But something told me she would vastly prefer the snipers.
The crowds were growing heavier. We passed middle-aged women in feather boas, college boys with their collars turned up. I felt like disappearing, there on that crowded street. And yet, I also felt like the most conspicuous girl in the world.
“It’s okay, Cam,” Bex said.
“What?” I asked.
“That’s the fourth time you’ve checked our tail in the past ninety seconds.”
“You’re doing it too,” I told her.
“Of course I am. Because I’m trained that way. Not because I’m afraid.”
“I’m not afraid.”
“After the year you’ve had, you’re either afraid or you’re crazy,” Bex said, and I thought about Dr. Steve—wondered exactly how many games he’d played with my head—just as my best friend added, “And you’re not crazy.”
Bex gave me a smile that looked exactly like her mother’s. Her words had sounded just like her father’s. I’d never known anyone who was equal parts their mom and their dad. But maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was exactly fifty percent my father too. But my father was gone. Dead. And now I’d never know.
“Tell me again,” I said.
“The Circle leaders—or the Inner Circle,” Bex added with a wink, “wanted you dead so that you couldn’t tell your boyfriend’s psychotic mother…and my mother…and your mother…who founded the Circle back in the day. Without that list, no one would have ever known who the Inner Circle is. But you did remember, my brilliant friend. You remembered who was on that list, and now we all know who was on that list, and so the Inner Circle no longer needs you dead.”
“Good,” I said with a nod.
“I mean, they’d probably still kill you, you know? Out of spite. But there’s not a price on your head anymore, Cam. You’re safe now.”
I nodded my head, thought about the other fear I couldn’t shake. “Is Preston safe?”
“My parents think so. And my parents have a very annoying habit of being right,” Bex said; but I just studied my best friend and maybe the most naturally gifted spy I’d ever known.
“What do you think?”
“I think Preston is probably safe for now. But he won’t be forever.”
“Yeah. And I just keep thinking…” I let the words trail off.
“About Knight?” Bex guessed. She took a heavy breath. “Me too. Fancy a guess at what he was talking about? If the leadership of the Circle is planning something so big and awful that even blokes like Knight are scared…then I’m terrified.”
Bex is the bravest person I know. I’m not exaggerating when I say that. It is the honest truth. And I know a lot of seriously brave people. But right then Bex shivered a little—a whole body shake, like her spine was tingling. Like someone had just walked over her grave.
“I guess we’ll find out eventually,” I told her.
“Yeah,” Bex said.
Neither of us said what we were thinking: that finding out was the part that scared us.
Then she turned to face me. “But we’re going to win this thing, Cam. We are going to find the other descendants of the people on that list and take them down. And we’re going to find and stop Zach’s mom. We’ll do it, and…” But my best friend trailed off. “One more thing.”
“What?”
“Happy New Year.”
Just then horns began to honk. Lights flickered. There was a blast, and purple hues streaked across the sky, shining down on the city of London. It had been a year since I’d seen Zach there, since Mr. Solomon had been on the run and my world had been turned upside down. I looked up at the fireworks that filled the sky. It was exactly the kind of moment when Zach liked to show up, say something cryptic, and kiss me.
I half-expected him to appear through the crowd, crawl out of the river in a wet suit, rappel out of a black helicopter.
But no kiss came.
“Happy New Year, Bex,” I told my best friend, then turned and checked my tail, knowing there was no such thing as a fresh start, totally unsure whether or not this new year would be exactly like my last.
Chapter Four
PROS AND CONS OF RETURNING TO THE GALLAGHER ACADEMY AFTER ALMOST A FULL MONTH AWAY:
PRO: Laundry. Sure, Grandma Morgan is an expert ironer, but the Gallagher Academy has this lavender-scented detergent that is maybe the most awesome-smelling stuff ever.
CON: There is nothing like being back at school to remind you that you have a lot of work to do. (And I do mean A LOT.)
PRO: Over the break, the maintenance department finally got around to installing the new judo mats.
CON: Bex, of course, had to challenge everyone to a round of judo.
PRO: Two words: Sublevel. Access.
CON: No matter how many hours we spent trying, we never could figure out exactly what the Circle was up to.
I know I shouldn’t admit it, but I wasn’t exactly looking forward to the rest of the students coming back to school. Bex and I had been alone with my mom and the other teachers for three whole days by then, and there was something nice about it. No lines in the Grand Hall, no crowds on the stairs. I could use all the hot water I wanted in the shower. But most of all, I totally wasn’t looking forward to—
“What happened?”
Sure, they call me the Chameleon, but when it comes to getting lost in the crowds at the Gallagher Academy, Liz really is quite a natural. After all, that afternoon the halls were full of girls and teachers, piles of backpacks and suitcases lining the halls, and even though we’re seniors and all, Liz was lost in a throng of freshmen and sophomores.
But as she grabbed me by the arm and pulled me into a quiet alcove, I couldn’t help but remember that the start of a new semester meant questions—lots of questions. And the hardest ones weren’t going to be coming from our teachers.
“So…what happened over break? Where did you go? Who did you see? What do the Baxters think about Preston, and…oh… Just tell me what happened!”
Technically, the answer was classified. We were in an unsecured alcove with far too many highly trained ears and eyes around. I could have given any of those excuses, but I didn’t have to, because just then Bex stepped into the alcove and said, “She’s here.”
Now, to be technical about it, there were a whole lot of girls there, but I knew exactly who Bex meant. What I didn’t know was why she was leading us down the main staircase and through the foyer that served as the official front door of our school.