Vortex (17 page)

She released me immediately. “Just don’t move it—”

“Sucker,” I said, then I took off and jumped over the back of the couch before she
could make another move. I landed on the other side and turned around, the protection
of furniture between us. “Now, let’s see you try that again.”

She grinned at me. “There’s only one way out of here.”

Both of us were dancing back and forth, waiting for the other one to make a move,
when Michael walked in the door, taking in the odd situation.

“Um … hey. What’s going on?”

Kendrick kept her eyes on me. “Just settling an argument about which flu vaccine has
been the least effective.”

“Okay … I will
definitely
be staying out of this one.” He walked behind her and she turned around to kiss him.

I quickly jumped back over the couch and had my hand on the doorknob in no time. “See
ya later,
Lily
.”

“Damn,” she muttered as I shut the door behind me.

CHAPTER TEN

JUNE 16, 2009, 7:30
A.M.

Senator Healy gave me the final mission instructions today: be a guest at the party
and nothing more. Kendrick is also playing the guest role, since she is currently
enrolled as a med student and has even interned for some of the doctors that will
be attending.

I have a confession to make. Late last night, in a desperate sleepless moment, I took
a train to Jersey and walked by Adam’s house. I didn’t see him or anything and all
the lights were out, but his car was unlocked. I got in, sat in the driver’s seat,
looked through his CD collection, and then when I uncovered Jeff Buckley’s album,
Grace,
I found myself stuffing it in my pocket and taking off. It’s Adam’s favorite. I knew
that. And I couldn’t put my finger on why I needed to have it, but it was triggering
a memory that wasn’t yet concrete. Or maybe I just needed to leave my mark in this
Adam’s life.

JUNE 16, 2009, 7:49
P.M.

Kendrick and I walked into the ballroom at the Plaza Hotel in our formal attire, a
tux for me and a pink dress for her, but we both had concealed weapons, earpieces,
anti-time-travel injections, and cell phones. So, yeah, tonight wasn’t exactly the
relax-and-have-fun kind of experience.

Both of us were getting anxious because our lives had suddenly turned so boring and
uneventful. Not that we wanted danger every waking moment, but the lack of threat
seemed to make the anxiety build.
It’s coming, and in a big way.
That was what it seemed like to me anyway.

“There’s the honorable man of the night,” Kendrick said, nodding toward the long table
where Senator Healy sat with several of the invited international political figures.
“So, who do you want to put your money on? The Chinese ambassador is pretty important.
I doubt anyone’s trying to take out the Lithuanian dude.”

I pulled a chair out for Kendrick and scanned the long table. “My money is on the
host.”

“That would be a big splash, wouldn’t it?” she said with a smile.

Several of the members of the important table were looking in our direction, speaking
to others seated next to them in their native language. I put my arm around the back
of Kendrick’s chair and leaned in close to her ear to whisper, “So, do you think you
can read lips and translate into English at the same time?”

She smiled but kept her head forward. “I’ll start with the right end and you start
with the left.”

“Russian, my favorite,” I said. I watched the middle-aged man fiddling with his bow
tie and grumbling to the woman next him. All I had to do was watch closely and then
replay it back over and over until I could translate. “The Russian dude said he hates
that they keep putting ice in his drink. It tastes like water and he’ll never get
drunk.”

Kendrick laughed with her eyes on the Frenchwoman. “She’s just telling the Italian
man about her children. Nothing too useful.”

“Practicing your international spy skills, I see,” Senator Healy’s voice came from
behind us.

Kendrick and I both turned quickly.

He chuckled again. “Just kidding. Jackson, please introduce me to this lovely young
woman you’ve brought.” He turned to Kendrick and rested a hand on her back. He was
testing our ability to remain undercover. “I’ve known Jackson’s father for years.
He’s been very agreeable when it comes to FDA policy. His company donated over a hundred
grand to this event.”

“Oh … well, that’s very generous,” Kendrick said.

“Yes, he’s a great man. I’m disappointed he couldn’t make it tonight.” His eyes froze
on mine, waiting.

I cleared my throat. “Oh, right … Senator Healy, this is Lily Kendrick.”

“Perhaps you two would like to meet some of our guests of honor?” he asked with a
grin.

We both stood up and I could practically hear Kendrick running through the names and
basic info on all the international crew in her head.

Senator Healy grabbed the back of my jacket, holding me back and letting Kendrick
walk ahead. “I thought we agreed you would spend time with Agent Stewart,” he hissed
into my ear.

Was I supposed to invite her? He told Kendrick to come as a guest. We both thought
that meant to come with me.

“I have, sir,” I said quietly. “I didn’t realize you meant tonight.”

He let out an exasperated sigh and then said, “I guess that leaves plan B.”

Plan B?

When we reached the table, the senator leaned close to me and said, “Feel free to
show off a little, greet them in their native language.”

I had no idea why he suggested that when I was being presented as the son of a CEO,
a native of New York City. Not some CIA agent who could process foreign language better
than most geniuses. Kendrick and I made our way down the table, and I did as the senator
instructed and baffled the translators. When I reached the Russian man at the far
end, I only shook his hand for a second and said hello in Russian. I didn’t remember
any of the words that followed because my eyes froze on another girl in a pink dress,
clear across the ballroom.

“Oh, God, this can’t be happening,” I muttered.

Kendrick said a quick good-bye to the Russian man and steered me away from the table.
“What can’t be happening?”

I couldn’t answer her. All I could do was stare at Holly, who was standing next to
that Brian guy across the room. I had never been more disappointed to see her than
I was right now. And it had nothing to do with Brian, the jock strap. It couldn’t
be a coincidence that she was here and so was I. This was another attack. Thomas’s
work, maybe? He must have found out about her.

“Something bad is going to happen tonight,” I mumbled to Kendrick. “Trust me.”

I could feel her eyes fixated on my face, then they traveled across the room. I watched
her face break into a grin. “Oh … so you saw my surprise?”

“What?”

She nudged me in the shoulder. “Quit staring! I saw how you looked at that girl the
other day. Why do you think I offered to hook up her date with that orthopedic surgeon?”

“What?” I said again. I had just been standing there imagining all the buildings Thomas
could toss Holly from right here in New York, and Kendrick was telling me this was
some kind of elaborate blind date, with Holly’s new boyfriend? “Why are they here?”

She pointed to a short bald man standing next to Brian. “That’s the doctor who’s going
to heal that kid’s injury so he goes back to California and scores a bunch of touchdowns.
I did rotations with him last year. He’s amazing. And this place is full of doctors,
if you haven’t noticed. It is a fund-raiser for cancer research.”

“So that automatically means every physician in the area will be here?” I asked, not
feeling in the least bit guilty about drilling her with a full-force CIA interrogation.
“We didn’t get our assignments to be party guests until after you made friends with
Mr. Football God.”

“I was just trying to make a connection and maybe get him across the country again.”
She gave me a sheepish grin. “I decided to hack into the senator’s email and get a
copy of the guest list. I saw my favorite orthopedic surgeon on the list and sent
him an email suggesting he invite his newest patient, who I assumed would bring the
blond girl you’re drooling over.”

I let out the biggest breath of relief. “That’s seriously true? Promise you’re not
lying?”

She smirked at me. “Do you know how much planning I put into this? This was the only
way. It’s not like you can just keep showing up in random places that she happens
to be. Way too creepy. But med students … mixing with this crowd, and she’s not even
on the guest list,
he
is.”

“Oh, so I’m a med student now?”

Kendrick shrugged. “Just say we had a class together … Organic Chemistry. She did
see us in the NYU Bookstore, so…”

I ran my fingers through my hair and wasn’t surprised to discover that my hands were
shaking. When would I ever stop worrying about Holly’s life being threatened? “I need
to sit down.”

I headed toward our table and Kendrick followed close behind me. “Aren’t you going
to go talk to her?”

“No, thanks.” I dropped into the seat. My legs were shaking too much to stand any
longer. I was so relieved that I didn’t even have a chance to be upset about seeing
Holly again.
With another guy.

“Come on, Jackson,” Kendrick whined. “I’m trying to fix you up with someone so you
don’t have to continue the random hookups with Stewart.”

“That was one time,” I reminded her.
And we didn’t even make it past second base
. But for some reason, I hadn’t exactly corrected what I knew Kendrick had assumed.
Maybe because the outcome wasn’t any different. I didn’t feel heroic or like a classy
guy for not going through with it with Stewart, I just felt alone. Either way. Because
I didn’t even have anyone to hurt if I had slept with Stewart, and that was the worst
feeling of all.

And this was exactly why it sucked to love someone.

Kendrick sat down next to me and smiled. “Well, in case you’re wondering … her name
is Holly and she has no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket.”

“She already has a date,” I said, trying to close the door on this hookup that was
not
going to happen.

She grinned this devious grin and stood up. “Fine. You can sit here and be pathetic
and lonely while I go mingle, maybe snag a dance partner or two.”

“Have fun.” I rested my head in my hands and was thankful the lights were turned down
and music started playing. All the spotlights were pointed at the dance floor, leaving
me in a dark shadow. Exactly where I needed to be at the moment.

I only had a couple minutes of peace and quiet before I felt the two bodies slide
in on either side of me. “Stewart, Mason, how’s it going?”

I took a second to glance right and then left. Mason was dressed as a parking attendant
and Stewart had a tray of crab cakes in front of her and wore a waitress uniform.
She slipped an earpiece in my ear, the one that didn’t already have one.

“We put a bug on Dr. Melvin,” she whispered. “I’ve tried to talk to him about my recent
issue and he’s acting really weird about it. I think he knows something.”

I nodded and carefully scanned the room, looking for the old doctor. He must have
just arrived, because I would have noticed him earlier.

“We’re headed out back, by the Dumpsters,” Mason whispered. “We’re not supposed to
be in the ballroom. Freeman’s letting us check for explosives later, though.”

They both dissolved into the crowd, leaving me alone again. I was too busy scanning
the room and mentally recording notes to notice the main fund-raising events for tonight
had begun. Not until the announcer started calling off table numbers for the $50,000
dance.

If I had been noticing normal stuff, rather than watching for potential Eyewall agents
and death threats to the international diplomats, then I might have predicted Kendrick’s
cheesy attempt to join me and the one person I needed more than anything to avoid
tonight.

I had to squint when a spotlight landed on my table and then another on Holly’s table
as they announced her name. Kendrick slid in behind me and laughed this almost evil
cackle. “Try and get out of this one, Jackson.”

I groaned and hid my face. The two old ladies at our table squealed and clapped when
they figured out it was my name that got picked in the drawing. I did glance in Brian
and Holly’s direction when they announced her name. Her eyes were wide and I knew
for a fact that this wasn’t the sort of attention she usually welcomed.

“Now our two single winners need to come up to the front and have a dance. Just one
little tango, and fifty thousand dollars gets donated to the Make-a-Wish Foundation
on behalf of Target stores.”

Kendrick pinched my arm until I stood up. Then fingers wrapped around my other arm
and Senator Healy appeared on my other side. He had this fake politician’s grin on
his face as he waved to the roomful of people, and it suddenly occurred to me that
CIA agents would make very good politicians. Lots of practice lying to people.

“What’s the matter with you?” he said through his teeth. “Quit standing there like
an idiot.”

Yeah, he was totally not my favorite person right now. I shook my arm from his grip.

“While you’re in the middle of the dance floor, I want you to tell me what the Chinese
ambassador and his
friend
are discussing, understood?”

“Yes, sir,” I grumbled. I could feel him stiffen with anger beside me, and then he
strolled up to the announcer and stood in his spot to make the next drawing of table
and seat numbers. I had no choice but to keep moving forward. No hiding out now.

As I walked to the dance floor, surrounded by the smiling, clapping roomful of clueless
people, I noticed the receiver on my sleeve had been switched off.