Angels, Pop Stars, and...More Spies? Oh My!

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"A sleepover? Are. You. Freaking. Kidding. Me?"

Joshua broke out into fits of laughter. I glared at him. The corners of my mouth twitched upwards, nonetheless. Damn his adorable laugh. He leaned up against the wall, using it as support. His shoulders shook as he laughed and laughed. I stalked away, nose in the air. Joshua looked up, following me. I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Ember, babe, come here. I'm sorry....sorry you have to watch Ariana and her snooty celebrity friends!" 

I glared at him again, placing my hands on my hips. Joshua was laughing so hard he looked like he was going to piss himself. I sighed, walking out of the living room and onto the back veranda. Sitting around the glass topped coffee table, sipping sparkling lemonades and snacking on wheat thins were Ariana and her seven celebrity friends I've seen in countless movies, TV shows, commercials, and magazines. They gossiped and giggled over cute actors and other kinds of girly gossip. Seven People magazines lay open on the ground and table, showcasing photos of celebrities with seven million dollar smiles and decked out in the latest trendy clothes. 

"Ember! Hey! Come join us!" Ariana called over the giggles, patting the cushion next to her. 

I shook my head, leaning back against the wall. All the girls turned to look at me with unreadable looks on their faces. 

"Who's she?" asked an actress I knew from a horror movie I saw a few months ago.

I hadn't liked her much in the movie. She was terrible with emotions and her screams had been so fake, you couldn't even tell if she was screaming or just plain talking. Her nasally voice didn't help either. She flipped a razor straight lock of dyed black hair behind her shoulder, looking me up and down as if I was a bug she'd just stepped on. I crossed my arms over my chest, pushing my sunglasses up into my hair and glaring at her. 

"I'm Ember, Ariana's bodyguard." I answered icily.

She sneered at me.

"Bodyguard? Oh, please. Who are you really? The maid?"

I gritted my teeth. I'm always underestimated. I don't feel like having some spoiled bitch...calm down, Ember. She's just a spoiled actress. Think of all the nice celebrities you've met. They're not all bad. I took a deep breath, forcing a polite smile onto my face. 

"I'm the bodyguard, like I said before."

She looked me up and down again, shrugged, and went back to sipping her lemonade. Ariana sat uncomfortably on the small white wicker couch, biting her lip and bouncing her leg up and down anxiously. I gave her what I hoped was an apologetic look when she glanced at me. She mouthed the words I'm sorry before turning back on her bubbly teenage girl self. She jumped up, smiling at her guests.

"Well, come on, bitches. Let's go pick out the movies for tonight."

The girls cheered and stood up, abandoning their drinks and magazines. I groaned when I realized that I'd have to clean up their mess. So this is what it feels like to clean up after children. I now understand Garret and Addy's constant you-put-it-there-you-clean-it-up lectures. I started picking up the glasses when I realized something strange on the beach. Narrowing my eyes, I squinted against the California sun. Standing on the beach, wearing a suit, was a man. He was far enough not to be noticed by a glance, but close enough so that he could see the McGallen's house clearly. Red flags started flying in my head. I stared at him, watching. After three minutes of waiting, he started walking towards me. Immediately, my instincts kicked in. 

I grabbed my gun out of it's holster, keeping my finger right on the safety. Lowering it, I slowly walked over to the guy. He held up his hands when he saw my gun.

"Don't shoot! It's me, Ember! Don't shoot!" he yelled, cowering behind his hands.

Realization dawned on me as I recognized the voice. The realization was soon replaced by anger. What the hell is he doing here? Keeping my gun in my hand, I walked over to him. 

"Archer, what the hell?! Are you stalking me? Ariana? I swear to God, if you hurt her-"

"Hey, calm down! I'm not here to hurt anyone! I'm here to help you!" 

I narrowed my eyes, finding his statement hard to believe. Three days ago you were the one trying to shoot me, my boyfriend, and my friend. His eyes drifted nervously to my gun. I clutched it tighter, refusing to put it away. I will shoot. 

"Help me? Oh, that's rich. If I remember correctly, you were trying to kill me and my boyfriend and Ariana the last time we saw you."

Archer nodded, sighing. 

"I know, I know. I've been thinking about it for a while, believe me. You have to believe me."

I raised an eyebrow, placing my right hand on my hip while holding onto the gun with my left. His eyes cut across the beach nervously, as if he were expecting someone to pop out of nowhere and kill him. I scanned the beach. The only people in sight were a couple in the water, locked in a passionate embrace. I dragged my eyes away. Gross. Get a room. 

"I don't."

Archer sighed again. I watched his posture and his pupils. 

"Ember, please, you have to believe me. I used to think the ACE was a noble network, but now I realize that it's more of a criminal network than...well, like the CIA."

He grabbed my hand. I tried to tug it out of his grip but it was too tight. 

"Take my pulse, Ember. See if I'm lying."

I took a deep breath. Should I trust him? Any seasoned operative can pass a lie test. You just have to relax yourself so your pulse doesn't speed up and keep cool. Surely he...oh, screw it. I don't have the time to bring him out to Langley and get a polygraph taken. I grabbed his wrist, finding his pulse with my index finger. 

"Okay, you have five minutes. Go."

Archer nodded, taking a deep breath. I glanced back at the couple, just to make sure they were out of earshot. They were still making out in the water. Okay. If anyone is to be recording this, the waves will distort our voices. 

"The ACE is a secret organization headquartered here in Los Angeles. Unlike the CIA, we don't go by what the government needs. We pick up old missions that have either gone cold or nobody's touched for years. My mission was to find and kill you, since it was your mission to find the ACE. Yes, Ember, we know about what the CIA assigned you to do. I don't know exactly how they found out, but somehow they did. My boss is a man named Charles Duncan."

I nodded. I'll ask Langley to run that name later for me. 

"All right. Go on." I said.

"Oh, right! Um, there's one major power player in the ACE that everyone takes orders from. I've been digging for the past few days, and I just found out who it is."

He paused. I waited, gripping his wrist tightly. He didn't seem to notice. Well! Spit it out! 

"Archer, who is the main boss?"

"Rebecca Hilton." 

(Hey Guys! Sooo, what do you feel about this shocker? I'm sorry it's taking me so long to post! I just got back to school and I'm trying to get used to all my new Honors classes. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but I do have a lot of homework! Anyway, who wants to hear the name of book 3? Vote and comment if you do or send me a personal message! :) I typed most of this on my iPod so sorry if it sucks! I tried to catch as many grammar mistakes as I could! Bye-bye for now!)