Keeping Me (Spy Chronicles Book 2)(10)

So not attractive.

Well, at least I don’t have to worry about Bass falling in love with me. He’s seen what I look like in the morning. That guarantees we will just be friends. Which is okay, I guess. A girl can never have too many friends.

A couple of minutes later, I walk out of the bathroom dressed and ready for the day. I still have no idea where we are going or how much longer we will be in the car. It could be all day. Or maybe we are almost to where we’re going.

I kind of hope we still have a ways to go. I'm enjoying our road trip. I like driving through places I’ve never been before.

“How much longer do we have?” I ask Bass, as we get started on our journey. We grabbed food to eat on the go.

“Sixteen hours,” he answers. “I am going to try to just drive straight through. I would usually be driving faster, but I don't need any attention from the cops in case Nolan is watching.”

“How can he watch every cop in every town? The US is huge,” I say.

“That's pretty much computer hacking 101,” Bass says. “You've got a lot of classes to catch up on before you graduate. Which is part of the reason your dad sent me. I’m good at pretty much everything.”

“I'm certainly not learning anything out here,” I say, trying not to sound bitter about it. I want to be at Spy School—learning.

“I'll teach you things when we get settled in our temporary home,” he says. “After all, I did promise to teach you how to drive. And I'm still going to train you to fight. Your bruises from the whole Nolan thing look a lot better. And I’d like to prevent you from getting hit again.”

“I feel a lot better,” I say.

“Good,” he says. “Because we are going to work every day, and you'll probably end up hating me until your body gets used to it.”

I remember how I felt after our first training session, so I believe him.

“Hey, Bass,” I say.

“What?”

“Is there any way to call my dad?” I ask.

“I'm not sure it's a good idea,” he says.

“I know,” I say, looking down at my hands. “I just... you know, I just found him. I've never had a family before, and the way we left him... I need to know he's okay.”

“I will find a way to let you talk to him,” Bass says. “I just need a few days.”

“Okay,” I say. “Thanks.”

“You're a hard person to say no to,” he says.

“What does that mean?” I ask.

“Nothing,” he says. “You're just different than I expected you to be.”

“Does that mean you like me?”

He smiles, but keeps his eyes on the road. “No. I didn't say that. But maybe I could have a worse assignment.”

That is pretty much as close to a compliment as it will ever get with Bass.

“Are you going to tell me where we are going now?” I ask.

“Nowhere exciting,” he answers. “Trust me, you will most likely be disappointed when you find out.”

“What? Are you taking me to that stupid safe house in Flordia?” I ask. “Please don't give me a sedative. I promise I won't look.”

“Not Florida,” Bass says. “And why did they give you a sedative?”

“Nolan did,” I answer. “He said if I knew where the safe house was, it could put other people in harm.”

“He's an idiot.”

A week ago, I would have argued in Nolan’s favor, but not now.

“There are a lot of things I don't understand,” I say. “Since coming into this world, I've kind of learned to just go with it.”

“So, what exactly happened?” Bass asks. “I mean, I know you were kidnapped, but there's got to be more to the story than that. Your birth mom was trained at the best school on the planet. I highly doubt a lunatic got the upper hand on her.”

“I don't know,” I answer. “All I know is what my dad told me. Apparently my birth mom has been dead since I was four.”

“Huh,” he says.

“I'm sure Dad will tell me more when he figures it out,” I say.

“And how did Nolan find you in Florida?”

“I have no idea,” I answer. “All I know is that the guys just started slowly entering my life one by one. They became my friends. They brought me food and they talked to me. They didn't even think it was weird that I sat on the floor by myself in the school cafeteria.”

“You sat by yourself? That's incredibly sad,” he says.

“I have friends now,” I say. “Kind of. I mean, I consider them... and you... my friends.”

“How did the guys convince you to leave Florida? Or did they just kidnap you?” he asks.

“Ugh, a little of both,” I say. “Andrew...”

“The stepbrother?”

“Yeah,” I answer. “When I came home from school, he was in the living room. He hardly ever left the basement. But he grabbed my wrists. I was used to him bugging me. But then Nolan saw it and pretty much freaked out. And the guys asked me to come with them. I was so tired of everything. I was tired of being hungry. I was tired of being their slave. But most of all, I was tired of being hated. So, I agreed to go with them. And Nolan drugged me after I decided to come.”