the riddle. I’ll have twenty-four hours to solve it and meet him without being followed. Hopefully, he’ll have a plan to rescue my mom.”
“Why did he call and text on my phone?”
“He says my phone is being monitored. My computer, too, but I already figured that.”
He shook his head. “I’m not going to ask how he got my cell phone information or how he knew I drove you to your mom’s apartment.”
“It’s clear we’re being watched by different people. And, although I probably don’t have to tell you this, I’m not sure how safe your phone will be after this.”
“Great.” He let out a sigh. “Well, if you’re set on solving this riddle and meeting your dad, we’d better assemble the team.”
I glanced at him in alarm. “The team?”
“Yes, the team.” He gave me an exasperated look. “You really thought you were going to go this alone?”
“I don’t want to drag anyone else into this. It could be dangerous.”
“Wow. Now you’re being insulting. We’re in spy school, remember? This is what we’re training for.”
“I know, but we haven’t been officially trained yet, and these people are dangerous. They tried to kidnap me, they succeeded in kidnapping my mom, and whatever they did to my dad, it caused him to disappear for fourteen years.”
“Then I guess we’ll just have to be careful. We’re a unit, remember? All eight of us. You have to bring everyone in to help.”
“I know we’re a unit, but…”
“No buts,” Jax said firmly. “We stick together.”
Fear for my mom, my friends, and myself tugged me in different directions. “My dad said I have to keep it quiet.”
“No problem.” He spread his hands. “Spies in training, remember? We get it. Secrecy is what we do.”
“But…what if I can’t figure out the riddle, or I can, but I can’t get to my dad because I’m being followed? Or what if someone gets hurt?”
“Which is exactly why you need us. Think about it. We’ll be taking the same risks in a couple of years anyway, as soon as we graduate. We’ll figure a way to get you to your meeting without anyone following you. It’s what we’re learning in Detection and Surveillance.”
“Right. And after four classes, we’re going to outwit the professionals.”
“That sounds like a challenge I’m up to taking.”
I couldn’t be sure if he believed it or whether it was a cockiness meant to reassure me. I sighed. “Jax, I’m serious.”
“So am I. Look, we’re fast learners and you know it. We’ve already foiled them once when they tried to kidnap you.”
He had a point there. Still, how dangerous would it be to involve everyone? More importantly, could I trust them with my mom’s life?
Jax homed in on my hesitation. “Look, I don’t know exactly who your dad is or what he did that made him disappear for so long and to cause people to want to kidnap you and your mom, but maybe it’s time to give us all the facts.”
“Maybe I should just keep it to Frankie and Wally,” I said. “They already know about my dad.”
Jax lifted an eyebrow. “Really? And cut out Bo, Kira, Hala, Mike, and me? What happens to our unit cohesiveness after they learn you don’t trust them?”
My face heated. “That’s not fair. I do trust them. I’m just trying to protect them.”
“So, that would be your story?” He crossed his arms against his chest, stared at me. “Okay, since you’re trusting your gut…what’s your gut telling you about that move?”
I blew out a heavy breath. “It’s telling me it sucks. You’re right. I can’t break up the unit. But everyone gets a chance to back out if they want.”
“Fair enough.” Jax bent down to pet Mr. Toodles. The fur ball wagged his tail, licking furiously at Jax’s hand. “If you trust your dad, then you’re going to have to trust your friends, too.”
The weird thing was, I did trust them, but the team dynamic was still too fresh for me. I’d spent most of my life solving my own problems, and suddenly I had to shift to a team mentality. It was a lot harder than it sounded.
“We have to find a base of operations,” I mused, my brain already working ahead of my emotions. “We’ve got to be out of the dorms tonight, and I can’t use my mom’s apartment because it’s bugged. We can’t use anyone else’s house because we won’t be able to do what we need to do if we’re being monitored by parents.”
“We could work out