face. There was a very satisfying crunch as the bandage across Carloâs nose turned red. âI guess thatâs three times,â said Tom. He took Natashaâs hand and left the room.
metallic hiss
The scream tore out of her mouth, raw and hard and so forceful that Josh didnât know how she could make such a noise and live.
Enthusiastic Blond Shadow
BAITING SPIESâGREAT IDEA FOR A Movie of the Week. But nobody would ever make a movie about the day Gaia spent leading Tatiana on an aimless odyssey around Manhattan any sooner than theyâd make one about spending the weekend stuck at the airport. It was just plain boring.
Gaia scowled as she stomped toward the reservoir. It was going to be dark soon, which would put some pretty big limits on the spy-spotting game. Not that the game had been working so well even in broad daylight. As far as Gaia could tell, the day had been a total loss.
On the plus side, walking around all day meant she hadnât had to talk to anybody. Gaia was tired of talking to people. Strangers werenât so bad. You could give a stranger any BS answer and they would buy it. It was people that she cared about that were causing the real painâpeople like Ed, who expected Gaia to tell the truth, and the truth was one thing she couldnât give.
Donât talk to me, and I wonât have to lie to you. A motto to live by.
On the downside, walking around all day gave Gaia way too much time for thinking. She could worry about her father and Natasha. She could wonder what her nutball uncle was going to do next. She had plenty of time to get angry and sad about the situation with Ed.
A day at the chess tables would definitely have been better. At least it would have kept her mind occupied.
Gaia took a glance over her shoulder to see if Tatiana was in sight. No overly enthusiastic Russian roommate was visible, but that wasnât a surprise; Gaia hadnât seen much of Tatiana during the day. They had been pretty close to each other on the subway. The rest of the time Gaia just had to trust that her enthusiastic blond shadow was back there.
Gaia turned her attention back to the park ahead. A block away, she saw a final few joggers and rollerbladers spinning around the fence beside the reservoir. A single skateboarder was cutting back and forth across the junction of the paths, tipping his board up on the front wheels, then on the back, cutting tight circles and dodging the passing runners.
It was getting so dark that the people ahead were little more than dark silhouettes. Gaia couldnât make out features, or hair color, or even the color of the clothes they were wearing.
Thatâs far enough, Gaia realized. There was no point in continuing this game in the dark. If Tatiana couldnât pick out the spies in daylight, she wasnât going to spot them in the dark. So far as Gaia knew, Tatiana wasnât carrying any night vision equipment.
Gaia turned around again and looked back along the path. It was almost as empty behind her as it was ahead. She tried to pick Tatiana out of the handful of dark figures.
A skateboarder slipped past on her left, cutting so close that she could feel the wind of his passage. The ball-bearing wheels of the board made a metallic hiss as the guy zipped along the sidewalk. He cut out about a dozen yards, pivoted on the nose of the board, and turned back sharply. This time he passed Gaia so closely that it sent her hair flying.
Gaia scowled and turned her head to watch the guy zip back toward the reservoir. No matter where you went in this city or what time of day, you could count on a skateboard jerk. She had just turned her attention back to looking for Tatiana when the sound of the skateboard wheels came whirring up behind her again.
It had been a long day, and all this walking around and worrying had done nothing to help with Gaiaâs stress level. The last thing she needed was a guy trying to flirt by running over her
metallic hiss
The scream tore out of her mouth, raw and hard and so forceful that Josh didnât know how she could make such a noise and live.
Enthusiastic Blond Shadow
BAITING SPIESâGREAT IDEA FOR A Movie of the Week. But nobody would ever make a movie about the day Gaia spent leading Tatiana on an aimless odyssey around Manhattan any sooner than theyâd make one about spending the weekend stuck at the airport. It was just plain boring.
Gaia scowled as she stomped toward the reservoir. It was going to be dark soon, which would put some pretty big limits on the spy-spotting game. Not that the game had been working so well even in broad daylight. As far as Gaia could tell, the day had been a total loss.
On the plus side, walking around all day meant she hadnât had to talk to anybody. Gaia was tired of talking to people. Strangers werenât so bad. You could give a stranger any BS answer and they would buy it. It was people that she cared about that were causing the real painâpeople like Ed, who expected Gaia to tell the truth, and the truth was one thing she couldnât give.
Donât talk to me, and I wonât have to lie to you. A motto to live by.
On the downside, walking around all day gave Gaia way too much time for thinking. She could worry about her father and Natasha. She could wonder what her nutball uncle was going to do next. She had plenty of time to get angry and sad about the situation with Ed.
A day at the chess tables would definitely have been better. At least it would have kept her mind occupied.
Gaia took a glance over her shoulder to see if Tatiana was in sight. No overly enthusiastic Russian roommate was visible, but that wasnât a surprise; Gaia hadnât seen much of Tatiana during the day. They had been pretty close to each other on the subway. The rest of the time Gaia just had to trust that her enthusiastic blond shadow was back there.
Gaia turned her attention back to the park ahead. A block away, she saw a final few joggers and rollerbladers spinning around the fence beside the reservoir. A single skateboarder was cutting back and forth across the junction of the paths, tipping his board up on the front wheels, then on the back, cutting tight circles and dodging the passing runners.
It was getting so dark that the people ahead were little more than dark silhouettes. Gaia couldnât make out features, or hair color, or even the color of the clothes they were wearing.
Thatâs far enough, Gaia realized. There was no point in continuing this game in the dark. If Tatiana couldnât pick out the spies in daylight, she wasnât going to spot them in the dark. So far as Gaia knew, Tatiana wasnât carrying any night vision equipment.
Gaia turned around again and looked back along the path. It was almost as empty behind her as it was ahead. She tried to pick Tatiana out of the handful of dark figures.
A skateboarder slipped past on her left, cutting so close that she could feel the wind of his passage. The ball-bearing wheels of the board made a metallic hiss as the guy zipped along the sidewalk. He cut out about a dozen yards, pivoted on the nose of the board, and turned back sharply. This time he passed Gaia so closely that it sent her hair flying.
Gaia scowled and turned her head to watch the guy zip back toward the reservoir. No matter where you went in this city or what time of day, you could count on a skateboard jerk. She had just turned her attention back to looking for Tatiana when the sound of the skateboard wheels came whirring up behind her again.
It had been a long day, and all this walking around and worrying had done nothing to help with Gaiaâs stress level. The last thing she needed was a guy trying to flirt by running over her
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