So Many Boys (The Naughty List #2)(50)

They stayed together like that for a full turn of the Ferris wheel as the operative gritted her teeth, both excited and sickened by the culmination of it all. She zoomed in to capture their tender kisses.

“What am I going to tell Riley?” Jenn asked, reaching up to play with Tate’s hair.

“Tell him you’re in love with me.”

Jenn shook her head. “That’s cruel.” She sighed. “Maybe I’ll break up with him, and then we can wait a week or something so it doesn’t look suspicious.”

The operative scoffed. Oh, now they were going to lie about being together? They were disgusting. She began tapping her foot, almost feverishly.

“I don’t want to wait a week,” Tate whispered, kissing her again.

“I can’t believe I stayed with him so long. I should have been with you,” Jenn said, her hand sliding suspiciously lower into the seat of the cart.

“Slut,” the operative called out, her anger too much to suppress.

Jenn sat up straighter, swinging her head around, but the operative put her cell phone to her ear to pretend like she was on the phone and not paying attention. After a minute, Jenn turned back around, looking a little less comfortable in Tate’s arms. The operative smiled, enjoying Jenn’s reaction. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more reaction she wanted. She considered how she could make things right. What sort of…revenge she could have.

Tapping her nails on the steel seat of the Ferris wheel cart, the operative turned to look out over the parking lot, wishing the ride would stop. She was hungry. Spying sometimes did that to her. She gazed over to the food tents and—

The operative flinched when she saw her—Tessa Crimson, walking by the rows of games, laughing. But she wasn’t alone. She was walking with a guy.

Reaching to get her camera, the operative zoomed in on their faces. Tessa’s smooth features were perfect as always. Her dark, shiny hair was pulled back into a perky ponytail, flowing down behind her shoulders. Her wide smile flashed, not only drawing attention from the guy she was with, but from the filthy fair workers watching her.

The operative moved her lens, taking in the face of Tessa’s companion. It took a second from that height before she recognized him. It was Joel Fletcher! She gasped as she scanned him from head to toe. His hazel eyes were set off nicely against his light skin. He had on a vintage-rocker T-shirt and a faded pair of loose jeans that completed his look.

The operative clenched her jaw. “Again?” she whispered, her voice nearly a growl. As if one cheating friend wasn’t enough, now there was Tessa Crimson with an attached guy—eating a corn dog!

Was Tessa the ultimate cheating accomplice? Getting away with it all by being perky and cute. Slipping under the radar. Narrowing her eyes, the operative aimed the camera at the two of them, clicking off shot after shot until she ran out of film. She wouldn’t stand for this.

No, Tessa Crimson was going down.

When the Ferris wheel stopped, the operative climbed out, her fist clenching the strap of the satchel over her shoulder. Heading toward the parking lot, she thought about the best way to take Tessa down. She didn’t need proof this time. Tessa was a repeat offender—she’d already been through this with Christian.

About halfway across the concrete she paused, remembering the mission she’d just accomplished. Jenn and Tate.

It took a minute to find it, but when she spotted Jenn’s Honda Accord, she wasted no time. She stomped over to it, darting around cautionary glances. When no one was near, she squatted and took a metal letter opener out of her bag. She gripped it in one hand and drove it into the smooth part of the driver’s-side tire. She twisted and turned the blade, her face pulled into a snarl.

There was a hiss as the air escaped from the rubber. The operative pulled out her weapon and slid it back into her satchel as she straightened up. She doubted that Jenn knew how to change a tire. And depending on the kind of guy Tate was, he might not know either.

With that, she brought a business card out of her back pocket, kissed it, and put it in the jamb of the driver’s-side window.

Now it was time to catch a Kitten.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“THIS LOOKS DISGUSTING.” I LAUGHED, TWIRLING the corn dog stick in my hand.

“Come on.” Joel knocked his elbow into mine as we walked across the fairgrounds. “Hot dogs covered in batter and shoved on a stick? It’s like the most delicious combination on the planet.”

I didn’t mind coming here with Joel. I was really enjoying it. Even though Kira, Leona, Izzie, and the other girls on the squad were great, I really missed having a guy around. Not in a boyfriend way, but just that male presence. In fact, it was nice to not have to worry about the boyfriend baggage.

“So Kira told me she was going to put you back on the squad,” Joel said as we passed the Ferris wheel. “Did she?”

“Yep. I am officially a Smitten Kitten, a member of the fiercest squad in Washington.”

“Ah,” Joel said. “Taking your rightful place at the helm soon, hopefully.” He finished his corn dog and tossed the stick in the trash as we passed it. “It’d be a good thing,” he added. “I was starting to think that Kira was going to lose her mind with all the practices and infighting. You all are a feisty bunch!”

I pursed my lips and then nodded. “Yeah, but we love each other.”