Page 62 of Spies Don’t Fall for Their Best Friend

I decide I need to talk to Jace. Not because he can solve the Rooke problem, but because he has successfully told the woman he loves that he’s an intelligence operative and somehow remained both alive and with Mackenzie. So, I walk over to his desk. He stays focused on what he’s doing just long enough to mark where he’s at, then he turns his attention to me.

“I submitted the paperwork and got it cleared to read Reese in on the Clandestine Services Agency and what I do here.”

Jace’s eyebrows rise. “Oh, wow. That’s huge. Are you ready for that?”

“No. No, I am not.”

“Is Reese ready for that?”

I shrug. “I hope so. It’s time.”

It’s not super common for all five of us who work here to be on the floor at once, but the Rooke investigation has rearranged everyone’s priorities. Emerson is at Charlie’s desk, going over some data, and when the two of them see me talking to Jace, they come over, too. Ledger can’t be left out, so he joins us.

Jace tells them, “Miles got clearance to tell Reese about the CSA.” He shoots all of us a look, then says to me, “And I, for one, totally support you telling her about it.”

“You’re still bitter about that?” Ledger asks Jace before turning to me and saying, “And I, for one, would like to commend you for submitting the paperwork to vet her first.”

I run my hands over my face. “I have no idea how to tell her without making her feel like I’ve been lying to her for the past five years.”

“Well, to be fair,” Emerson says, “you have been lying to her for the past five years.”

“Not about any of the important things. Well, the job is important, clearly, but you know what I mean. What do I do? You all have experience. Give me some advice here.”

Jace shrugs. “I met Mackenzie because of my job as an intelligence operative, and I told her without having planned to. So, I don’t think my experience is going to help.”

Emerson gestures to Ledger. “Zoe’s always known you were an intelligence operative, so you didn’t really have to tell her. And Mom and Dad met working here, so neither of them ever had to make that disclosure.”

“Owen didn’t know I was an intelligence operative,” Charlie says. She pauses a moment, then adds, “But I’m also not in the field, so I’m in a vastly different amount of danger. Also, I wasn’t best friends with him for five years before I told him, so…”

Ledger claps me on the back. “You’re kind of toast, bro.”

“Oh!” Charlie says. “You should go down to sub-level one and talk to Abraham! I talked to him when I was trying to figure out what to tell Owen, and he was helpful. Plus, he had to tell Reese’s mom when they were dating, so he’s got experience, and he’s Reese’s stepdad now, so he’ll probably have even better advice for you.”

I nod. “Yeah. That’s a good idea. I need to talk to him about getting Maxwell ready for the hangar tomorrow anyway.”

Kella wanders over to join the impromptu group meeting I’ve got going on and says, “What are we talking about?”

Jace gestures at me. “Miles is looking for advice about how to tell his best friend who he’s been in love with for five years that he’s an intelligence operative. And he wants to tell her before he tries to move their relationship out of the friend zone.”

“Hey, I never said I was in love with her or that I was going to try to move out of the friend zone.”

They all just look at me, unblinking.

“Okay, fine. I am.” Sometimes it’s hard to have siblings who are all experts at detecting lies.

“If I had to tell a guy that I was a spy,” Kella says, “at the first sign of it being serious, I’d get that paperwork submitted, then tell him straight out. Rip the bandage off. Quick and easy.”

Emerson tilts his head. “You wouldn’t worry that it would be too much of a shock? Or too much of a weight for him to bear?”

“If it is, I figure it’s best to know before getting too invested. See if they sink or swim. If they sink, move on. Oh! You should tell her by making it into a party. A reveal party of sorts.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Like a baby gender reveal party?”

“Yeah. Except instead of a balloon filled with blue or pink confetti, or a cake with a colored inside, you could set off black confetti and drop a banner that says, Surprise! Your best friend is a spy. Or do it like a debutante ball but only with people from the CSA.”

Emerson just eyes Kella for a good long moment, then turns his focus to me. “I think you should write it all in a note to give to her. Then you can spend time getting your wording just right so you don’t have to worry about how it comes out when you’re saying it.”

Ledger puts a hand on Jace’s shoulder. “You could just do what Jace did— get her in a dangerous situation. Then when you save her, you can just be like, ‘Hey, I’m a spy.’ And she’ll be like, ‘I see that. Thank you for saving me with your super spy skills.’”