Alec opened his mouth like he had more to say on the matter, but shook his head, as if realizing there was no point arguing little-kid logic. “Why don’t you go again?” he suggested.
Coming up with good statements the first time around was difficult, so thinking of three more would be a challenge, but I wasn’t going to let him win. As I deliberated, Alec tapped the steering wheel to the beat of the song playing from the stereo. Suddenly, his phone buzzed in the cup holder. His gaze flicked down to it before refocusing on the road.
“Would you get that for me?”
“Sure.” I grabbed his cell. There was one new text.
007:Lord Voldemort called.
“Um, it’s from a Double O Seven?” I said, confused by the message. “Apparently Lord Voldemort called.”
Alec’s lips twitched to a grin. “Can you ask him what for?”
I quickly typed a response:
Alec:What did he want?
“Who’s Lord Voldemort?” I asked after hitting Send.
Alec’s eyes widened with pretend shock. “Only the most evil darkwizard to ever exist. Has a pet snake and a thing for murdering Muggles. Haven’t you read Harry Potter?”
I shot Alec a look. “Not what I meant.”
He laughed, a rich, happy sound. “My dad.”
Oh. “Gotcha,” I said and dropped the subject.
For the next few minutes, I navigated the conversation for him.
007:Wanted to know where you are.
Alec:What did you tell him?
007:That I wasn’t your keeper.
Alec:Bet he loved that. Thanks for covering for me.
007:So where are you?
Alec:On a road trip.
Less than a minute later, the phone buzzed in my hands again, but this time it was an incoming call.
“James Bond is calling,” I told Alec. It was such an absurd statement that I had to press my lips together to stifle a laugh. “Should I answer? Maybe he’s going to admit that Ethan Hunt is an all-round better spy.”
Alec chuckled and held out his hand, so I hit the talk button and pressed the cell into his palm.
“What’s up?” Alec answered. He paused for a second before saying, “To Seattle.”
This seemed to excite whoever was on the other end, because I could hear their muffled response. I unconsciously leaned on the center console, trying to listen to the other half of the conversation, but my mindcaught up to what my body was doing, and I forced myself to sit back in my seat. Pulling my prep book back into my lap, I attempted to give Alec some privacy even though my ears were still perked.
“Safe House? What are you guys doing there?” Another pause. Another nod of the head. “Thanks for the offer, man. I’m not entirely sure what the plan is yet, but I’ll keep that in mind… Okay, sounds good. Later.”
He ended the call and dropped his cell into the cup holder. I looked at him expectantly, hoping for an explanation. For starters, who was this Double O Seven person, and what in the world did Alec mean bySafe House? But I didn’t get an answer.
Alec glanced at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling with amusement. He was clearly having more fun keeping me in the dark than alleviating it.
“So,” he said, “Come up with two truths and a lie yet?”
