"I needed to talk to you," He mumbled at his feet. I'd never seen Joe Solomon like that. I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, hit him, or raise the alarm. So, instead I asked:
"How did you manage to nab Polly Anderton's shoes?"
"The girls have natural talent," he informed me, "but they're highly untrained."
"Viv is ten, the Andertons are almost twelve," I told him, "Of course they're untrained."
"I wasn't critiquing," he said, but I knew he was.
"Why did you want to talk to me?" I made myself sound as cold as possible.
"I'm not working for the Circle," he told me, putting his hands on my shoulders. I shrugged him off. "I promise, Abby. I'm trying to help Cammie. I'm on the same side as you!" I hated that my first reaction to seeing him again was tears, so I turned away from him and wiped my eyes with the back of my fist.
"You're putting me in danger by talking to me," I told him. "You've put my niece in danger. My sister is in custody because of you." My anger was growing.
"Ab, I'm not a double agent!"
"Save it!" I demanded. "I'm not in the mood. Now if you could hand little Polly's shoes to me…" He picked them up off the rooftop and tossed them to me. "And leave, Joe." I was quiet for a second. "Joe Solomon, I thought I could trust you. I thought you loved me. Turns out, I can't really trust anybody." I hadn't realized I was on comms.
"We're coming, Renegade," Jana's voice rang in my ears.
"No, Ghost, don't-" There was the sound of footsteps pounding up the ladder.
"We called in backup already. They'll be here shortly." The air suddenly felt chillier on top of that California rooftop.
"They called in backups," I whispered to Joe. "You don't have a chance."
"I didn't have a chance to begin with," He laughed humorlessly. Jana and Lia burst through the door behind me, guns out. Joe held his hands up and allowed himself to be taken without even a halfhearted attempt to get away. I don't know why, but something about that made me very sad.
"We found the girls," Lia said, "They're with Angie. I think Peanut needs to go home. Now." Lia was quiet. "Her mom just called. Tanya wants her daughter back in Massachusetts before ten, and Tanya has never really appreciated me. Jonny encountered some trouble back in Chile, so Kate is about to head out. Jana just got called in to investigate a possible threat in Utah."
"And you?" I asked Lia quietly.
"I don't know," Lia admitted. "I don't want to go back to Wellesley, though."
"Well, Lee," I sighed, "I think I'll-" Viv and the Anderton twins burst through the door to the roof.
"Did something cool just happen?" Shyloh looked around at us.
"Almost," I thought of the way Joe just gave himself up. It was so un-Joe-like. Would he have done that if he was guilty of something? Polly's eyes lit up as she looked at her shoes.
"I thought I lost those!" I tossed them back to her and she showed off, catching them and doing a little midair backwards cartwheel. Shyloh just rolled her eyes. Polly sat on the ground to put her shoes back on.
"Vivian," Viv looked up at her aunt, "We should get going."
It was my fault Joe got taken.
If I had only turned off my comms…
I couldn't allow myself to think of the 'what ifs'.
Plus, he was a double agent. He was putting my family in danger. So I should be happy that they caught him.
Right?
"I think I'll go with Kate," I told Lia. "She and Jonny might need some help."
"They're tracking down an alleged Circle leader, Abby," Lia told me. I froze.
"All the more reason to go with them," I said angrily.
"The Circle?" Viv persisted. "That sounds like a conspiracy! Sweet! What's the Circle, Aunt Lia?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, Vivian Grace," Lia said coolly.
"I don't like it," Viv said quietly, "when you don't call me peanut."
"I thought you were reprimanding me for it just earlier today?" Lia snapped.
"Well," Viv seemed to think it over, "I prefer that to 'Vivian Grace'," she admitted honestly. "When you call me that, it makes me think something's wrong." I looked at Lia's niece, so much like my friend. Lia smiled slightly.
"I think you've had enough adventure for one day, miss Peanut," Lia put her arm over her niece's shoulder. She turned to the Andertons. "Does your mom know where you went?" Polly and Shyloh shared a glance and a shrug.
"Promise to write me!" Viv insisted of the two. "We can be roommates once we get to Gallagher, like Aunt Lia and Agent Cameron and Agent Garcia!" Polly and Shyloh nodded eagerly. I smirked at being called Agent Cameron by a ten-year-old. Angela Turner appeared on the roof.
"I thought I'd find you two up here," she looked at Shyloh and Polly. "They like being on rooftops." She told me.
"I liked being underground when I was their age," Lia smirked at me, "But maybe that's just me." Angie smiled.
"I remember," she answered.
"So Kate…?" I asked Lia.
"Knew you'd want to come along, and is waiting to hear otherwise from the rental car. And, love," Lia smiled, "you might want to learn to turn off your comms unit." I didn't smile back. "Just a suggestion."
"Well," I shrugged, "Better safe than sorry."
"'I was in love with you, you traitor!'" Lia loosely recounted my side of the conversation with Joe. I felt myself blush deep red.
"I never said I was in love with him," I countered, "I said that I thought he was in love with me. Difference."
"Not a big one," Lia gave me a hug. "Kate is waiting for you." I didn't feel like taking the stairs, so I rappelled off the side of the building, where I heard Viv whisper,
"Wow! She's awesome!" I normally would grin and think of some witty response, but my tennies hit the ground before I could. I rushed for Kate in our little black rental car.
