The Naughty List (The Naughty List #1)(32)
Author: Suzanne Young

It was determined that Mr. Stanvick spent his 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. shift in Mini-Golf Mania’s back room with an unidentified accomplice. We believe his name was Mark.

We are terribly sorry that it’s not better news. SOS would like to offer you an extension on your certificate. Please let us know if you find another potential boyfriend. But we do advise that for your next subject, try to avoid the drama club.

Thank you for your continued support, and SOS truly hopes that your dating needs are eventually met. Have a great day.

CHAPTER TWELVE

ON SUNDAY, KIRA SHOWED UP WITH THE BLUE prints for the next assignment. She’d spent half the day in the library while she mapped out Mitch Angley’s house and charted our course. It was a rough one. Scaling walls, roof tie-downs. I hated second-story bedrooms.

I debated telling her about Christian, but Kira would get really shaky. That wouldn’t work if she was going to be supporting my weight as I snapped some photos. No. This was my problem to handle. After all, I was the captain.

The night was quiet and cool as I started descending the wall of Mitch’s house. The siding was slippery under my sneaks, and I tried my best to get a foothold.

“Tessa,” Kira whispered from the roof above me. “I’m losing my grip.”

Not good. If Kira (a very dependable base) did indeed lose her grip, I would end up in a pile on Mitch Angley’s rosebushes. Ouch.

“Just one more second,” I whispered. Placing my feet against the sill of Mitch’s second-story bedroom window, I tried to take some of my weight off of Kira’s short and compact frame.

I reached into my backpack, glancing down once to see that I would probably miss the rosebushes and instead land on the side yard fence. Silk pajamas! That would be painful.

“Hurry,” Kira grunted, the rope shaking under my weight.

I found the night scope for my camera and snapped it on. It didn’t take me long to find the figures in the dark room. Through the slats in the blinds, I aimed my camera at the bed. I swallowed the metallic taste in my mouth. There were some things a lady should never do, and one of them was to see another girl on her hands and knees and take a picture.

My stomach turned with anxiety. This was the part of the investigation I hated. The actual witnessing. It was worse than relaying the bad news, in truth because the bad news didn’t come directly from me. In fact, Leona wrote up all the reports. But this, out here, hanging from a bungee on the side of Mitch Angley’s house—this was me.

I snapped a few pictures, careful to make sure the shots would show their faces. It was a bit difficult at first, but thankfully, they eventually switched positions. After my last picture, I had turned to slide my camera into my backpack when I felt the first tug. I nearly dropped the camera.

“Kira,” I whispered. Thank goodness Mitch’s parents invested in those double-pane windows. The added sound barrier was essential right now, since getting caught dangling would be a very bad idea.

“I’m trying,” she grunted.

Suddenly, I dropped down about five feet. My backpack slid off my shoulders and landed on the bushes below. Huh. I guessed I could make the roses after all.

I looked up. I wanted Kira to ease me up or set me down, but … I wasn’t even sure where she was anymore. And I was just swaying.

Glancing around as I spun, I tried to find something to grab onto, but I was too far off the house now. I was afraid to swing on the rope because it might cause her to further lose her grip. Fiddler on the roof! I was going to break my leg.

“Drop down,” a voice whispered from below me. My eyes widened.

“Christian?” This could not be happening. I was so busted. Christian had concrete proof now. I looked down at him and he smiled. He was wearing a black beanie and a dark, long-sleeved tee. Was he in disguise too?

“Hurry up.” He laughed. “Just drop down. I’ve got you.”

Got me? Hm. I didn’t like the double meaning. Looking up the length of the rope, I considered trying to climb up it, but that was a physical fitness test that I had certainly failed. Rope climbing—not my thing.

“Tessa,” Christian whispered loudly, holding his arms up like he would catch me. Not likely. I was still at least a dozen feet up.

“Kira,” I called to the roof again. She squealed.

And then she dropped me.

“Holy shit,” Christian said as I tumbled on top of him and, indeed he did not catch me. But he did break my fall.

We’d been loud. I saw the bedroom light flick on as Christian grabbed me by the sleeve and pulled me against the wall under the bedroom window. I was breathing heavily, terrified and still pumping adrenaline. I could hear Kira’s sneakers scurry across the roof. Ouch. I might have sprained my ankle.

And there were Christian and I, panting, shoulder to shoulder against a house. I looked sideways at him.

“What are you doing here?” I whispered fiercely. He grinned.

“Saving your life.” He looked away. “Obviously.”

Well, that was sort of cute. But … peanut butter sandwiches! How did he find me? This was highly alarming.

I stepped away from the wall to glare at him. “Have you been following me?” Maybe that was how he’d found out about SOS in the first place. He was a flipping stalker!

“Following you?” he asked as if he didn’t understand the question.

Oh, right. It was just a coincidence that he showed up, all covert-like.

The second-floor window slid open. My stomach dropped. Suddenly, Christian grabbed me around the waist and covered my mouth with his other hand, pulling me against him, pinning us to the wall.

Not good. We were pressed together, face to face, and I was unable to move. We listened, and Christian moved his hand away from my mouth, making my lips much more accessible to him. His breath smelled like spearmint. I narrowed my eyes.

“Who’s out here?” Mitch called from the window.

Butterscotch! I pressed closer to Christian and tucked my head into his neck. He smelled really good. We couldn’t get spotted now. Mitch was just above us. Christian’s hand slid up my back to hold my neck under my hair protectively, inappropriately.

The night air was filled with the chirping of crickets, and I waited. I waited for the sound of the window, but all I could hear right now was the sound of my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I was in a very compromised position. And I did not like it.

There was a thump that I recognized as a pane closing, and I exhaled, straightening up. I looked up and saw the light flick out. Apple dippers! I thought I’d be against Christian for the rest of my life. I moved back, eyeing him.