His New Zealand accent had the same effect chocolate and cologne had over other girls. He should probably suppress it so I could think clearly. “Why did you help me steal the fake control box, you jerk? That was a lot of work for nothing.”
“It had to look real.” He tugged on my arm, forcing me to follow him. He was stronger than I thought. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”
How did I know he was telling the truth? “Wait, did you plant all the evidence then? The threatening note? The backpack? The keys?”
He laughed. “No.” What about the meeting at Denny’s? “You’re just unlucky to the days,” I heard him say.
My eyes narrowed at him. His dark hair was disheveled from the attack and he was smudged in black paint, but now that I saw him for what he was, I could see that he was as mischievous as ever. “Where are the bad guys now?”
“It’s covered,” he said. I dug my heels into the ground. If he didn’t know about Denny’s, it wasn’t covered. “Look.” Byron’s eyes pleaded with me to keep moving. “I can just throw you over my shoulder and drag you out of here. None of our friends would question it.”
He was right, and I tried to figure a way out of this. “Okay, assuming I go with you Byron, I have one last request.” I smiled, making sure I showed my gums this time. “If we’re safe now, I’m dying of hunger. What do you say to Denny’s?” I watched to see if Denny’s was significant to him.
Byron glanced down at his iPhone. “We have some time to kill, but...how can you possibly want to eat at a time like this?” Byron didn’t know where the drop was.
My mind shuffled through the stored facts. The cranky guy threatened me so I would steal a decoy for him, and then in the next breath called Byron to say he had Thanh. Something wasn’t right. Thanh didn’t want to go with whoever stuffed her in that car. And if that had been the cranky guy? He didn’t sound like someone I could trust, so why did Byron? I glanced over at him and immediately recognized that closed-off look. I’d never be able to convince him of any of this. No doubt he was already planning on packing me off to some safe house and then it would be too late.
“Yeah.” I found myself nodding. “And it’s redneck night, so…you need to fit in, so…”
He laughed. “Only in Provo would there be a redneck night.”
“Are you saying you’ve never dressed up in all of your years of service?”
“Only suit and tie just like a good little spy.” He was being sarcastic. “I’ve never gone hick.” We only had an hour. I was sure his job was to distract me until after the drop-off. He came to a decision and gave a brisk nod. “Let’s go then. You’re not going anywhere without me.”
I squared my shoulders, knowing I had to play this smart. I couldn’t prove anything yet, but I was pretty sure Thanh’s life depended on us being there. Byron slowed his long stride to match mine, following me to my diamond advertisement of a car where I had stashed my wigs and whatever else I planned to use as our covers tonight. The only difference was that I thought Tory would be tagging along with me instead.
Byron grimaced at my car. “And that’s not conspicuous? I’m driving.” Trust him to be rude about it, but as long as he suspected nothing, I’d take it.
Chapter Seven
Day 113
2334 hours
“Life is but a stage, I am merely an actor. The curtain will fall and in moments, it will all be over.”
—Madeleine’s War Journal Entry (Tuesday, June 5th).
The long blonde wig looked a lot stranger on Byron than it would’ve on Tory, but he looked hot in it anyway, tying it into a ratty ponytail behind him. It wasn’t exactly BYU standard, but it was redneck night, so no one would notice. I twisted my red wig into two braids to look like Pippi Longstocking. To complete the look, I gave Byron a tattered jean jacket and baseball cap then threw on an oversized slouchy shirt over my black one that said, “I’m with Stupid.”
We walked into the restaurant, ignoring the stares of the other rednecks. Well, at least Byron did. Most of Denny’s patrons weren’t rednecks either. They looked like a bunch of BYU students. To my relief, Byron didn’t ask questions.
“I’m totally twittering this.” I heard someone laugh at their table. They stared at us and I tilted my chin up—going out in public looking like a fool was just one of the sacrifices I gave for my country.
Byron’s lip curled up at my discomfiture. He wasn’t actually enjoying this, was he? “Don’t look now,” he told me, “but the paparazzi’s here. Pose for the picture, pumpkin.” I glanced up just in time to catch someone snap a picture at us from the booth over.
The waitress at the front studied my hair. I’m sure it looked great under the florescent lights. And yes, that was sarcasm. Her hair was almost as blonde as Byron’s wig and teased high with a ponytail bobbing out beneath it all. She melted when she saw her male counterpart. Even when Byron looked like he had crawled from a beat-up pickup truck, I had competition. Byron leaned over the hostess’s little podium with a familiar air. “This here’s my girl, Ashley Q Miller May.”
That was cruel. I returned the favor. “And this here’s my sister’s ex, Joe-Joe Rocky Joe Jr.” I said it in the worst Southern drawl I could come up with.
Byron gave me a surprised look, which meant I had outdone him. “How’s the grub in this place?” he asked the waitress, quickly adopting my twang. Apparently Midwestern accent wasn’t the only thing he could mimic.
“Grub?” the waitress asked in confusion.
He grinned and I wished it was toothless. “Throw some road kill on the grill. We’re a’celebratin’. This pretty little thing just…” His brow furrowed and he looked at me, thinking hard. I smiled prettily at him, hoping it would shame him into being nice. It didn’t work. “She just won the Little Miss Rodeo Competition,” he said. “You should’ a seen her in the long john competition. She looked almost as good as my best huntin’ dog. Go ahead, Suzy Q…uh…May. Tell her all about that spitting contest you done won.”
My eyes narrowed at him. “How about I demonstrate it right now?”
The waitress blew a bubble with her gum, not impressed with any of my honors. “Get a booth, right?” Byron said with a wink. “Give us your finest, and dim the florescent lights, will ya? This here’s a special night.” He was making my skin crawl in a creepy way, except…the dimple in his cheek was standing out and I kind of liked it. That meant we were both messed up. The waitress gestured us to follow her. Byron tugged on my hand. “C’mon, cuz.”
“Hey.” I pulled away. “That’s not short for cousin, is it?”
“Don’t worry. We’re kissing cousins.” That’s what I was afraid of. The waitress brought us to a shadowy booth. It cut us off from the rest of the world—a good thing if we were trying to hide, a bad thing if we were trying to find someone. I drummed my fingers against the table while the waitress passed us our menus. Byron leaned back on his bench, glancing up at her. “What kind of vittles you got?”
“I’m not sure. What are vittles?” the waitress began. I felt sorry for her. At the same time, she was in my way. I tried to peer past her to see who else was in the restaurant. I wasn’t sure how I was going to find the team of kidnappers, besides checking their shoes to see if they matched the ones I saw from under Thanh’s sink.
“Grits?” I heard Byron ask.
“What is…?”
“How about some gizzards?”
The waitress looked relieved that she finally understood what he was saying. “Yes. Yes, we’ve got that.” She started writing it down.
“Well, we don’t want that.” Byron turned back to his menu.
I gave him an evil grin. “As long as we don’t have to kill my pet pig for supper, I’ve got an appetite for most anything.”
He met my eyes knowingly. “How about some biscuits and gravy.” He read her name tag, “Hilary?” He leaned towards me, taking my hand in his. “I’m going all out for my sweet sugar dumpling. Forget the brats for the night, little girl.
” He peered up at the waitress as if bragging. “We got a dozen or so out on the farm.”
I pulled my hand away. “He’s talking about his dogs,” I translated.
The waitress stared at me. “Are you wearing a wig?”
“She’ll take a cheese sandwich,” Byron said. He plucked my menu out of my hand and thrust both our menus at the surprised girl. He was really taking his part as sexist pig to heart. I glared at him. “Make it nice and burnt on both sides.” He gave me a sly smile. “Just like your mom’s home cooking, darling.”
“Your ma!” I said after the waitress was out of earshot. I hoped he got that I was insulting him.
“What? This was your idea.” Byron switched to his normal bored voice, but he still lounged on his seat like a womanizing hick. His eyes were alert, however, and his gaze swept the room. “I’m just making it more believable.”
“Really? Because I thought you were a lot better at your covers than this?”
He hesitated for a second. “That’s an insult, right?”
I rolled my eyes. Apparently not. “You’d better share your biscuits and gravy with me because I’m not eating a burnt cheese sandwich. I’m the one who’s starving, remember?”
He watched me, not listening. “No offense,” he said once I was done moving my mouth, “but I like your dark hair better.”
I stared at him. “Did you hear what I said?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like you’re going to eat anyway.” I scooted indignantly away from him, which only made him laugh. “Just admit you’re up to something. We’re not here because you’re hungry. I know you better than that.”
“You are so suspicious, Byron—just not enough. Okay. What makes you think Thanh is safe?”
His eyes grew weary. “I told you she was.”
“What if I proved otherwise?”
“Unbelievable, Madeleine. Is that why you dragged us here?”
If I admitted that, would he drag me back out? Before I could answer, the waitress plopped gravy and biscuits on the table in front of him then gave me my cheese sandwich. It was well-done, but at least it wasn’t black. Before I could switch it out for Byron’s biscuits and gravy, I remembered I hadn’t eaten all day, and took a huge bite. The waitress left and I gave Byron my most innocent look. “See, I’m eating.” I spilled some cheese on my “I'm with Stupid” shirt.
“Nice touch. All over your Sunday best.”
I tried to scrape it off, but it was there to stay the night. I glanced up at Byron, and saw that he was still watching me. I knew I had to buy myself more time. “All those pranks,” I asked. “Did you do any of them?”
“Only the good ones.” He gave me a secretive smile.
The door opened from outside, and the wind along with a loud group of BYU students barged their way into Denny’s. All girls and one guy. I knew exactly who it was without looking, especially when I heard that loud bellowing laugh. Cameron filled the doorway in all his Abercrombie glory, battered pre-beat jeans and all. The girls danced around him in cut-off jeans and skirts. I tried to slink into my seat to hide. We weren’t the only ones going to Denny’s as rednecks.
“Don’t worry.” Byron looked amused. “I don’t think he’ll recognize you, Pippi.” Cameron hadn’t with my blonde look. Still the more hideous I looked, the more of a chance I had of blowing my cover. Byron met my eyes. “I’ll take him out if he tries anything. You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend?”
After a moment, I nodded. Byron looked surprised and I shrugged to deflate his head. “It’s just a cover. You do that all the time, right?” His grin broadened and he eased a little to the side to enjoy the show. The waitress released the booth next to ours to Cameron and his little harem. One of his girls had a giggle on her. They made it hard to properly scope out the restaurant. “You get all sorts of culture here,” I muttered under my breath.
Byron finished his biscuits and wiped his lips with his napkin. “You ready to go?”
I planted my feet in my converses, munching slowly on my sandwich. The door opened again and I watched a happy couple walk inside. Nope. Too happy. It was impossible to get a good look at everyone from our booth. “What time is it?” I asked
Byron checked his watch. “June 6th. Your ill-fated anniversary, Miss Havisham. This wasn’t exactly the party I had planned for you.”
I felt my stomach lurch, but not for the reasons I thought it would two days ago. They were meeting here at midnight. I pulled out Thanh’s cell phone, seeing he was right. It was midnight. The restaurant bubbled with suspects, and Byron wasn’t taking any of this seriously. I rested the cell phone against my cheek, trying to decide what to do. That guy’s number was on Thanh’s cell. I found a formerly blocked call and pressed reply. A phone went off somewhere behind us. I twisted, seeing the back of a blond head, a tanned neck, and broad shoulders. The target sat at a table with another guy, whose head was tilted away from us. They both searched their pockets. The happy little ringtone could’ve come from either of them, which meant they worked together.
“Gotcha.” I closed the phone and the ringing stopped. I met Byron’s eyes. “The suspect is here.”
“Excuse me. What?”
“One of those guys at that table over there,” I disclosed. “I just called him.” I leaned over the table to Byron. After a confused look, he met heads with me. “I made a deal with this guy to get Thanh back. Funny thing is why would he do that if he worked with you? He stopped bothering me after you released the decoy. He’s not a nice guy. He left threatening messages on her phone...all the time.”
“Wait.” Byron looked confused. “You talked to somebody else besides me?”
“Yes. He said he had Thanh. Why would he lie about that?”
“I’m sure it’s a—”
“Set up,” I finished for him. “You have to believe me. Your superiors are lying to you.” My phone vibrated. The jerk tried to call me back, but I was too smart to leave the ringer on. I texted him back. “We’re onto you...White Hawk.”
I held my message up to Byron with a sly smile and pushed send. Byron was seconds too late before he pulled it from my grasp. “Don’t!”
“He has Thanh,” I explained.
“I told you we did.”
“Did you see her with your own eyes?”
“Look, this isn’t how we work. I do my job. They do theirs. I’m not involved in every part of the…” He took a steadying breath. “We shouldn’t be here. If this is a sting, we’re gonna compromise their mission. We need to get out of here.”
The blond was on his cell phone and he stood up from the table, looking out the window into the darkness. He had cargo pants and Nikes. I recognized his profile immediately. “Eric.”
Byron’s hand landed over mine. “Wait! Don’t move. He’s in on this, alright.”
“He works with you?”
Byron ran a hand through his hair—only to find that stupid wig. He didn’t remove it, especially now. “No. And we never figured out how you wound up with him in the first place.”
“He’s Sandra’s friend…and your roommate, Rock’s?”
Byron shook his head at me. “He was the x factor. Sources told us that we had an information leak, but who it was remained a mystery. That’s when we were sent to watch over Thanh. We didn’t know his identity until he showed up with you.”
“You knew he was dangerous and you let him follow me around. Are you crazy?”
“We had to figure out if you were in on this too.”
“What? Me?”
“Oh c’mon! Eric made arrangements to do a physiology experiment at the Eyring building? Really, Mad? It’s only engineering over there. The fact that you didn’t know that made you suspect.” He motioned for the waitress to bring the check.
“—because everybody knows that,” I slurred sarcastically. “I’m a General Studies major. Give me a break.”
“Look, when the target transferred from the U…”
“Well, why didn’t y
ou say that from the beginning? He’s a hardened criminal then.”
He leveled an annoyed look at me. The waitress set our check down and flounced off. Byron pulled out some cash from his wallet, keeping his voice down. “He was a surprise to us too. He was the one who left the threatening note on Thanh’s door. I only started tailing him at Battle of the Bands. If it means anything, Mad, I always thought you were clean. Of course, it would’ve made you more interesting if you weren’t.”
My eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?
He chuckled low under his breath. “Mad, no, I’m really glad you’re on our side.”
“Because I’d take you out otherwise.”
His expression took on a challenging glint. “That would’ve been the fun part...but honestly, I’ve never—” He got silent and I pulled an eyebrow up to get an answer out of him. He let out a breath of surrender. “I’ve never had more fun with an ally, so it actually would’ve sucked if you were on the wrong side. Okay?” I smiled. He considered me an ally? He tugged on my hand. “Let’s go.”
The door opened from the outside and another of my favorite people made her grand entrance. As always Sandra wore her heels, the straps spiraled in zigzags around her ankles. She tore big sunglasses from her face, posing at the door to search out the restaurant, clutching her LV designer bag in a fierce grip. I ducked, more terrified than I had been all night. We were going to blow her cover. “She’s going to kill us, isn’t she?”
Byron wasn’t listening. He had grown stiff. “What’s she doing here?”
As soon as Sandra spotted Eric, she gave him a brilliant smile she never reserved for her roommates, only for cute guys…and double crossing criminals at that. Eric pulled out a seat and she made her elegant way to him, sitting across from him with daintily crossed legs. The other guy at Eric’s table greeted her, giving me an excellent view of his face. He had nondescript face and hair, could easily get lost in a crowd. It all connected in my head. I recognized him from the gym. “All these assets are working together to catch the guy threatening Thanh?” And I had bumbled into their way over and over again. I was worse than a third wheel.
Prank Wars Page 30