The Undercover Life (Spy Academy Book 1)

by Scarlett Haven

  I sit on him for a few more seconds, just breathing.

  “Wow.” His eyes open and he looks at me. “You are incredible.”

  I slide off of him, getting out of his bed. “Thanks for that.”

  “Where are you going?” He sits up and looks at me.

  “Back to my room.” I start walking toward the door.

  He jumps up, grabbing onto my hand. “You don’t have to leave now. You could stay.”

  “And do what? Cuddle?” I ask.

  He shrugs. “If you want.”

  I throw my head back and laugh. “Killian, I don’t cuddle. We can be friends who have sex, but that is it.”

  His mouth falls open. “You know, I always have this conversation with girls, but usually it’s the other way around.”

  I grin. “Well, then this will be good for both of us.”

  He furrows his brows. “You are one strange girl, Brooklyn. But that was the best orgasm I’ve ever had in my life. Maybe next time we can play around a little first.”

  “Sounds fun.” I wave. “See you later, Killian.”

  I turn and leave his dorm.

  That is definitely not how I thought my day would end, but I am certainly okay with it.

  Tuesday, August 11

  Weird.

  On Tuesday morning, I head down early for breakfast. I decide if I really want to figure out this case, I need to get to know more people, and I definitely need to be in on all the Spy School gossip. To do that, I need friends.

  I grab some breakfast and an energy drink and head toward a table. There are only a few people in the cafeteria this early, so I find somebody and sit down next to him. The boy looks up when I sit down.

  “Hello, I’m Brooklyn Taylor.”

  “I know.” He furrows his brows, studying me carefully.

  The boy, who still hasn’t told me his name, has dark brown eyes. I can see the curiosity in them as he studies me. His blond hair has a slight curl to it, and I wonder if his hair is as soft as it looks. I decide to reach up and touch it, just to see.

  “Do you always go around touching strangers?” he asks, looking up at my hand that is currently in his hair.

  I shrug, pulling my hand back. “When I want to, yes.”

  “You’re weird.”

  “I know.”

  He grins. “I’m Samuel Hendrix, but everybody calls me Hendrix.”

  “Nice to meet you, Hendrix,” I say.

  “Likewise.” He leans closer and whispers. “I heard you were seen leaving Killian’s room last night.”

  “Possibly.” I keep my answer vague.

  “I also heard that when he was questioned about it, he just said you came over to help him study.” He raises an eyebrow. “Killian doesn’t just study with girls.”

  “What does it matter to you if we studied?” I raise an eyebrow in question. I really don’t want everybody at Spy School gossiping about me.

  He leans back against his chair. “Look, Killian is a player. I think he slept with every girl in the senior class last year. I just want to warn you that you should be careful with him. He’ll break your heart.”

  “Thanks for the warning. But if anybody is going to get their heart broken, it’s going to be Killian. I just wanted to release some tension.” I take a bite on my breakfast sandwich.

  Hendrix’s mouth drops open. “Dang. Killian is lucky.”

  Lucky?

  “Your clueless, aren’t you?”

  “To what?” I open up my energy drink.

  “Every single guy in this school has a crush on you,” he informs me. “And I mean all of them. Even Luke, and he doesn’t date.”

  I roll my eyes. “Yeah, right.”

  “I’m serious. You’re, hands down, the hottest girl I’ve ever seen. And the way you took down Luke in training yesterday?” He shakes his head. “Pretty sure half the guys jerked off to that image in their head last night.”

  Ew. “Did you?”

  He smirks. “You really want to know?”

  “Not really.” Double ew. “They’re only curious because I’m new. Once the newness wears off, they’ll grow bored of me.”

  “Maybe.” He shrugs. “So, you really had sex with Killian last night?”

  “Why do you want to know?” I take another bite of my food while I wait for his response.

  “I know everything at this school,” he informs me. “Literally everything.”

  I motion him closer with my finger.

  He leans closer.

  I whisper. “Well, you don’t know if I had sex with Killian last night, so you don’t know everything.”

  He throws his head back and laughs. “No, I guess I don’t.”

  But something hits me.

  Hendrix knows things, that much is clear. So, maybe he and I should be friends. He might know if somebody is suspicious.

  “Hey, Hendrix, how well do you know everybody at this school?” I wonder aloud.

  He shrugs. “Even if I don’t know them personally, I can tell you anything you want to know about them.”

  “Is there anybody at the school who acts... strange?” I ask, then clarify. “What I mean is, does anybody really keep to themselves, not really hanging out with anybody else? Maybe they’re a loner. Or maybe they just act different than most of the other students.”

  He raises an eyebrow. “Everybody at Spy School is a little weird, even you, Brooklyn.”

  He’s not wrong about that.

  “Jesse Adams is a little strange.” He is looking behind me as he says it.

  I turn around and see a boy sitting in the corner, by himself. As if he senses us looking, he glances up from his food. He looks at Hendrix first, then me. When our eyes meet, he looks at me with curiosity. I know I should be embarrassed about being caught staring, but I’m not.

  I turn back around and face Hendrix.

  “If anybody at the school stands out as being weird, it’s him,” Hendrix says.

  Jesse Adams.

  I glance over my shoulder at him one last time. He’s still looking my way.

  I have no idea if Jesse is the person I should be looking for. For all I know, it’s Hendrix. But I also know that I can’t leave anything to chance.

  Well, Jesse, you and I are about to become friends whether you like it or not.

  Alone.

  I don’t mind when Killian sits down beside me in history. Even though I’ve only known him for a day, I’ve grown rather fond of him. And I get the feeling that last night was definitely not just a one-time thing.

  Killian and I are not going to date, don’t get me wrong about that. It’s just, I like him. As a friend. Friends with benefits.

  “Good morning.” I offer Killian a grin.

  “It would’ve been a good morning had you stayed last night. We could’ve had round two. Or three. Possibly four.” He leans back against his chair. “Any chance that we could have a repeat performance?”

  “Depends.” I toss my hair over my shoulder. “Are you going to be able to last longer than two minutes next time?”

  His jaw drops open. “Look, it’s been a while. Like, over a month. And if you tell anybody that, I will deny it. But you were all sexy and you climbed on top of me and took charge. And then watching you come was too much, okay? I will definitely last longer next time.”

  I laugh. “I’m joking, Killian. I got off. Trust me, I was satisfied.”

  “Oh.” He lets out a breath. “Okay. Good.”

  It’s kind of cute that he was actually worried.

  “Most girls want a commitment and all of that. Why don’t you?” He tilts his head to the side as he studies me.

  I shrug. “I already told you, I don’t do commitment. I just enjoy having sex.”

  I know that I am not normal. I’m pretty screwed up, actually. And like most nineteen-year-olds, I blame it on my parents. They truly deserve the blame. I’m not sure I will ever forgive them for how much they screwed me over.

  I know that I s
ound bitter, but what they did was truly vile and awful. I tried to forgive them. I even went home for Christmas last year. But I couldn’t even stand to be at the same dinner table with them. The worst part of it all is that they don’t seem remorseful at all. They don’t see a single problem with what they did to me.

  “It just sucks that the one girl I would consider making a commitment to doesn’t want the same.” He smirks, so I can’t tell if he’s serious or joking.

  I don’t have the chance to respond, because Jaxon enters the classroom and begins our lesson. When Jaxon scans the classroom, I notice he pauses on me, his lips turning up at the corner.

  I think Jaxon likes me.

  Part of me wishes I weren’t pretending to be a student. Why couldn’t I have gone undercover as a teacher. But then again, I would be a terrible teacher.

  No, it makes sense for me to be undercover as a student. This way, I can get to know my fellow classmates as an equal. Maybe they will open up to me this way.

  Today, I keep myself from making any kind of sexual innuendo to Jaxon, mostly because I don’t want to be in detention. I honestly don’t think he minded the innuendos; he just didn’t like them in front of everybody else.

  I wonder if he has a girlfriend.

  Probably. He’s a good-looking guy. Quite the catch, if you ask me. There is no way that he’s single.

  I wonder if things would be different had we met any other way. Maybe we could have met in France, when I was undercover there. But Jaxon... he doesn’t seem like the one-night stand kind of guy. He seems like the kind of guy who wants commitment, maybe even a wife. And I could never be that girl. The thought of being tied down to one man for the rest of my life, even a man as attractive as Jaxon, makes me sick.

  I don’t want to fall in love.

  So, it’s better this way, really. This way, he is safe from me.

  I glance over at Killian, who has his attention turned toward Jaxon. He’s taking notes, and I don’t know why I find him so attractive in this moment. I’ve always been attracted to smart guys.

  I won’t allow myself to get attached, though. Attachments are just a hindrance when you’re a Spy School agent. Who knows how long this mission will last? Maybe it will last until the end of the school year, or maybe it will last a week, but the point is, it will end. And when it does, I will be saying goodbye to all the friends I make. That’s just how it works.

  I wondered if I would’ve joined a team had I attended Spy School when I was a student. Since I was taking classes alone, I naturally learned how to work alone. But maybe I should have a team now.

  Propelling the thoughts from my head, I turn my attention back to Jaxon. He has his back turned to the class and he is writing something on the white board.

  Dang—does he look nice in those jeans.

  Ride.

  When I sit by Ellie at lunch, she looks surprised. She probably can’t believe that I chose to sit by her again after how she treated me last time I sat by her, but I like her. She speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to be different.

  Today, Ellie has her pink hair in a French braid. With her hair pulled away from her face, she looks older. I know she’s a senior, but she looked about fourteen last time I sat with her, now she looks her age.

  “Hey, Brooklyn,” she says.

  I grin at her. “Hey, Ellie. You can call me Brook. All my friends do.”

  When I tell her that, her eyes widen and her face lights up.

  I wonder if I am her only friend at Spy School. I haven’t seen her talking with anybody else, but that doesn’t mean anything. I open my mouth to say something else, but I see somebody from the corner of my eye, approaching the table. I look up and see the boy from this morning, Hendrix, walking toward the table.

  He takes a seat by Ellie, directly across from me. I notice Ellie blushes when Hendrix sits by her, which I find interesting.

  “Sup?” He nods at Ellie, then turns to me. “I’m impressed. You managed to not get detention today.”

  I shrug, smirking at him. “I am capable of keeping my dirty thoughts about our teacher to myself.”

  “I see the way he looks at you. I don’t think it would take much for him to want to get down and dirty with you.” Hendrix winks at me, then turns to Ellie. “What do you think?”

  Ellie takes a sip of her water before responding. “Jaxon would never go for a student. It’s against the rules, and illegal.”

  “It’s not illegal, and it’s not against the rules.”

  I raise an eyebrow. “It’s not?”

  He shakes his head. “I checked. As long as the student is over the age of sixteen, they are willing, and there is no preferential treatment, you’re allowed to do what you want.”

  “But... but...” Ellie stutters out the words, looking completely mortified by the thought.

  “You aren’t in Kansas anymore, sweetie.” Hendrix pats her back.

  She frowns. “But I’m from Arizona.”

  I laugh.

  “I still don’t think Jaxon would date a student. It feels... icky.” Ellie wrinkles her nose.

  I know that she’s right about that. Jaxon is definitely not the kind of guy who would ever consider dating a student, even if it isn’t against the rules. I think that’s why I like him, though. I don’t have a shot with him. And the chase is the fun part. What’s left after you catch a man? Commitment? Just the thought makes me shiver with dread. No thank you.

  “Ellie, you’re adorable.” Hendrix shakes his head at her, clearly amused.

  Her face turns bright red when he calls her adorable.

  I have a sudden urge to leave the table and let them have some alone time.

  I stand up, grabbing my smoothie. “I’m just going to head to the gym a little early. I want to do some warm up stretches.”

  Ellie looks like she wants to protest.

  Hendrix, who is now resting his arm on the back of her chair, grins. “See you later, Brooklyn.”

  I walk toward the exit of the cafeteria. Just before I round the corner, I look back and see Hendrix and Ellie talking. She’s tense, but she loosens up a little as she laughs at something he said.

  I wasn’t planning on playing matchmaker today, but they are so very cute together.

  As I head outside to walk toward the gym, I spot Luke, my gym partner, about to get into a SUV. I wave at him, and when he sees me, he motions for me to come toward him. I walk that way, just to quickly say hi.

  “Get in.” He gets in the driver’s seat before I have a chance to tell him no.

  Eh, why not?

  I get into the passenger side and buckle in. He takes off without a word.

  “What’s up, Luke?” I ask.

  He looks from the road to me, shaking his head. “You know, I just don’t get it.”

  “Get what?” I raise an eyebrow, curious as to what he’s about to say.

  “How does a girl who probably doesn’t even weigh one hundred pounds beat me?” He smirks, letting me know he’s joking.

  “I weigh one forty, thank you very much.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Don’t tell me your ego can’t handle being beat by a girl.”

  “Nah, I think it’s hot. I just don’t get it. I’m the best in the class. You just... well, you don’t need to be here. You’re ready for the field,” he says.

  I know he means it as a compliment, but it makes me worry a little bit. I am better than your average student because I’ve already done this training. I’ve passed everything. I need to make sure that nobody can tell I’m older.

  “My parents wanted me to have more training.” The lie is smooth and sounds exactly what a Spy School parent would say. In fact, my parents did try to send me here for a year when I turned eighteen, for extra training, but Michael Sinclair said he knew I was ready for the field and gave me an assignment instead. I spent the next year and a half proving to my parents that I am ready. I’m still proving it. I feel like no matter how many terrorists I help bring down, it will never
be enough for them.

  “No offense, but your parents suck.”

  I look over at Luke and see that he keeps looking from the road to me. He must be able to see the hurt expression on my face when I talk about my parents. I do have a good poker face, but when I think nobody is watching, I drop my guard.

  He pulls the SUV in front of the large gym, and then he looks over at me. “You want to be my partner the rest of the semester? It would be nice to train with somebody who can actually kick my ass.”

  I grin. “Sure.”

  Now I know... if I had come here as an actual freshman student, I would’ve made a lot of friends, but I’m glad I didn’t come then. I’d rather be here now, because Luke is here now. And Killian. And all the other friends I’ve made.

  Luke and I walk into the gym together. He bumps into me a few times on the way in, and I move over, thinking I’m in his way. But then I see the smile on his face and I realize he’s trying to flirt with me. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I like Luke. I just hate the thought of breaking his heart. He’s not like Killian. Killian is a player. Apparently, he dates lots of girls. But Luke... he’s the kind of guy I could shatter, and I don’t want to do that to him.

  I push those thoughts aside as we begin our training. I don’t want to worry about anything right now. I just want to enjoy it.

  Just shut up.

  After training, I finish my homework quickly, and head to Killian’s dorm.

  I wish I didn’t have to do homework at all, but Michael Sinclair can’t let anybody know that I am undercover, not even the teachers, just in case a teacher is the one I am looking for.

  So far, nobody has been shady. I still need to check out the Jesse Adams kid.

  On my way to Killian’s room, I round the corner and smack into somebody head on. Well, more like head/chest on, because I’m a lot shorter than whoever it is.

  “Sorry.” I back away, rubbing my chest where we collided.