Agent 34 (Book 1)

24. The why isn't important

Here's a POV that's kind of new. It was only used once before in the bonus chapters. The next chapter is also going to have a different POV. Any guesses whose it is?

Anyway, Enjoy!

Lily's POV

That boy was lying through his fucking teeth.

It wasn't obvious. There was no way I could possibly know with absolute certainty. But I did.

How you ask?

I grew up with Ryder and that boy would spin lies every chance he got to make sure I wouldn't be able to figure out what sort of prank he was playing, where he was going, or where he'd hidden the last of the lollipops.

I'd learned two things growing up with him. First, how to lie better. Second, how to tell when people were lying, even when they thought they were giving nothing away.

Now, Sam hadn't given anything away. He'd had no tells when I spoke to him, seemed to actually believe every word he spoke, and he wanted me to believe it. But I didn't.

So, as I went walking through Everly's house, I barged right into Everly's office where Nicolette was working. Nicolette just about jumped out of the seat and put her hand over her chest.

"Don't do that," She said before looking back at her computer screen.

"My brother's not hiding somewhere in here, right?" I asked her. "You didn't stuff him under the desk?"

"The only place I currently want to stuff your brother is in a casket."

"Figuratively, or literally?" I asked her. "Cause I happen to have one in his size on hand."

Nicolette paused in her typing to look up at me.

We both just stared at each other for a long moment before she shook her head.

"I'm not even going to ask," She said.

"Probably for the best," I replied. "On another note, you can hack medical records, right?"

Nicolette didn't even pause in her typing this time and just kept her eyes glued to the screen in front of her. She took a second to rub at her eyes, perching her glasses up on the top of her head as she did so. "You know I can," She replied. "So why are you asking?"

"Just confirming." I picked up a pen off Everly's desk and began spinning it between my fingers.

Nicolette let out a sigh. "Lillianna, you could hack medical records. That's like taking candy from a baby."

Coming from anyone else-Ryder especially since he only did it get on my nerves-I didn't really like being called by my full name. Coming from Nicolette though, I didn't mind it. Just as I knew she didn't mind me calling her Nicolette rather than Nicky. I would usually call her Nicky when talking to other people-because I was losing track of who knew and didn't know who she really was-but when it was just me and her, I called her Nicolette.

Although, I didn't care for my full name because I thought it sounded much too proper for my tastes. I had no objection to being called Anna, but I liked Lily better. Nicolette didn't have this problem. She liked her full name and I believed she secretly wished more people would use it. Except, it was kind of hard to do that when to the rest of the world she was now exclusively known as Nicky Harrison.

I waved my hand dismissively even though she wasn't actually paying me any mind. "I was never really the hacker of our team. That was Moria's job. And now it's Chase's. Supposedly he's somewhat good. Maybe I'll just ask him."

"Ask him what?"

"Well," I said as set the pen down on the desk and scooted my chair as close to the front of the desk as possible. I rested my elbows on it and then tucked my hands under my chin, smiling widely at Nicolette. "I'm so glad you asked."