CHAPTER ONE
“Why the hell did you hide the intel in Sparkle World?” I hissed into my bracelet. I sidestepped a freaking princess employee dressed in an elaborate deep blue gown as I jogged down a yellow brick road, the fake daisies on either side of the walkway blowing in a chilly breeze. This place was a nightmare with little brats yanking their parents all over the place, everything so sugary-sweet and…cute.
“No running is allowed in Sparkle World!” the princess shouted from behind me, her voice dripping in charm as she barked her order. Disgusting. “There are children here. You don’t want to run them over!”
Like I cared if a child took a header into the flowers.
I craned my neck around, shooting a disgruntled glance at the lovely woman. I hollered, “If you can catch me in that ridiculous dress, I’ll slow down.”
Her blue eyes narrowed to thin slits. She even went so far as to pick up the hem of her dress, ready to take chase. The princess must have changed her mind, though. She swept her fingers down her dress, straightening the wrinkles. A serene smile lifted her lips, except the smile didn’t reach her eyes. Those were still dead set on me in quiet fury.
I may have been many yards ahead of her now, but I could still see her pretty lips mouth silently, “You’re lucky I’m working, bitch.”
I snickered. That princess knew how to cuss.
I picked up my pace, zigzagging through brats, and returned my attention to my bracelet. “Did I lose you, Karma?”
“Nope. I just didn’t want to listen to you bitch about where I placed the intel, so I put you on mute for a minute. Figured that would be long enough for you to get it out of your system.” Karma cleared her throat, pointedly. “Are you at least to the funnel cake store yet? You’re running out of time.”
“Almost there,” I hissed, breathing through the stitch in my side. It had been a long time since I had run this far. Maybe I should exercise more often. Sitting in a chair all day long wasn’t exactly the healthiest daily activity—and that was all I ever did.
Karma muttered, “You sound like a sputtering train. Are you having an asthma attack or something?”
Yep. I need to exercise more.
“Shut up. I’m concentrating on breathing,” I panted. “And I don’t have asthma.”
“Well, you sound like shit.”
“Thanks.” I ran past the funnel cake store, the sign’s twirls of light making me dizzy. Or maybe that was my shortness of breath. I stopped behind the building and glanced at the backdoor. It was closed, and no one was outside. “I’m here. Where to now?”
“Under the mat.”
Trying to regulate my breaths, my chest hitched up and down much more slowly. I bent down next to the back door and lifted the dirty mat. “Ew. There are slugs on it!”
Karma chuckled softly. “Just press your damn finger to it, Noelle, before it self-deletes.”
I lifted the slim package and flicked off each of the slugs. “This had better be worth it.”
“Am I ever wrong?” she hummed.
“Never.” I sighed then pressed my thumb to the small circular security protection. A quiet reverberation shuddered across the black package as it read my fingerprint, and the package in my hands turned from black to olive green. “Done.”
“My payment?”
My fingers tapped on my bracelet, sending the units to her hidden account. “Half paid like normal. I’ll send the other half once I’ve reviewed the contents and deemed it worthy.”
“Thank you. And, Noelle?” she stated.
“What? Want me to bring you a slug?” My lips twitched.
“No, asshole. You need to hurry back to review it. That information is on a schedule. You don’t want to miss the show.”
My head tipped back. I eyed the gray sky above me. “I’m almost afraid to open it now. The last time you put on a show, a train fell from the sky.”
Karma snorted. “It was all planned perfectly. That street needed to be razed so new jobs could be created.”
“Tell that to the pedestrians who lost their lives,” I spat.
