Page 41 of The Spy
I took the path on the way to the manor, following behind Saff and Kaya as I called my brother back, making sure to jump all relays and protocols necessary for calling out.
When Riley answered, I breathed a sigh of relief. He sounded fine. "Hey, Riley, what's up? Are you okay?”
"Hey, Tabs, listen, um, I don't want to bug you, but…"
My stomach fell. Something was wrong. And I would bet it had to do with our sister.
"Spit it out, Riley. What's wrong? Are you okay? Your school fees are all good, right?"
"Yeah, well, I'm fine. It’s just… I-I'm worried about Kira."
I knew that voice. Riley was always worried about Kira. And for good reason. Kira had a knack for getting herself in trouble. Like she courted it. "What's wrong with Kira?"
"Um, nothing's wrong exactly. She just came by the house and introduced me to some new mates of hers, and they were… I don't know. They have bad news written all over them."
I cursed under my breath. "Ry, I'm sorry. Have you tried talking to her and telling her she can't bring her loser friends over?"
"I did, and she said that she was just as welcome here as I was as long as you paid for the place. Which, I don't mind, honestly. But I don't know. Those guys just gave me a bad feeling. Do you mind looking in on them?"
I sighed. I knew better. I did. It's just that guilt picked away at me little chunks at a time, weaving its way under my skin and into my soul. "You know I told Kira that I am not getting her out of trouble anymore."
"I know, and I get it. She's used her get-out-of-jail-free card one too many times. I'm just worried because this feels weird. And there’s something else.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “What else?”
“I think she’s done a runner. I went by her place, and it’s like she left in a hurry, and it’s clear she hasn’t been home in over a week. I have a bad feeling, Tabs."
My stomach cramped. “Look, she’ll probably turn up. In the meantime, I’ll give Sam a call. Have him look around and ask some questions.” Sam Bromstadt was an ex-boyfriend of mine from secondary. He was a Cape Town police officer now. Generally a good lad. And he owed me a few favors.
“Thanks, Tabs. I’m just worried. This feels different, ya know?”
“I hear you. I’ll take care of it. You just focus on school. I’m sure it’s fine.”
But you don’t really believe that, do you?
I’d just started the mission of my career, but I was going to have to do something about my sister.
14
Tabatha
The thing about long-term undercover work was that you needed to be in it. To live it, to breathe it. It wasn't about pretending to be someone else. It was about literally becoming someone else.
For the foreseeable future, I was Tabatha Bracknell. The problem was my mind was still holding on to Tabatha Smith. Because my bloody sister had fucked off.
So now instead of focusing on the job at hand and my idiotic handler, I was focused on Kira. Just how she liked it. All eyes on her. Or in this case, no eyes on her.
It was an effort to focus. I couldn't think. I couldn't concentrate on anything. All night I had tossed and turned after trying to get in touch with my sister, calling friends that I'd known she had. Many of them hadn't seen her in months. They said she was hanging out with a new crew.
I talked to Riley again to try and get the lay of the land and understand who these blokes Kira had been hanging with were. I knew what I’d told him about Kira needing to solve her own problems, but I couldn't just leave this. I had to do something.
Didn't I find people and bring them home safely? It was literally my entire gig. If Kira was missing, I was the one who could bring her back home.
Maybe she’d just gone to a festival with a new boyfriend.
But you know Kira.
My sister had a penchant for trouble. She was always in the thick of it. Always pushing some envelope. If it looked dangerous or seemed like bad news or could possibly kill her, she was all about it. It was exhausting. And half the time, I would turn up, ready to slay a dragon or murder someone for hurting my sister only to find out that she'd instigated the whole hullabaloo in the first place. I had to be smart. I had a job to do.
