AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So be it,” Mr. Prince says. “Rocco is young. Plenty of time for him to find someone else.”
He sniffs, dismissing Zoe in a breath as he stares at that laptop screen again.
I’d like to smash it over his fucking head. But I’m too elated by what I just managed to pull off. The biggest fucking deal of my life. For the greatest prize imaginable.
“Let’s toast,” I say, “While I draw up the contract.”
By the time we’ve all signed and shared three rounds of drinks, I know I’m barely going to make it back to the dock in time. Moroz has been pouring shots that fill his tumbler, and he’s starting to get a crazed gleam in his eye. I want to get the fuck out of here before he gives me a backslap that knocks my fucking head off my shoulders.
We bid our farewells and part ways in the lobby, all of us waiting for the Malina to leave first before we feel comfortable heading out in the dark on our own.
I sprint down to the docks, still wearing my suit, having forgotten my uniform back at the hotel.
I’m ten minutes past the three hours Ares and I agreed upon.
Yet the sleek black boat waits at the end of its berth.
“You were supposed to leave without me,” I remind Ares.
“I know,” he sighs. “I kinda need you to get back through those rocks.”
“And you were mildly concerned that I might be dead.”
“Concerned, or hopeful?”
“Definitely concerned.”
“Only ‘cause I thought I might miss out on my cut of this super important deal.”
I laugh. “There is no cut. I’m broke as fuck now. Spent it all.”
Ares shakes his head at me. “That doesn’t sound like a very good deal.”
I picture Zoe’s face when I tell her what I’ve done. The way her disbelief will melt into a smile brighter than the dawn.
“It’s a fucking fantastic deal,” I tell him. “The best I’ll ever make.”
21
CAT
When I don’t see Zoe at breakfast, I worry that something awful happened to her again.
Instead, she comes bursting into my room down in the Undercroft while I’m stuffing my backpack with books.
She rarely comes to visit my dorm—nobody who isn’t a Spy likes to come to the Undercroft. They find it creepy, and to be fair, the Spies are less than welcoming.
We’re the only division where the male and female students share the same floor. While I’ve gotten to know some of the older students like Shannon Kelly and Isabel Dixon, I hate visiting the bathrooms at the far end of the tunnel, because it means I also have to pass the doors of some of the absolutely terrifying residents like Jasper Webb and my own asshole cousin Martin Romero.
Their rooms are caves, and I have a sneaking fear that if I don’t run past their door fast enough, they might reach out a tentacle-like arm and drag me inside.
For all these reasons, it’s usually me that visits Zoe in the bright, clean Solar.
Today I’m simply relieved to see her at all, especially since I can tell at a glance that her face is beaming with excitement.
“He did it!” She cries, her voice choked with emotion. “Miles did it!”
“Did what?” I say, blankly.
