Keeping Me (Spy Chronicles Book 2) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Wednesday, August 23

  Thursday, August 24

  Friday, August 25

  Saturday, August 26

  Sunday, August 27

  Tuesday, August 29

  Wednesday, August 30

  Thursday, August 31

  Monday, October 2

  Tuesday, October 3

  Wednesday, October 4

  Thursday, October 5

  Friday, October 6

  Author's Note

  More Books by Me

  Find Me Online

  Keeping Me

  Spy Chronicles, Book 2

  Scarlett Haven

  Copyright © 2017 Scarlett Haven

  http://scarletthaven.wordpress.com

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, places, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  Wednesday, August 23

  Babysitting and trust issues.

  “I am so bored,” I say, hitting my hand against my bed in frustration.

  “Don’t worry, Miss Sinclair. Your vital signs are good and your head is healing nicely. As long as it continues, the doctor will probably release you in the morning,” my nurse tells me, when she comes in to do a checkup.

  The guys are gone on some kind of assignment, my dad is working, and I’ve been in this stupid hospital room all by myself since last night. Dad assures me that this hospital is the safest place in the world, and I believe him. I imagine assassins sitting on the roof, guns loaded, and ready to fire at anybody who attempts to break in. That probably isn’t far from the truth.

  The nurse writes something down on her clipboard and then leaves the room.

  “Ugh,” I groan, using an arm to cover my face. “This sucks.”

  “Hey, Princess.”

  I know that voice.

  Without uncovering my eyes, I say, “Hello, Sebastian.”

  I’m so bored that I don’t care that he hates me or that I hate him. I want company. Any company. I’m desperate.

  Okay, hate is a strong word. I don’t hate Sebastian. In fact, I kind of like him. But I can’t let him know that.

  I feel the bed sink near my feet, so I look over at Sebastian, who is now sitting on my bed. His lip is swollen and has a cut on it, but other than that, he looks completely normal, and not like he saved my life just two days ago.

  “You look horrible,” he tells me.

  “You really know how to sweep a girl off her feet,” I say.

  Sander taught me sarcasm, and now I love using it.

  “I’m sorry. Would you rather I continuously tell you how awesome you are, like Jaxon and his group?” he asks, his lip turning up on one side.

  Two days ago, it was Nolan and his group.

  “The day you start being nice to me is the day the world as we know it comes to an end. Why would I think that saving my life would change things?” I say, and then pause. “By the way, thanks for saving me.”

  “I don’t think he was going to kill you. I think he just wanted to kidnap you,” Sebastian says. “But, you’re welcome.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time I was kidnapped. Or the second, ironically,” I say.

  “You’ve been kidnapped?” he asks.

  I nod. “If I understand correctly, the woman that I knew as my mother for thirteen years actually killed my biological mother and took me. I don’t know why. The woman didn’t like me very much. She should’ve saved herself the trouble.”

  “What happened to her? The woman who kidnapped you.”

  “I don’t know,” I answer. “Nolan just told me that they took care of her. After being here for four days, I realize that could mean a lot of different things, and I’m not sure I want to know for certain. She was horrible to me, but she was my mom for thirteen years.”

  The words ‘torture training’ are going through my head and I cringe. Sure, the woman tortured me for years, but that doesn’t mean I want the same thing to happen to her.

  “Is she the one who did that to your wrists?” he asks.

  The bruises have almost faded completely. They’re just a little yellow and green. I rub at them, wishing it would just go away already. The people in this school are too observant and I am tired of the sympathetic looks.

  “No. That would be Andrew, my stepbrother,” I say. “Well, not really my stepbrother, I suppose. He was my kidnapper’s husband’s son.”

  “Is that all he did?” Sebastian asks. His voice is very calm, but I can that he’s angry, by the fist he’s making with his hand. His knuckle turn white.

  “Andrew only touched me when he was hitting me. Or kicking me. Otherwise, he didn’t lay a hand on me,” I say.

  His hand doesn’t relax.

  “Why are you here, anyway?” I ask. “Isn’t school in session?”

  “Your father pulled me out of class and told me I had two options. The first was to come babysit you. The second was to go home and never be allowed on the school grounds again. Basically, I had no choice,” he says. “Because, I can’t go home.”

  “I’m sorry,” I tell him.

  “You know,” he says, turning to look at me. “I never did like Nolan. Getting to take him on in a fight felt good, especially considering I won. Well, won is a strong word. But I held my own and he eventually ran. If you and Gage hadn’t been bleeding out on the floor, I would’ve gone after him.”

  A chill comes over me when I think about the other option. What if he hadn’t won? Or what if he hadn’t been there?

  “Yeah, but now you have to be in here. And I know you said you don’t hate me, but it kind of feels like you do,” I say. “I can tell that you don’t like me very much. Maybe you should have left me bleeding out on the floor.”

  “Don’t take it personally,” Sebastian says. “I don’t particularly like anybody. But I would never have left you. Or Gage.”

  “I love people,” I say. “Everybody is a mystery to me, and I like to figure them out. When I lived in Florida, I wasn’t allowed to talk to anybody. The few times I tried, I got starved. The most recent time, I was starved for a whole month. So back then, I would just people watch. I had conversations with them in my head. It’s nice to be able to talk to people now. I don’t even care that you don’t like me, because I like you.”

  “You had a completely screwed up life,” he says.

  I shrug. “I suppose so. But it’s not like I’m normal now. I’m at spy school.”

  “Yeah, you are,” he says. “At least now I know why you’re so skinny.”

  “I’ve gained a pound since I met the guys,” I say. “The doctor weighed me. I was kind of excited.”

  “What do you weigh? Eighty pounds?” he asks, but not as an insult. I know he’s actually concerned. At least, it seems that way.

  I don’t answer. “The doctor wants me to gain at least twenty pounds.”

  “When are you getting sprung from this place?” he asks.

  “Tomorrow,” I answer.

  “Good. I’m ready for you to get back to school so I can show you some basic self-defense moves,” Sebastian says. “This all could’ve been avoided with the proper training. Well, okay, maybe not avoided. But with me as a teacher, even an eighty pound girl could give Nolan a run for his money.”

  I frown. “I don’t weigh eighty pounds.”

  “I read your chart,” he says. “You weigh eighty-four pounds, which is just sad.”

  “Yeah, well... after I gain twenty pounds, I am going to kick your butt in c
lass,” I say confidently.

  “If you’re anything like your mom and dad, I have no doubts that you could give even me a run for my money.”

  I grin. “Then that’s my goal—to be good enough to take you on in a fight.”

  “That’s my goal for you, too. Because if you can take me down, you can take Nolan down,” he says.

  I sit up straight, sitting Indian style. “You never liked Nolan, right?”

  “Right,” he says.

  “Can you show me how to do that?” I ask.

  “How to do what?”

  “Tell if somebody is bad,” I answer. “Like, I trust people. I trusted Nolan with my life. And he did this. I need to know who to trust and who not to trust.”

  “How long have you known Nolan?” Sebastian asks.

  “Like, a week,” I answer.

  “That’s your problem,” he says. “You don’t give people trust right away. You have to let them earn it.”

  “I trust you,” I say.

  “And I earned it. I saved your life,” he says.

  “Nolan rescued me from Florida,” I say.

  “Okay then. Don’t trust me,” he says. “Let me prove to you some other way that you can trust me.”

  “How are you supposed to do that?” I ask. “You don’t even like me.”

  He laughs.

  But maybe he’s right. Maybe I do trust too easily, and Nolan just proved that I shouldn’t do that.

  “I can’t believe that everybody in the world is evil. There are good people, too. There have to be,” I say.

  “You say that ’cause you’re one of the good ones,” Sebastian says. “You’ve been tainted by evil your whole life, yet you’re so... pure.”

  “Be careful, Bass. That sounded an awful lot like a compliment,” I say.

  “Don’t worry. Unlike you, I don’t trust people until I know them very well,” he says.

  “Who do you trust?” I ask.

  “Myself,” he answers.

  “That’s sad,” I say. “I’ll just have to prove to you that you can trust me.”

  “Good luck, Princess.”

  “Why do you call me princess?” I ask.

  “You’re Michael Sinclair’s daughter, that means you’re royalty at our school,” Sebastian says.

  “You usually say it like it’s an insult.”

  “I assumed you were a spoiled rich girl,” Sebastian says. “I was wrong, but I like the nickname, so it’s sticking. Besides, now that you’re here, I fully expect you to live up to my first impression. It’s only a matter of time.”

  Wow.

  Sebastian Soto really does hate me.

  Gage.

  Later that day, Sander shows up at the hospital. When he lets Sebastian know that my dad said he could go, Sebastian basically ran from the room. He couldn't wait to get away from me. And I feel bad for him, having to spend time with somebody he doesn’t like. I just hate that’s it’s me that he doesn’t like.

  Sander wheels me down to see Gage. He’s lying in a bed asleep. He’s in a medically induced coma, and will be for a few days while his body heals. He isn’t completely in the clear yet, but the worst seems to be over. They’re very hopeful he will make a full recovery, though it’ll be a while before he’s ready to go out on Spy School missions.

  “Hey,” I say to Gage, even though he can’t hear me. Or maybe he can. I don’t know. “I’m sorry that you got shot. I sort of feel like it’s my fault. It should’ve been me, not you.”

  Sander smacks me on the back of the head.

  I turn to glare at him.

  “What? Gage would’ve smacked you himself if he were awake,” he says. “It’s not your fault and you know it.”

  I grab Gage’s hand and hope he doesn’t mind. He’s not awake to protest. “You need to get better so you can beat up Sander for me. Or better yet, I’ll just learn how to fight well and beat him up myself. Bass told me that he wants me to be good enough to take on Nol...”

  My voice breaks.

  “I trusted him, Gage,” I say, with tears running down my face. “How can I ever trust anybody again after what he’s done?”

  I feel a hand on my back, so I lean back a little into Sander. Despite what happened with Nolan, I still trust the guys. They’re not bad. What happened was all on Nolan.

  “We all trusted Nolan,” Sander tells me. “Gage and I have known him since we were twelve. He was like a big brother to us. I never once suspected that he... you know. But you can’t let what he did stop you from trusting people. One of the best things about you is how much you love everybody. I like that you’re trusting. Don’t let Nolan take that from you.”

  “How can I trust my own judgment, though?” I ask.

  “Nolan was a good manipulator,” he says. “But most of the time, you’ll be able to tell who you can trust and who you can’t. Continue to trust your judgment.”

  “Bass didn’t trust Nolan,” I say. “How did he know?”

  “Bass doesn’t trust anybody,” Sander says. “Not even me, and I’m his cousin.”

  “You’re cousins?” I ask, my mouth hanging open as I look at him.

  He nods. “His dad and my mom are brother and sister.”

  Now that I think about it, Sebastian and Sander do look a little bit alike. Sander has light blond hair and Sebastian has dark blond hair, but they have the same color of bright blue eyes. They’re so blue they almost look turquoise.

  Plus, they kind of act alike. They've got the whole sarcasm thing down to an art. Difference is Sander is always joking. Bass isn't. But I should’ve seen it sooner.

  “But he hates you,” I say.

  “He doesn’t hate me,” Sander says. “Sebastian doesn’t really hate anybody... except maybe Nolan. He just doesn’t like or trust anybody. He likes me, he just didn’t like that I was on a team with Nolan. I suppose he was right, though.”

  I look over at Gage. He’s pale white, and he’s hooked up to all kinds of machines. I say a quick prayer that he will pull through this. He has to.

  “He’s going to pull through this,” Sander tells me, as if reading my thoughts. “Gage is strong. He’s a fighter. That’s probably why Nolan shot him. If anybody in our group could go up against Nolan, it’s Gage. He really is a ninja, but don’t tell him I said that.”

  I laugh.

  Then cry.

  Poor Gage.

  I need him to come through this. I’ve already lost Nolan and I can’t lose Gage too.

  “Gage, fight. For me. You’re one of my best friends and I can’t bear the thought of losing you,” I tell him, squeezing his hand. I hope that he can hear me.

  Thursday, August 24

  Protective.

  My dad picks me up from the hospital the next day. All the guys are busy doing something that I am not allowed to know anything about, and even my dad is too busy to hang out. Which seems to be the normal lately. So instead, he’s sending somebody to babysit me.

  “This is Jasmine French,” my dad introduces me later that morning, when we get home from the hospital.

  My physical education teacher. She is the one who paired me up with Sebastian.

  Jasmine French is tall. I’d say about 5’9”. She has blonde hair and light blue eyes. She’s also not that much older than I am, maybe four years older. To be a teacher here, she must be really awesome. Actually, the fact that my dad got her to babysit me says a lot. She must be one of the best of the best.

  “She’s my teacher,” I say.

  Dad nods. “She’s the best.”

  So predictable.

  “Why can’t you just bring one of the guys back?” I ask, then look at Jasmine. “No offense. I am just really tired of being babysat and I’d rather be babysat by people I know and trust.”

  “They can’t be here because I need them out looking for Nolan,” Dad tells me. “The guys know Nolan best. They’ve spent the last few years with him. Who better to find him?”

  “What about Bass?” I ask. “W
hy can’t he babysit me?”

  “I didn’t think you liked him,” he says, smiling at me.

  “He’s the one who dislikes me,” I say. “I personally don’t think he’s so bad.”

  “Bass doesn’t like anybody,” Jasmine says. “Don’t be too put off by his attitude.”

  “It’s okay,” I say. “I kind of like that he doesn’t like me. I’ve never had an enemy before. It’s exciting. But I kind of like him. It’s going to be a fun challenge to get him to like me.”

  “I see why you asked me to come here,” Jasmine says, now looking at my dad. “It’s obvious that she needs me.”

  “Be good and listen to her,” Dad tells me.

  I roll my eyes. “I’m seventeen. I don’t need a babysitter.”

  He doesn’t respond. He just walks out the front door, leaving me standing in the living room with Jasmine.

  “Want to go shopping?” Jasmine asks.

  I look at her, my eyes wide. “Seriously? Like at the mall?”

  She nods, and pulls something from her back pocket. She holds it up and I see that it’s a credit card. “Your dad gave me this so I could take you. You obviously need some clothes that fit.”

  “I would love to go shopping,” I say.

  Because I’ve never actually been shopping. All of the clothes that I own, my mother... or kidnapper... picked up from garage sales and thrift shops. I’ve never even owned new clothes, so this is definitely going to be a change. I mean; not to be a girl or anything, but I’ve dreamed of going shopping. Only in my wildest dreams. And now it’s happening.

  Thirty minutes later, we are at a huge shopping mall. What surprises me is that we left the walled city and went to a town close by. I didn’t think it was safe to leave, but I trust my dad’s judgment. If he says it’s okay for Jasmine to take me here, then it must be.

  After looking around, I notice there are a lot of familiar looking people—including Jax, Hunter, Brett, Sander, Sebastian and a few other people I recognize from school. I am pretty sure I even saw my math teacher earlier. But nobody comes up to talk to me, and I’m thinking my dad made them come to guard me, which makes me feel bad. There must be at least twenty different people.