Deceitful (Rules of Deception 1)

I’ll keep my ears and eyes open, and will let you know if I find out anything else.

Miss you so much. Write back if you can!

xoxo

Holly

It took me a few minutes to digest what she’d said. A group of Variants was giving the FEA trouble? I knew that some Variants preferred to live in hiding because they were unwilling to submit to the FEA’s rules; Major’d said they were mostly Volatiles—Variants who weren’t capable of controlling their powers or else just didn’t want to. But those were loners, not a threat to the FEA. An organized group of Variants was another matter altogether. Why had Major never mentioned them? It made me wonder what else he was keeping from me.

I wrote a quick reply, telling Holly I was fine—just tired and super busy—before I let myself fall on the bed, my mind whirling with thoughts. If the group of Variants had started kidnapping agents, shouldn’t Major have warned us? Especially me. I was now an external agent.

I took a deep breath and released it slowly. I couldn’t let this distract me from what was really important. I checked the messages on Madison’s cell phone; I’d received a text from Ana, asking about my date, and two from Ryan, saying that he really needed to talk to me. I couldn’t avoid him much longer, even if Alec and Devon didn’t want me alone with him.

I took Madison’s iPod, pushed the buds into my ears, and turned the music as loud as it could go. I wasn’t familiar with the song, but the beats blasted the worries from my head and that was exactly what I needed.

Cuddling into the softness of the mattress beneath me, I closed my eyes, allowing myself to feel and think nothing, and with every beat of the music I felt myself being pulled deeper and deeper into sleep.

Just as I had drifted off, something dropped on my legs, pressing them down. I jolted upright, earbuds ripping from my ears, and screamed. The scream died abruptly when I saw my attacker. Fluffy was sitting on my legs, blinking at me with the accented indifference only a cat could muster. He didn’t budge when I shifted to get into a more comfortable position. If my scream hadn’t scared him away, nothing could. Had he forgotten that I wasn’t really who I pretended to be? I reached out to pet him and earned myself a hiss.

Steps pounded up the stairs and a moment later Devon appeared in the doorway. He looked around wildly as if he expected to confront an attacker. He was wearing workout clothes—a tight T-shirt and gray shorts—that clung to his sweaty body.

“I heard you scream,” he said, noticeably relaxing when he saw me sitting on the bed.

“Fluffy startled me.”

He nodded but his blue eyes stayed tense as they scanned my face. “Hard day?”

You have no clue . . .

“Fight with Ana?”

I shook my head no. “You’re home early. Did mom call you?”

“Yeah, she was worried about you.” He sounded like he agreed with her.

“That’s why you didn’t shower after practice? Because she wanted you here when I got back?”

He glanced down at his soaked T-shirt, which was doing wonders to accentuate his toned chest. I forced my eyes to stay on his face. “Nah, she and Dad haven’t been on a date for weeks. I told them they should head out early, that I would stay home and look out for you.”

“That’s good. But I hate how much you’re all worrying.”

His eyes softened. “Maddy, you almost died. I’ve never seen Mom and Dad so devastated.” He paused for a moment, searching my face. “You look like you need cheering up. Let’s order some pizza and watch a movie.” I felt a twinge of homesickness. Movie night with Alec or Holly had been an inherent part of my life since I’d joined the FEA.

I managed to wriggle Fluffy from my legs and followed Devon downstairs.

“When did you come home? I didn’t hear you,” I said after he’d ordered a family-size pizza called “hot mess.” I didn’t even want to know how it got that name.

“Around twenty minutes ago, but you were fast asleep. I’m gonna grab a shower. Mom left some cash on the counter, you can use it for the pizza if it comes before I’m done.” With that, he dashed up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

The doorbell rang ten minutes later and I still heard the sound of water running above. I grabbed the money and opened the front door to find myself face-to-face with Ryan. He wasn’t holding a pizza box.

“What do you want?”

He took all the space in the doorway, his shoulders squared, his feet set apart. “I want to talk.” He glanced over my shoulder into the house. “You alone?”