“Hmm?” I said, closing my eyes and trying to will away the trembling.
“I love you, too.”
My eyes flew open as I looked down at him. His face was honest and open and a little scared. “You said it first and I never said it back,” he murmured. “I realized that when we were running. I never said I love you, too.”
I smiled at him, then gave him several kisses in quick succession.
“You all right?” he asked when I pulled away. “Are you in shock? You’re shaking.”
I shook my head. “Just don’t let go, okay?”
He didn’t. I reached one arm out to Roux and she scrambled against my side, and the three of us formed a little huddle, staying like that until Angelo said quietly, with as much dignity as he could muster, “It’s over. They’ve shot him.”
Everyone breathed a little easier after that, especially my parents, who suddenly noticed Roux, Jesse, and I clutching each other in the middle of the kitchen. “So,” my mom said, “who wants a snack?”
“Can that snack be vodka?” Roux asked in the tiniest voice imaginable, but she couldn’t keep a straight face, and pretty soon Jesse and I were giggling along with her, and it felt so good to laugh again that I thought I would never stop.
Suffice it to say, a lot went on that afternoon.
My parents met Jesse (I mean, obviously, he was right there), and there was some awkwardness, followed by my dad trying to “bro down” with him (yes, those exact words were used, I’m still mortified), and then finally my mom just made Jesse a sandwich and he said, “Thank you, ma’am,” so that earned him points. Still, that was not how I expected their meeting to go, but hey, it could have been worse.
Then my parents and I had a long, long, looooong talk about Trusting Each Other and Being Honest and If You EVER, EVER Take On a Case by Yourself Again We Will Ground You Until You’re Eighty-Three. “No matter what, we are a family,” my mom said. “We come to each other first.”
“But I did come to you!” I protested. “You didn’t believe me!”
They exchanged glances. “We have things to work on, too,” my dad admitted. “But that doesn’t mean we stop counting on each other, okay? We’ll all make a better effort.”
And then there was the whole thing with Roux and Jesse. At first, not even Angelo was thrilled that they had been involved, but after the three of us explained how we had figured it out, and how Roux had been a badass and broken Colton’s nose, they started to come around. “I needed help and they helped,” I said. “They were amazing.”
But the biggest surprise of all was Roux. After a few hours, things had calmed down enough so that we could eat something. Angelo was still at our house, as were Roux and Jesse, and my dad was serving up leftover chicken enchiladas when I heard a sniffling sound.
Roux was at the end of the table, bawling. Huge tears rolled down her cheeks, and when she saw that I was looking at her, she held up her hands and waved me away. “I’m fine!” she sobbed, which got everyone’s attention.
I immediately hurried around the table and gathered her up in a hug. “It’s okay,” I said. “Sometimes the shock kicks in late, it’s all right.”
“It’s not shock,” she cried. “I’m just … I’m just … really happy!”
“You don’t exactly look happy,” Jesse pointed out.
My mom disappeared and came back with a box of tissues, but Roux ignored them. “Sorry, sorry,” she kept saying. “It’s just that you’re all so nice and, I mean, everything was crazy today and, yeah, it was scary, but I haven’t talked to my parents in three weeks and now we’re all here eating dinner and it’s just nice and I’m really glad I met you, Maggie, and if you all move away again I’ll be really sad!”
“Oh, Roux!” I said, and then I was crying right along with her. “We’re not leaving, okay? You were awesome today; don’t worry about everything else.”
“Sweetheart,” my mom said, “do you want to stay here tonight? You might need a place to rest.”
Roux nodded gratefully. “Thank you, that would be nice.” Then she glanced at me. “A-am I doing the ugly cry?” She sniffled.
“Yes,” I told her.
“Damn it.” She sighed, then reached for a tissue.
Angelo leaned across the table. “You were very brave today,” he said, “and you have been a wonderful friend to Maggie and her family. We never leave our friends behind.”
She nodded, as wide-eyed as a little kid talking to Santa Claus, and he passed her his handkerchief. Underneath the table, Jesse squeezed my leg and I reached for him. Everyone I loved was at one table, together, safe and sound.
I had a feeling things were going to be okay.
Epilogue
“I hope he doesn’t keep me waiting.” Roux tapped her foot on the ground. “Do you wear a watch? Let me look at your watch.”
“Angelo is always on time,” I said. “And no, I don’t, so stop grabbing at my wrist.”
“Sorry.” Then she sneezed. “Oh, hi, allergy season.”
We were standing outside the Chess & Checkers House in Central Park. After a crazy winter that made me feel like I was permanently living in the tundra, the trees were flowering again and the park looked beautiful. “Don’t you just love spring?” I sighed.
“Aaaah-CHOO! No.”
“Oh, look, there’s Angelo,” I said. “And not a minute too soon.”
“Hi!” she said as he came closer. He was wearing a light gray suit, and his tie matched the rows of purple tulips that lined the path up to the house. That’s Angelo for you. Even when he tries to blend in, he still stands out.
After our helicopter extravaganza, things were a little chaotic for a while.
We never told the Collective about Roux and Jesse. I knew they would keep my secret, just as I had kept theirs, and I didn’t want to cause any trouble for them. Besides, they had helped save my life and solve the case. Still, some people from the Collective flew out to New York and did a huge debriefing about the files and Colton. By the end of it, I was exhausted.
That’s when my parents stepped in.
“I think we need to take a leave of absence,” my dad told the representatives. “Maggie has been through a lot and she needs to recover.”
I shot a look at my dad when he said that. I wasn’t some flailing daisy! I could handle it! Exhaustion was temporary, success was forever!
But then he continued speaking.
“Is it possible that we can stay here in Manhattan? Surely there are enough cases in the city.”
Stay in the same city with my best friend and the boy I liked? Good plan.
So my family and I took a winter vacation. I went back to school, where I finally began to understand French and not sound like an idiot when I spoke it. Roux and I exchanged Christmas gifts, and Jesse and I …?
Well, we talked. And talked. And then kissed a lot and then talked some more. Only time would prove to him that he hadn’t been just another assignment, and now I had time. That was all I wanted.
Angelo walked over to Roux and me and kissed both of us on our cheeks. “Ah, lovely ladies. Are you ready to learn the rules of the best game?”
“I want to be the horse,” Roux replied.
“The knight,” Angelo corrected her.
“This isn’t Monopoly,” I said. “And I can’t, I gotta go meet Jess.”
Roux wiggled her eyebrows at me. “Maggie and Jesse, gettin’ busy …”
“Oh, be quiet.” I gave her a shove, but I couldn’t hide my smile. “He’s going to take me to meet his mom.”
After our huge debacle, Jesse made a great point. “I know how important honesty is now,” he told me, several nights after my debriefing ended. “I have to be honest with my mom and she needs to be honest with me.” So he sat down and wrote her a long e-mail, explaining how much he missed her, and she wrote back. Things still weren’t great between them, but they were trying, and now she was coming into the city for the day.
“Speak
ing of,” Roux said. “WOOHOO! JESSE! WE’RE OVER HERE!”
Angelo winced but continued to set up the chessboard. He would have his work cut out for him today.
I waved at Jesse when he got closer, then wrapped my arm around his waist and kissed him. Even though we’d been dating since November, kissing him never got old. “Hiya,” he said. “Ready to meet and greet?”
“Always. Angelo, don’t let Roux intimidate you. She likes shiny things, so be careful.”
Roux stuck her tongue out at me. “Who are these little guys?” she said, holding a handful of pawns. “They’re adorable. I want one.”
“Have fun,” I said, waving at them as I left. Even as we walked away, I could hear Angelo’s calm, measured voice. “You may have many pawns. No, no, not that many …”
“Nervous?” I asked Jesse as we walked over to the Boathouse, where we were meeting his mom for lunch.
“A little. Not as nervous as I was that time when a madman was chasing us and we had to jump in a helicopter.”
I grinned and squeezed him tighter. “I like to keep you on your toes,” I said. “And besides, I was just getting back at you for that whole ice skating thing.”
“That seems fair,” he said.
“Are you still coming over for dinner tonight?”
“Yeah, of course. Your dad’s making chili, right?” Jesse and my dad had really started bro-ing it up, which was good for my dad. He had spent too much time surrounded by women. They even watched the Super Bowl together, which I had never seen my dad do in my life.
“I think so. Guess we’ll find out.” We stood at the entrance to the restaurant and I saw Jesse scan the diners, his face relaxing as he spotted a tall blond woman. “There she is. You ready?”
“Always,” I replied, and we went forward without looking back.
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Mom, Chris, and John and Barbara Snyder for their love and support, and for not laughing at me when I said I might write a book about teenage spies. I love you right back.
I am forever grateful for the day that Lisa Grubka agreed to be my agent, and even more grateful for her professionalism and her ability to always say the right thing, even when I’m in the middle of a deadline. Especially when I’m in the middle of a deadline.
Thanks to the team at Foundry Literary + Media, especially Stéphanie Abou and Rachel Hecht; Anna DeRoy at William Morris Endeavor; and Liza Wachter at RWSG Literary.
Thank you to my friends who read early drafts of this book, offered hilarious wisdom, and generally made everything in my life funnier, brighter, and better: Johanna Clark, Adriana Fusaro, Maret Orliss, Rosemary Orliss, Steve Bramucci, Rachel Cohn (I’m writing these acknowledgments at her dining room table right now, so thanks, Rachel!), Dave Marano, Stephanie Perkins, Jennifer Banash, David and Dara Hyde, Joanna Philbin, Abby McDonald, and Dallas Middaugh.
Thank you to the team at Bloomsbury and Walker for their enthusiasm for this book and for welcoming both me and Maggie with open arms: Emily Easton, Stacy Cantor Abrams, Laura Whitaker, Katy Hershberger, Kim Burns, Patricia McHugh, Donna Mark, and Nicole Gastonguay.
Thank you to Erica Jesonis and Mark Bakula for teaching me how to say “You’re grounded!” in Russian and Japanese, and massive gratitude to Céline Charvet at Editions Nathan for translating all of the French dialogue.
Thank you to my dog, Hudson, for being absolutely delightful every single day. (I don’t think he can read, but better safe than sorry.)
I could go on and on about how grateful I am for the support of the readers, librarians, bloggers, and fans, but then these acknowledgments would be longer than the actual book. Thank you so much for your notes, e-mails, tweets, comments, and overall loveliness, and for embracing my characters with such warmth. You are the best.
Especially you.
Copyright © 2013 by Robin Benway First published in the United States of America in February 2013
by Walker Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, Inc.
E-book edition published in February 2013
www.bloomsbury.com
For information about permission to reproduce selections from this book, write to
Permissions, Walker BFYR, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010
All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Benway, Robin.
Also known as / by Robin Benway. — 1st U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: As the active-duty daughter of international spies, sixteen-year-old safecracker
Maggie Silver never attended high school so when she and her parents are sent to New York for
her first solo assignment, Maggie is introduced to cliques, school lunches, and maybe even a
boyfriend.
[1. Spies—Fiction. 2. High schools—Fiction. 3. Schools—Fiction. 4. Adventure and
adventurers—Fiction. 5. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.B4477Als 2013 [Fic]—dc23 2012026254
eISBN 978-0-8027-3391-7 (e-book)
Robin Benway, Also Known As
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