Desert Dark (20 page)

Alan's hand shook as he replaced the receiver. His Saba had never hung up on him. He prayed it was a bad connection and not anger that ended the call.

Now, standing in the dark, Alan knew he must proceed with his mission. He pressed himself against the dojo wall as Jack jogged down the path.

Alan peeked into the girls' lobby. Casey was not at her desk. He rushed down the hall to Nadia's room, knocked softly and thrust his hands into his pockets. The folded note was pressed securely against his thigh. He only needed a minute alone in her room.

Nadia gasped when she saw him. She pulled him inside by his lapel. “Have you lost your mind? We'll both be expelled.”

She was not exaggerating. The school allowed no unsupervised coed visits in the dorms. “I understand my visit is unorthodox.”

“What's wrong? Where's Libby?”

“Noah said he would walk her home. I think they are still down by the limo.”

“Then what are you doing here? You can't wait for her.”

“I came to see you,” Alan said. “I owe you an apology.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The way I left you on the dance floor. I behaved badly. I—needed some air all of a sudden.” His cheeks warmed.

“Seriously? Of all the things you've said and done, that's what you're sorry for?”

His heart pounded. Its weight and size seemed to increase as it beat against his ribcage.
What am I doing here?
“I know I have been kind of a jerk—you do not have to nod, I just said
I know
.”

“Well it's true. You can be fairly hostile,” Nadia said.

Alan opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked down, sure he would see the lapel of his jacket thumping up and down with the rhythm of his heart beat.
This is a mistake
. His face burned hotter. He pulled at his bow tie. “I am sorry about the dance.”

“Have I done something? Is it because I needed extra help?”

He took a deep breath. “I find myself in an unusual situation. Though I cannot explain why, I seem to have developed feelings for you beyond friendship. I—I have a small crush on you.”

Nadia opened her mouth.

He raised his arms in front of his body like he was stopping traffic. “You do not have to say anything. I know you and Jack have a thing. He is obviously quite fond of you. I mean, I just saw him out front collecting your trash from the garbage can as a memento.”

“What?” Nadia narrowed her eyes.

“It is a crush.” Alan scratched at his neck.
Keep talking
. “The thing is, I have never really had a girlfriend, or even strong feelings for a girl, and I am not sure what is appropriate—”

“What did you say about the trash?”

“What?”

“The
trash
, Alan,” Nadia enunciated, drawing Alan's eyes to her mouth.

“Oh yeah. It was strange to me, too.” Alan shrugged and forced himself to look away from her lips. “Are you okay? You look pale. Maybe you should splash some water on your face. I can wait here.” He sat on the edge of the closest bed and glanced at his watch.

“I—I don't feel very well.”

“I am happy to wait while you get a drink.”

“Please, I need you to go.”

“Right.” He stood, eyes on the floor. “I am sorry. I should not have come. I made things worse.”
And my mission failed
.

Nadia sighed. “No, Alan. Thanks for the apology. Don't worry about it—it's fine.”

Alan offered a slight smile. “I will see you later.”

Although Libby had been asleep for hours, positively blissful after dancing with Noah most of the evening, Nadia didn't even try to close her eyes. She listened to her roommate's rhythmic breathing as she stared at the ceiling.

Why would Jack intercept my dead drop? Is he the double Alan heard about? Was I used as a messenger—a go-between for him and his handler?
She scanned the dark corners of the room, as though answers were tucked away in the shadows.
Maybe Jack didn't take it. Maybe Alan made the whole thing up. Maybe Alan is the traitor. He's deflecting suspicion
. Nadia frowned.
But he's the one who told us about the double. Why would he do that? Unless it's to throw us off track. Because why would a double agent report his own presence? It's genius
.

She shook her head.
No, he wouldn't try to frame Jack. He'd pick an easier target. Someone who doesn't know what they're doing. So if Alan's telling the truth, why did Jack take the package?

Then, all at once, it came to her.

Her assignment was to make the dead drop. Jack's must've been to retrieve the dead drop. For all she knew, Libby and Damon had done the same thing. Nadia couldn't ask them about it; she'd been specifically instructed not to tell anyone, and secrecy was part of the training. She definitely couldn't ask Jack—he was her team leader. He'd be forced to give her a bad report for breaking
confidentiality. She didn't want to put him in that position. And suspecting Alan? As a double agent? She smiled to herself.

That's probably why Jack was acting so weird when he dropped me off
. They'd shared an amazing moment on the dance floor, but after dancing with Jennifer, he'd seemed distracted, distant the rest of the night.
He was thinking about his assignment. It wasn't about Jennifer at all
. She exhaled deeply and closed her eyes.

Seriously, Nadia, chill. Not all guys lie and cheat
.

The next morning, Nadia joined her team on the flagstone deck outside the dining hall.

“You're late,” Libby said. “Is anything wrong?”

“By like, two minutes. I'm fine,” Nadia reassured her. “That's a little OCD even for you. Are you worried about something?” The pile of work she pulled from her backpack reminded her she hadn't slept much.

“No, ma'am. I'm right as rain. Absolutely fine. Like sunshine on daisies,” Libby said quickly. “Just excited about Thanksgiving, I guess.”

Nadia studied Libby's face, her plastic smile. “Glad to hear it.”
Maybe she didn't sleep well, either
.

“Why are you talking so fast?” Alan asked.

“Hey,” Jack said, as he stepped onto the patio.

Nadia's pulse quickened when he smiled. “Look.” She pulled on her earlobe. “Your earrings.” The memory of his kiss flooded her thoughts and her face warmed.

“They bring out the green in your eyes. I knew they would.” Jack sounded pleased.

“I hope you weren't upset with me last night,” Libby said to Jack. “The earrings really are beautiful, but they weren't right with her hairstyle. You understand.”

“I don't, actually. But no, I wasn't upset,” Jack answered.

“I'm glad to hear it. In retrospect, I might've been a bit pushy.” Libby smiled, then asked him, “What are your plans for Thanksgiving?”

“I'm driving home. San Diego.”

Nadia tried to hide her disappointment. She didn't expect him to skip Thanksgiving with his family for some girl he just met, but she'd really hoped he'd be staying at school.

Jack continued, “I have to give Jennifer a ride. She lives less than an hour from me.” His eyes did not leave Nadia as he spoke.

“Oh,” Nadia said. Her heart sank as she pictured them on the dance floor.
Maybe she is the reason his mood changed last night
. “That's nice of you.”

“I'd invite you along, but we're going to my grandmother's and she doesn't do well with new people.”

“Don't worry about Nadia. I'll be here.” Damon smiled. “I won't let her out of my sight.” He slid his hand over hers.

A flash of anger crossed Jack's face; just as quickly, he returned to neutral. Nadia knew it was petty, but she liked it.

Nadia extracted her hand from Damon's as she answered, “I would never impose on your family. Anyway, I've already made plans for the weekend. Sensei's going over some advanced weaponry with me. I couldn't cancel this late even if I wanted to; it would be rude.” She forced a smile and tried to ignore the annoying voice in her head.

It kept whispering:
Jack and Jennifer; Matthew and Paige
.

Ten minutes after their encounter on the patio, thoroughly disgusted with both himself and his traitor girlfriend, Jack dumped his uneaten lunch into the trash and rushed back to his dorm. He'd had one simple task: keep an eye on Nadia Riley. Bad enough he'd let her successfully complete a brush-pass at the dance last night, but then, like an idiot, he'd tried to rationalize it. He'd actually considered the possibility that the waiter made a mistake—that he mistook her for someone else.
After
he watched Nadia put the napkin in her purse! There was no reasonable explanation for the exchange, but a huge piece of him couldn't believe what he'd seen.

Maybe I don't want to admit I was wrong about her
.

Jack slammed his bedroom door. His head throbbed. He wanted to punch something—put his fist through a wall. An immature, overly emotional response, all because he got played. She'd lied to him, betrayed everything he believed in. Acted like she wanted him.

He strode to his desk and grabbed a book from the shelf. Their kiss last night—it felt so real. The heat of her mouth as his lips hovered over hers. His hand buried in her thick hair. Her body against his, her hands on his neck, her scent, the softness of her skin. Finally, contact: deep and desperate. It wasn't until she pulled away that he realized they were surrounded by people. He
was furious with himself for losing control. But he was so drawn to her. He wanted more.

This isn't about me being wrong. This is about me falling for her
. The pain he now experienced knowing she was the traitor forced him to admit that his feelings ran much deeper than a simple crush. And he'd just revealed his emotional state to his entire team.

And what the hell is Damon's problem? Is he hitting on her?

He tried to refocus on his anger. He'd rather be outraged than heartbroken. And as much as he wanted to explain away her dead drop, he couldn't. He knew the critical nature of the mission because he'd done something totally inappropriate: he'd looked at the disc himself.

In all his time at the Academy he'd never so much as glanced at the information he was sent to collect. The survival courses were staged—simulated missions—but still, not a peek. Until last night. He'd opened the disc on his laptop—it wasn't even encrypted. The file contained detailed schematics of a one-man fighter jet.

An hour had passed before it occurred to him to stake out her dorm. Someone else would be looking for the package. At 0115 he'd snuck from his room, concealed himself in the tall grass and waited, muscles tensed, ready to attack. The sprinklers turned on just before daybreak, soaking him. Now he was stiff, tired and disgusted with himself for acting like such an amateur. He'd had one chance to discover the identity of the receiving agent, and he blew it.

He shook his head.
I can't believe I admired her dedication. She wasn't working hard to catch up—just reviewing skills she already knew
.

But things were looking up. Nadia was finally wearing the earrings, and Jack couldn't wait to check the sound quality of Samuel's bug.

He'd hidden the receiver in a book Noah would never touch, carved out the center with a razor blade and buried the device inside. Jack shoved
The Anthology of Early American Literature
into
his bag and jogged to the language lab, where no one would give headphones a second thought.

Back against the wall, he pulled up the Spanish program, just to be safe, and settled into his chair. With the book on the desk in front of him, he plugged the headphones into the receiver.

Nadia's conversation rang loud and clear.

Alan spoke first. “We will meet you at the library.”

A moment later, Libby whispered into the microphone. “What're you gonna do about him?”

“He asked me to pretend it never happened,” Nadia answered.

“How awkward.”

“I know. I wish he'd never said anything.”

“I'm sure it'll blow over.”

“I hope so. Did you see Jack dancing with Jennifer last night?” Nadia whispered.

“No, but I bet she was like white on rice.”

“I hate that they're driving together.”

“I don't blame you there.”

Jack pulled the headphones from his ears. What a waste of time. Obviously, Nadia wasn't going to share anything significant with Libby, and he didn't want to hear her lies about how much she liked him. As far as Nadia was concerned, he was just part of her cover.

The next morning, a half hour before Dean Wolfe arrived on campus, Jack went to Hopi Hall. He paced the sitting room, glancing at his watch every few minutes. When the dean arrived, Jack followed him into his office, uninvited, and closed the door.

“Do you have new information?” Wolfe opened his briefcase and stacked several files onto his desk.

“Your instincts were right. Nadia's the double. I intercepted a dead drop.”

Dean Wolfe stopped shuffling his papers and looked up. “What?”

“Here.” Jack handed him the disc.

“Did you look at it?”

“No,” Jack lied, maintaining eye contact.

“Do you know who was meant to retrieve the disc?”

Jack shook his head. He wasn't about to tell Dean Wolfe how he'd botched that. “I'm confident Hashimoto Sensei is her handling agent. She's staying here for Thanksgiving and they've scheduled training time.”

“Can you stay for the holiday?” Dean Wolfe asked.

“Not without telling my parents what we do here.”

“I understand. Good work with this disc, Jack. I'm impressed.”