A sharp squeal and giggle pulled my attention out the kitchen window. I looked up to see Sandra Whitley walking down the sidewalk holding her toddling kid’s hand, with her other hand stroking her growing belly. She smiled down at her toddler and pretended to tickle him, which only inspired more squeals. She suddenly looked up and across the street, and there was Jana calling to her with a friendly wave, her ever-present stroller out in front of her.
All at once, I knew exactly where I was going to get my team.
CHAPTER28
Iwas on the way out my front door the next morning, ready to meet the moms at the park where I knew they would be with the kids, when I nearly bumped into a young woman in a pantsuit standing on my doorstep.
My nerves rocketed to high alert so quickly I almost punched her in the face on pure reflex.
“Whoa! Good morning,” she said, and leaned back from my half jab.
I eyed her up and down: sleek low ponytail, pressed shirt, minimal makeup, telltale bulge at her hip beneath her suit. Olena was either getting more direct sending someone to kill me, or I was staring at my new handler.
“Who are you?” I asked, needing to get to the park so I didn’t miss my opportunity to approach the moms before naptime.
The woman tugged on her lapels. “I’m Agent Yang. Do you mind if we step inside to talk?”
An ounce of relief seeped out of me. At least she wasn’t here to kill me, but I wasn’t sure I was ready for another babysitter. She looked about my age. Young. Fresh. Maybe the DSA had assigned a newbie since this case was solow risk, as everyone liked to believe.
“Sure, but it has to be quick. I have to be somewhere.” I turned inside and let her follow.
“Yes, I’ve been briefed on your case. I understand you are Mrs. Browning’s nanny,” she said.
I froze mid-step. Bray must have been keeping the secret in place by not telling anyone my cover was already blown. The DSA didn’t know it was blown if they were sending in a new handler for the same case. I slowly turned around and held my face neutral, deciding to test her. “Right. I am about to head to the park up the street to meet her and the kids. I’ll be busy for the rest of the day.”
“Noted,” she said with a nod. She’d folded her hands in front of her pants and stood with a rigid posture. She looked like someone used to taking orders, not giving them.
“And tomorrow, I’ll be at the Brownings’ house all day,” I said, not letting on that would only be true if my plan today worked in my favor.
Agent Yang held up her hands. “I understand. I’m not here to get in your way. I only wanted to introduce myself and let you know you’ve been passed to me as your new handler.”
Passed to me.Once again, I was dehumanized into an object. But at least she didn’t know my cover was blown. I’d rather be locked in Bray’s parents’ condo, or shipped to the middle of nowhere, but if I had to be anywhere, being in the clutch of neighborhood watch and security cameras in Del Rio while I worked on my plan was the best option.
“Great,” I said with a stiff smile. “If you’re not here to get in my way, then we are already on the same page.”
She nodded, and I got the sense I was right about her taking orders. “I understand the importance of keeping cover. I will check in as needed, but please brief me as frequently as you see fit.”
I couldn’t believe my luck. This newbie was just going to … stay out of my hair?
“Will do,” I said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go.”
“Of course, but one more thing?” she said when I reached for the door.
I thought she might sayjust kiddingand slap an ankle monitor on me, but instead she lifted her phone and wagged it at me. “Let me give you my number.”
“Oh, right.” She recited it, and I punched the numbers into my phone. Staring at my screen made me long for a text from Bray. It had been less than twenty-four hours, but I missed him.
I shoved the pang of longing back into the box I’d built for it. I couldn’t miss him. There was no world where that longing could ever be satisfied, so I had to stop feeling it. I was on my own.
“All set,” Agent Yang said with a small smile. “I look forward to working together.”
I thought about asking her if she had any experience working with CIs, how she got put on my case, if she knew why my old handler had been given the boot, and if she knew anything about the past seventy-two hours, but all that could be saved for later. Or, if things went well with the moms, we’d never have a chance to have the conversation because I’d be gone. Finally free.
“I look forward to it too,” I lied right to her face. It was nothing personal, of course. She seemed fine in the five minutes we’d known each other, maybe even easy. But I could have had the jolliest person alive as my handler, and they’d still be my handler.
“Great. I’ll let you go,” she said, and moved for the door. I let her leave first and waited for the sound of her car pulling away before I opened the door again and headed out on my mission.
Del Rio Park looked the way it always did: clean, safe, glittering in the morning sun, and full of joyous parents and children frolicking about. I spotted the moms right away. They saton the same blanket in the same place as they had on the day I had joined them. I wondered if the park worked like high school cafeteria seating. All the cliques had their designated seats, and no one dared cross a social status line.
