Prank Wars (38 page)

Eric stretched out across the door frame, his smoldering eyes running from Byron to linger on me. They burned into me as if luring me back. “You’re leaving already?”

Without thinking, I shoved closer to my worst enemy. Byron’s jaw tightened grimly, and I felt my pulse rush at the danger. I shouldn’t seek solace in his arms, but one look at Eric’s stony face made me trust Byron just a few seconds longer. I hurried down the hall with my newfound protector, not knowing if I was walking into more danger.

I heard Eric close the door to the lab behind us. It was as easy as pulling a fast one on the twins, and I should’ve known something was up.

Day 113

2115 hours

“
Something strange is happening in Provo, and the only other person who suspects is Lord Byron, my worst enemy. And I will never join sides with him, even if everyone else thinks I’m crazy.”

—Madeleine’s War Journal Entry (Tuesday, June 5th).

“Thanks for giving my phone back. Now my mum won’t think I’m dead.” Byron threw his iPhone on the dashboard of his black Suburban, still playing the normal college student. “Look at all those messages.”

I hesitated outside Byron’s car in the school parking lot, which was pretty awkward, considering he was already inside and staring at me expectantly to get in. Our eyes locked. After a moment, he patted the bench seat next to him. Through my tingling senses, I realized the Suburban didn’t hold the usual bucket seats in the front. It was the perfect date mobile for a player. And for Byron? I wasn’t sure, but I could find out exactly who he was...if I had the guts. Did I have other options? I had nothing to go to the police with. Thanh was in danger. It seemed easier facing Byron and appealing to his better nature than bargaining with the nasties he worked with to get her back. By now Byron was fiddling with the radio as if he didn’t have any murderous thoughts on his mind. Maybe he didn’t? Maybe he did.

I stared resolutely at his iPhone, knowing I had a move to make. “I don’t think all those messages are from your parents.” I forced my voice to sound light. “You have quite a few girls’ numbers in your address book, you know.”

He cocked a brow, but kept working on the channels. “They’re just friends.”

“That’s not what their texts said.” I took a deep breath and grasped the end of the bench to pull myself inside his black Suburban. I clutched the door handle and tugged. The door slammed resoundingly. I was really going through with this. Byron started the car as if taking me to my apartment. My fingers crept to his iPhone. As soon as I had it, I forced myself to read the long list of names aloud. “Who’s Annabelle? And Angelina? And Bambie? And Trixie?”

“Who?”

I’m a horrible text messager, especially on a touchscreen, so let’s just say that punching those names into his iPhone was a huge feat for me. They all had Tory’s cell phone number. I pressed down on one of the numbers and called her. “What?” I asked to distract him from what I was doing. “You don’t recognize those names?”

He shook his head, keeping his eyes on the road.

As soon as Tory picked up, I turned the speakerphone on. She would keep quiet when she saw it was from Byron’s phone, who—by the way—didn’t notice my sleight of hand. “You player,” I told him, pretending that I wasn’t turning his iPhone the direction of our voices.

He grinned. “Where did you get my phone anyway?”

I took another steadying breath, trying to see him for what he really was for the upteenth time since I found out the truth. Was he a man who hurt people to get what he wanted? “I found it in Thanh’s apartment,” I said.

Byron’s grin turned into a clenched jaw. “How did you get in there?”

“Hey.” The leather seats squeaked when I shifted. “You should be grateful. I risked my life to get your phone back for you.”

His eyes wouldn’t leave mine. I never thought I liked the bad boy, but here I was with the enemy. I was painfully aware of everything about him: that we were alone in his dark car, that he was bigger than me, that he was possibly dangerous—but not in the way Eric was dangerous. I didn’t sense that in him. I sighed when I realized what I was doing. I was blind, wasn’t I? I didn’t want to admit it, but—Byron made my boring life interesting; he was fun to tease...and—I liked him. It made me do stupid things like get into his car. “So, what’s going on?” he asked.

My hand clutched the straps of my backpack. “I don’t know.” And that’s when I decided to recklessly lay all my cards on the table. “Just that you’re a dirty spy.”

“You demoted me? I thought I was the general.” He knew I wasn’t talking about the prank war. I could tell by the careful way he watched me.

“Let’s not pretend anymore, Byron,” I said.

It was raining again and Byron put his wipers on. A pair of pantyhose stopped it from wiping the windshield effectively. It was a beautiful trick, but it didn’t make for very clean glass. He glanced over at me.

“Sorry,” I said. “Old habits die hard.”

He unrolled his window and tugged the pantyhose off the blade. “So, what’s with this Eric guy? Is he the new general in your life?”

I blew out in exasperation. “This isn’t the time, okay?” He stared at me, forcing a shrug out of me. “I’m sorry I made you my watchdog, not like you had any intention of helping me out in the first place. Admit it!”

Byron ignored that. “
You
admit it. He’s a June sixth freak. ”

Were we seriously still on this? I had other things to worry about—like saving the world. “Seriously Byron, none of this matters. I’m through with guys right now. We have other things to talk about.”

“Oh, I get it. You’ll curse God and die. I like it. Nice and dramatic.”

“What? No, I’m not.” How dare this
spy
lecture me…although he was starting to confuse me. What cold-hearted asset talked this way? I tried to bring myself back to the interrogation. “Okay, let’s talk about what you want.”

“Suzy Q Miller,” he said with that stubborn look. “I want her. She was so sweet and bubbly when she asked me out on April fools.”

That forced a laugh out of me. “And clingy and bossy. Why did you tell her yes anyway? She was terrible!” He didn’t answer, which made me suspicious. “When did you figure out it was me?”

“The moment you said hello.”

“Oh.” I rested my head on my hand. “So, you’re only a little bit crazy.”

“There’s nothing crazy about going after what you want. You should know.”

My eyes flicked up to him. What was he saying? We drove into the parking lot. He had taken me back to our apartments! Byron stopped his car, turning his full attention to me. It was one of those moments when I normally bailed out of the car. I took a deep breath. “Byron?”

In the darkness outside, a shadow moved behind his head. It had hands. My stomach clenched and I ducked below the seat before I figured out it was AmyLee. Her ponytail bounced as she walked past the windshield. Byron knocked his elbow against the steering wheel, laughing. “What? You’re not afraid to be seen with me?”

My heart wouldn’t go back to normal. I felt like an idiot. “Sorry...just thought...I saw someone.”

“Yeah, good idea. We’ll just pretend we’re friends if anyone asks.”

I glared up at him. How could he joke at a time like this? “Is that what you do with Sandra? What other roommates are you dating without my knowledge?”

His lips tightened at the insult. “All of them.”

“Oh, I’m sure you’re so innocent. You were just plotting with Sandra to take over the ward…or was it the world?”

“Like you and Eric?”

“Yes, like me and Eric.” If he had something going on with Sandra, I would definitely pretend to have something going on with Eric.

“Hey.” He bit his lip to keep from laughing, which only made me angrier. “Sandra and I aren’t dating. Now it’s your turn to tell me the truth.” He leaned against the seat, peering down at me crouched below the bench. “Don’t worry. AmyLee is long gone and I won’t tell her a thing.”

I got back into my seat, feeling my face go red. How did he get to me like that? “Eric and I aren’t dating.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard.”

My eyebrows went up. If we were playing the truth game, I had a few more moves to make. “Tell me what’s happening, Byron. Who are you really?”

He hesitated and crossed his arms. “Byron Schipaanboord. Geology student. Nursery teacher extraordinaire.”

“Liar. You cross your arms across your chest when you think you’ve outsmarted me…like now. You haven’t by the way.” He looked surprised. “I know everything about you, Byron—even how you bluff.”

“I doubt that.”

“You can’t stand spiders. You listen to girl music. And…and when you’re feeling out of place, you lean against things.”

He laughed like he thought that was funny, but he was still conscious enough to uncross his arms. He leaned towards me, messing with my bubble. “Like this?”

Besides a catch in my breath, I refused to react. He was only trying to distract me...at least I thought he was. “Th—that’s why you play the knight errant,” I said, flicking his chest for emphasis, proud of how much control I had over my fingers—well, they were my fingers after all. I lifted my chin, looking directly into his eyes. “I don’t know what you’d do if you felt a girl didn’t need you. You look at me when you think I’m not watching. The only time you really seem like you’re having fun is…”—I stopped—
when he was with me.

His blue eyes darkened and I realized too late that I had gotten so into my tirade that I had moved far closer to him than I intended...or had I intended this? My hand was still on his chest. He looked at my lips. Only a breath away from a kiss. “Well, then I guess you know who I am,” he said softly.

I held my breath. I was supposed to find out if he worked for some evil terrorist, not get close to him. But what would it be like to trust Lord Byron just this once? He laid his hand over my own and I could feel his heart quicken under our fingertips. I think I would like it. Wait? Was that the right answer? “Why don’t you tell me who you are,” he said. “I talk. You—” he hesitated.

Talk.
I bit my lip down before I could say it. Another shadow passed by his Suburban and I stopped myself from colliding into Byron for protection. It was just AmyLee returning to her car for more groceries. My eyes darted nervously through the window, and I felt myself mumble out an excuse. “Sorry, I...I’m kinda...”

“—alluring and mysterious.” His lips curved cryptically up. “Now, it’s your turn, Madeleine. Who are you really? Suzy Q Miller? Prank war general extraordinaire? The
hottest girl I’ve ever seen
. A combination of everything, none of the above? You be honest with me. I get honest with you. That’s the deal.”
That was blackmail!
I hung back and his eyes filled with regret. He reached out, touching the white streak in my hair. “You’re not afraid, are you?”

I stiffened. “
I
have nothing to hide.”

His fingers left my hair, leaving behind a lingering sadness where my heart should have been. “When you lie, you don’t show your gums. Did you know that?”

Everything was so wrong, but being with him had always felt perfect. He was right here and yet I had already lost him. My eyes watered. He watched me with growing concern. “And...the way you’re holding your head right now? You’re trying not to cry. Every time I see that...you’re not trying to rip my heart out, are you
Mad Dog
?”

I winced. Really? He had just said Mad Dog? My anger wrestled with my sadness, and thanks to my self-preservation, my anger won.

He grinned in approval. “That’s better. I’ll take the wrinkled nose over the sad eyes any day. My favorite one, Madeleine, is when you try to stop your lips from twitching. That means you want to laugh. You love to laugh, but you’ve never had a man you could trust enough to be yourself around, so you chase them off. You’re a bigger commitment-phobe than any June sixth I know.”

My lips moved before I found words. “You are such a jerk.”

“Sorry, we’re talking about you.” Byron reached for my hand, and unwound my fingers from his iPhone. Once he had it in his possession, he clicked it off. Tory was no longer a part of our conversation. He gave a low laugh. “Now that we can talk freely, I want you to know that no matter what you find out about me tonight, the way I feel for you isn’t fake. It never was.”

“What?” Listening to him, I half knew what his words meant. I think he was admitting that he worked with that cranky guy on Thanh’s phone. Did that mean we were officially enemies? I searched his face and knew he wasn’t lying; he was bad!
But I liked him
…and if I wasn’t mistaken—his fingers trailed to my neck and he pulled me closer to him. Yep, he liked me too. I closed my eyes, all too aware that I was about to kiss Byron. And what about Thanh? My eyes opened. What about Holly? I pulled back and his eyes followed me; for once they were serious. One thought of Sandra jolted me into being sensible. If Byron wasn’t a threat to the free nation, he was still a threat to women everywhere and now he thought he could play me too? I straightened. “We have things to discuss,” I told him. “I have something you want.”