“That’sa lot of questions.”
“Well, you dropped a lot of news on me.”
“Fairenough.Wearen’t like theFBIorCIA— we don’t have a website with job openings.Butthat’s okay because you can’t actually apply.Wehire agents, analysts, engineers, and specialists one hundred percent through recruiting.Wealso have agreements with other agencies to sometimes recruit from them as well.”
I’vefinished eating, soIturn on the couch, one leg bent, soIcan see him better. “But… almost your whole family works there.Howdid they get away with so much nepotism?”
Hechuckles again. “Youwould make a good reporter.Youalways ask the hard-hitting questions.Okay,I’lldo my best to answer everythingIfeel likeIcan answer.Blakeis my oldest sibling, and he doesn’t work at the agency.Emersonis my oldest brother who does, and my dad was already the director when he got hired.”
“Yourdad was the director?”Inearly shout the question.
Henods. “Hepassed away four years ago.”
Thewords feel like a physical force, punching me. “Oh,Jace.I’mso sorry.”
“Itwas hard.”Heswallows audibly. “Sometimesit still is.”
Igive his hand a squeeze.
“Whenmy dad died, my mom was named as the new director.Eventhough one of my parents was the director when each of us was hired, they never had any say in it.Thereis a committee that does the evaluating of potential agents and decides which people offers will be extended to.Theprocess happens completely separate from the director.Theyare just out to find the best of the best.”
Ismile.Thisconfidence on him is so unbelievably attractive.Ifa) he wasn’t so tired and b)Ididn’t have a strong burning need to have all of my questions answered,Iwould be planting my lips on his right at this second while running my hands over those strong arm and shoulder muscles.Itell my lips to chill out becauseIcan’t help but tease him a bit about his last comment. “Andyour family is the best of the best?”
Heshrugs. “Weare.Imean, the six of us were raised by two elite spies.Thebestin the world.Thereason why there is such a high percentage of my siblings being field operatives when it’s such a difficult position to get is not because my parents are agency directors.It’sbecause they’re the ones who raised us.
“Whilemost kids were learning how to ride a bike or to share their toys, we were learning how to notice and memorize details of everything around us and to figure out when something is off.
“Whenother kids were learning not to take candy from strangers or get in a stranger’s van, we were learning effective methods for detecting and losing a tail.Insteadof finding a missing homework assignment, we learned how to check for listening devices, to be adaptable, and to use our intuition.
“Insteadof using phrases like ‘being nosy’ or ‘eavesdropping,’ phrases like ‘intelligence gathering’ were part of our everyday vocabulary.Athome, at least.Weunderstood that these were things people outside our family didn’t do.
“Onthose long, boring nights in the winter, instead of playingMonopolyorCandyLand, we played games where we would create a cover story and come up with the pocket litter— that’s the stuff spies have in their pockets or purse that back up their cover— to support it.Orone of us would create a secret cipher and write a coded message, and the rest of us would team up to try to decode it.”
“Wow,”Isay. “Yourchildhood was very different from mine.”
Hesmiles— the oneIlove where one side raises more than the other and it makes his eyes crinkle. “Youmean to tell me that you didn’t grow up learning infiltration, persuasion, and deception techniques?”
“Nope.Imostly learned how to tie my shoes and throw a ball.Althoughthe ball one didn’t really stick.Didyou know you were being trained as spies?”
Hechuckles as he shakes his head. “Well, for some things we did.Formost of the rest, we just figured it was normal until we were a little older.Ihonestly thought thatallparents talked inMorsecode orArabicorMandarinwhen they didn’t want their kids to understand.AndIdon’t think my parents were necessarily training us as spies so much as preparing us to be safe in the world.Theyknew firsthand about the wrongs that happen in the world, and they didn’t want us to be vulnerable to them.”
“Howold were you when you found out they were spies?”Hestill flinches whenIuse the word “spy” instead of… what was it again?Intelligenceoperative?Fieldagent?I’mpretty sure it isn’t secret agent, although that’s a good one, too.
“Iwas seven.”Hechuckles. “Atthe age when most kids learned thatSantawasn’t real,Ilearned that my parents were intelligence operatives.Findingout that they were not only elite spies but the best in the world came later.Andthat was a much bigger shock.”
Ishake my head. “Nowonder you’re so good at this.Notmany people in the world— outside of royal children in line for the crown, of course— are trained for their jobs since birth.”
“Especiallynot by two very different covert operative parents who had different ways of looking at things and were trained at different agencies.Bothof whom were good enough to become directors of a national intelligence agency.”
“Iimagine that makes for some incredibly talented and trained kids.”Itap a finger on my lip likeI’mconsidering things deeply. “Butstill, ifIwere on the recruiting committee,Idon’t thinkIwould hire you.”
Hecan tellI’mteasing, so he’s trying to hold back a smile. “No?”
Ishake my head. “Spiesare supposed to be able to blend in with a crowd.Benondescript.Lookaverage.Andyou,Jace, are anything but average.Imean, come on.Youlook like”—Imotion to all of him— “this.Youstand out.You’rerather notable.”Ilift a shoulder in an innocent shrug. “Somemight even say you’re rather desirable. ‘Delicious’ and ‘thirst trap’ might be phrases thrown around.Not‘subtle’ or ‘common.’”
“‘Thirsttrap,’ huh?”Hisvoice comes out low and husky, andI’mdying for him to say more words with that voice.
“Imean, how canyoueffectively blend into a crowd?”Ishrug. “Itcan’t be done.”
