guys away from me when I go
out with you.”

“Hold up,” Tegan
says. “Stell and I have tried to get you to hook up, or at least
kiss someone, every time we’ve gone out with you. So don’t
include us.”

“I don’t think
you’ve had less missions because anyone’s trying to protect you,
either. You went through the same training that we did. We know you
can be badass when you want to. Or have to. I think it has more to do
with the fact that you are so freaking amazing behind the scenes.
You’ve saved me at least twice that I know of, and probably more
times that I don’t,” Darcy tells me.

“I’m sorry. I
didn’t mean to sound like a bitch. It’s just that I’ve always
went to school with people who were way older than me. Because of
that, my parents and teachers always kept me separated from the other
students. I understand why they did it, but I had no friends until
all of you. And I guess I want to be like you. Well, not
exactly
like you, but I don’t want to be protected anymore. If Mase breaks
my heart, I’ll deal with it. It’ll suck, but everyone’s had
their heart broken at least once, right?”

“I have. And it sucks
balls, but I’m a functional member of society at present. Not
the
Society since I’m still being punished. But I do okay,” Tegan
says.

“You’ll be back on
a mission soon, Teeg.”

“I know. And I’m
kind of liking my down time. Helping Yas set up the literacy center
has been great. I just miss taking down bad guys.”

“I doubt they miss
you,” Stella says, and we all laugh.

Everyone re-focuses on
the task of getting me ready, and before long I’m headed out to my
first “date.” I hope our plans work, because I’m not prepared
for anything other than flirting. Well, and one kiss. That’s all
I’ll need.

Isa

Kurt is waiting when I
walk into the hotel. He makes eye contact with me, and nods towards
an older gentleman sitting alone at the lobby bar. I know how this is
supposed to go down. He told me when he cornered me at school today.
Well, I guess it’s not really “cornering” since I’m supposed
to be on board with all this now.

I make my way into the
bar, and sit down next to my “friend.” “There you are. When you
didn’t come right back to the room after your meeting, I was
worried.”

“I knew you’d find
me, my dear. How was your day?”

“It would’ve been
better if you hadn’t had that dumb meeting,” I tell him with the
best pout I can muster.

Yes, this conversation
is killing some of my brain cells, but playing dumb is going to help
me later. He won’t expect what’s coming. Which means Kurt won’t
suspect anything is off later, either.

“I’m sorry to have
ignored you, but I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

He looks me up and
down, and then smiles like the cat who caught the canary. I want to
throw up, but I keep the smile pasted on my face. Audrey’s taught
me well. I even manage to reach out and stroke his arm while keeping
the drink he ordered me down. I take another sip as his hand moves to
my knee.

“I think we’re
ready to go up to our suite now,” he says when I finish my drink a
couple of minutes later.

I nod, but then stumble
as I stand up. Something’s wrong. I don’t feel right. He grips my
arm tightly, and smiles indulgently at me. My brain clears for a
moment, and I realize that I’ve been drugged. I watched my drink
from the moment the bartender gave it to me, so he must be the one
who did it. I reach over and lightly press on my forearm before
succumbing to the cloudiness again.

We’re stumbling into
his room with him practically carrying me when the fog lifts again
for a moment. “Lipstick,” I say.

“You want me to put
your lipstick on, my dear?”

I nod, and he sets me
down on the couch. I feel him open my small bag, and then he’s
painting my lips. Thank God. I know my friends are close by, but they
can’t interfere. I’m fading again, but I manage to get the two
words out. “Kiss me.”

He does, sticking his
tongue in my mouth even though I’m not an active participant. He
starts to pull my dress up, but doesn’t get very far. I feel him
stiffen before he collapses on top of me. I can’t move him, but at
least I know I’m safe. It’s the last thought I have before
falling completely under.

When I wake up, my mind
is still foggy but my date isn’t on top of me anymore. I slowly
open my eyes, blinking a few times.

“She’s awake,” I
hear someone say. I think it’s Tegan, but she’s not supposed to
be here.

“Isa, can you hear
me?” Reina asks me. She shouldn’t be here, either.

“Yes. What are you
doing here?”

“You were drugged,
Double G.” Matt’s here too?

“I know. I activated
my panic button, knowing Ainsley would see the drug in my blood when
my vitals popped up.”

“You still managed to
knock out the old guy,” Matt says with admiration in his voice.

I smile at him and
start to sit up. He rushes over to hold me. “I couldn’t say much,
but I got him to put my lipstick on and kiss me.”

“You did really
good,” Matt tells me, kissing my temple. “I would’ve killed him
if he’d touched you, you know.”

“You would’ve had
to get in line. Please tell me I can have a go at Kurt before we turn
him over. He’s behind this, and guys who drug girls to rape them—or
have someone else do it—need to feel some pain.”

“You can have one
punch, Teeg,” Reina promises her.

“I appreciate the
support, but isn’t this going to jeopardize the mission? I mean,
only Darcy was supposed to be here to help me.”

“No one will know
they were here,” Darcy says, coming out of the bedroom. “The
guy’s all taken care of in there.”

“Condom wrapper,
empty bottles, the works?” Reina asks.

“I’m not new a
trainee, Rei. You know I know what I’m doing.”

We all know that.
Before Mallory recruited her, Darcy was a cat burglar and con woman.
She grew up that way, so she’s done things like this her whole
life. She knows how to get herself out of pretty much any situation.
That’s really come in handy for us on a number of missions.

“I
do
know, Darce. But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t double
check everything.”

“You can double check
me anytime, Princess,” Matt tells her.

“I’m not even
single checking you at the moment. In fact, don’t you have a bar to
trawl?”

I can feel him sigh
behind me since he’s still holding me up. “This isn’t my ideal
setting for this conversation, but I need you to hear me and I’ll
take what I can get. I’m very aware of what you’re—we’re—not
doing. And when I went out last night, it was just to hang with the
guys. I didn’t pick up anyone. I
won’t
be picking up anyone if I go out. I’m sorry that I hurt you by what
I said to Nate, and that I always hurt you. That’s the last thing I
ever want to do, Rei. You’re more than a body to me, and you know
it. Even if I put up my walls, you see past them just like you always
have. I’m going to try and be the guy you deserve. I swear it.”

“I hate to break this
up, I really do. But we need to get out of here,” Darcy says.

“Yeah, we do,” Matt
says. He gives me one more kiss on the forehead before standing up
and grabbing Reina’s hand. She lets him, which I think is a good
sign that they’re okay again for the moment.

They head to the
balcony, and I see them put on their harnesses and swing over to the
suite next door. Tegan and Darcy follow them, but go to the opposite
balcony. I untie their ropes once they’re safely on the other
balconies, and then I fix myself up, and head downstairs.

Kurt falls into step
with me as I head for the valet line. “Did you have fun, Isabelle?”

“Since I don’t
remember anything, I really couldn’t tell you,” I say, making my
lips tremble. “I think I was drugged.”

“You were.”

“What?” I should be
getting an award for how shocked I make my voice sound.

“He likes it that
way. He doesn’t want an active participant.”

“What if he’d hurt
me.”

“He wouldn’t. He’s
harmless, and just wants a passive fuck.”

“You could’ve
warned me.”

“That wouldn’t have
been as much fun. Relax. You’re fine.”

Tegan’s not the only
one getting a punch in when we take down this little asshole. Maybe
he needs a little drugging, too. I’ll need to talk to Audrey about
it. The lipstick she gave me worked perfectly. She’s the sexiest
woman I’ve ever met, which helps disguise a brain that rivals mine.
Hers leans towards chemistry, while mine is more about knowledge and
research. Ainsley and her combined are better than that “Q” guy
from the James Bond movies. That’s why the guys call them the
A-Team. Audrey also has a theater background, which she uses to help
us learn to blend in, or stand out, when we need to. She’s the real
deal.

“What now?”

“You’ll have an
envelope in your locker tomorrow, and I’ll be in touch when someone
requests you again. Have a great night.”

I turn away from him
without answering. My night consists of a long hot bath, and maybe a
good book. I’d like to talk to Mase, too, but after Stella
threatened him, he may want to stay away. I hope not, but I have to
be prepared for it.

* * *

Mason

I’m sitting in the
game room at Isa’s apartment building waiting for her. The guards
directed me here when they told me she wasn’t home yet. There’s
no seating in the lobby, and I was hoping they’d just send me up to
her place. I wanted to look around a little, and see how close she is
to bringing Kurt down. I know she’s in, but I really need to know
how much time there is.

They didn’t go for my
promises of just wanting to surprise her, and told me they’d send
her into the room once she got here, and I could surprise her then.
If I’d been thinking clearly, I would’ve remembered that this
place isn’t guarded by the usual rent-a-cops. That’s the problem,
though. Since meeting Isa, I haven’t been thinking or focusing the
way I need to be. And I really shouldn’t be here. I convinced
myself that it was over, but I know it’s not. I can’t walk away
from her. And it just might get me killed.

“What do I need to
see in there?” I hear Isa ask from the hallway.

I don’t hear the
answer, but I stand up to greet her as she walks in the room.
“Surprise.”

“Mase? Hi. What are
you doing here?”

“I wanted to be here
in case you needed me. You know…after.”

“Oh. You didn’t
have to. I’m fine.”

She’s fine after
sleeping with some random guy? Maybe we’re both hiding more than I
thought. “Really?”

“I didn’t sleep
with him…or anything else.”

“What? How? Isn’t
Kurt going to be mad?” I already know the answer to that last one,
but I have to ask.

“I can’t tell you
the details, but let’s just say that he fell asleep, and will wake
up thinking we had a really good time.”

She knocked him out.
Good girl. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day.”

“I know what Stella
told you earlier. I hope she didn’t scare you away,” she tells
me, looking way too serious.

“I’m here, Isa.”

“But maybe it’s too
tell me goodbye.”

“That’s what I
should be saying, but I can’t. I really can’t.”