Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 425(@200wpm)___ 340(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
For a few minutes, it had been like old times—like the days before Kate became Alec’s girlfriend. But those days were over now.
The next morning, my preparations for mission “Be Madison Chambers” began. It was sad how easy it was to summarize the life of an eighteen-year-old girl in eighty, neatly typed pages. In uncaring black and white, the report told me everything I needed to know in order to blend in with Madison’s friends and family. Or so Major thought.
Kate had done a good job extracting information from the minds of Madison’s friends and mother. But the file still lacked any mention of Madison’s emotions, her thoughts, her internal life. It was like telling someone to enjoy a beautiful piece of music simply by looking at the notes.
Madison weighed 7 pounds and 2 ounces when she was born. She started playing the piano when she was seven years old. She had a cat named Fluffy that she’d gotten for her ninth birthday and a fraternal twin brother, Devon. She loved peanut butter cookies but was allergic to tuna and capers. She had been a cheerleader until shortly before the attack.
A stack of photos fell out of the file, spreading around my feet. I crouched down to pick them up and began looking through them. There was Madison as a little girl, dressed in a bunny costume. Madison in the middle of a group of grinning girls, braces flashing in her mouth. Madison hugging her father and brother.
I didn’t even want to imagine how the FEA had gotten access to them.
Madison was so full of life in the photos; all shiny blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes, and happy smiles. And someone had taken that light from her.
I snapped the file shut as tears prickled the corners of my eyes. I didn’t want to get to know Madison, didn’t want to learn about her quirks and interests, because it made her too real. This wasn’t right.
“Tessa?”
Alec.
I rubbed my hands over my face—silently thankful for waterproof mascara—and rearranged my ponytail. “Come in.”
The door opened with a creak.
Alec took up most of the doorway, tall and muscled as ever. He’d never entered my room before and it didn’t look like that would change anytime soon. Sometimes I wondered why he was so reluctant to come in. If he didn’t trust himself to be alone there with me. But I knew that was probably just wishful thinking.
“You okay?”
I felt my skin flush. “Yeah, I’m fine. Is there something you want?”
For a moment he seemed to look right through me. His eyes were so intense. Did he remember that moment last night? Heat gathered in my stomach, but then he cleared his throat. “Major wants our training to start today.”
“Oh, right. Sure.” We didn’t normally have any classes on the weekends, but our time before the mission was tight. Alec’s eyes lingered on me for a moment before he disappeared from view. “In the dojo in ten minutes. Don’t be late.”
Had I imagined the way he’d just looked at me? I shook my head to get rid of the thought.
I grabbed simple gray sweat pants and a white T-shirt from my drawer. Just as I was about to get dressed Holly burst in, her hair still damp from her morning swim. Her natural color, a nice light brown, showed at the hairline. “You’re leaving already?”
“Yeah, Alec wants me in the dojo in—” I glanced at the clock on the wall. “Nine minutes.”
She took my clothes from me and dropped them on the ground. “You’re not wearing those.”
“Holly, I don’t have time for your styling tips right now.” And I didn’t have the patience either. Looking cute wouldn’t get me out of the mission alive.
“Don’t be stupid. You’re having one-on-one lessons with Alec. Let me spell it out for you: Alone. With Alec. This is your chance.”
If she’d seen us last night, she’d know how hopeless it was.
“You know how focused Alec is during training. He wouldn’t even notice me if I walked into the dojo naked.”
“We’ll see.”
I slumped down on my bed and watched Holly rummage in her drawer. When she actually set her mind on something, she was a force to be reckoned with, and Alec and I were on top of her to-do list.
She flung an article of clothing at me and it hit me in the face. The scent of peach and vanilla filled my nose as I pulled it over my head. It was a white T-shirt. Without protest, I put it on.
“What’s so much better about this shirt?”
Holly pointed at my chest.
“Holly!”
“It’s funny.”
I groaned. In big red letters, please talk to my face; my breasts can’t hear you was written across my chest. “I’m not wearing this.”
“Oh, you are. And here, take these sweatpants. They’re not as loose as yours.”
I didn’t have the energy to argue with her, not with the way my brain had been in turmoil ever since I saw Madison. I wiggled into Holly’s sweatpants. At least they were black and happily devoid of any printed sayings.