Cipher

was just trying to make small talk.”

“That’s the problem, though. You’re not really here for just small talk, are you?”

Gabriella pressed her bubble gum pink lips together, then shook her head. “It’s time, Summer. I’ve come to give you your next assignment.”

For two months she’d been on edge, waiting for this job to pop up like a demented version of jack in the box. Surprise, guess who’s dying now!? At one point, she’d wished Gabriella would just get it over with already. But now, Summer didn’t want to hear about it. Didn’t want to know that another person was going to die, but only after she’d gotten to know them and, with any luck, managed to resolve their problems with their family members first.

“I’m not ready,” Summer said. “My psychology class doesn’t start until tomorrow, and so far the grief counseling sessions I’ve been attending have only really shown me how much people cry.”

Gabriella stuck a fist on her hip. “Last time I came to visit, you begged me to give you the assignment before you went ‘wackjob crazy,’ whatever that means.”

Summer flopped onto the end of her bed, the weight of an assignment already pressing down her shoulders. “I changed my mind.”

“But you can feel it, right? So you know it’s time whether you’re ready or not.”

Ready or not, here it comes. Summer took a deep breath. “Okay. Rip the Band-Aid off.” When Gabriella looked confused, she said. “The job. Just give me the job.”

“His name is Liam Fry. He’s a freshman at SDSU. Only this time, you need to help him make peace with his dad. His dad, a man named Dennis Fry, is the one who’s dying.”

Summer rolled the name over in her head for a few seconds. Liam. He wouldn’t be dying, so surely this wouldn’t be as gut-wrenching as last time. Her heart gave one painful throb, a dull reminder of the emotional scar over her heart from her first Cipher job. “Okay, so I’ll work it through the son angle. Got it.”

“Good. But… there’s something you need to know about Dennis, and it’s kind of a big deal.” Gabriella tapped her finger to her lips, a gesture she did whenever she was thinking. “I’m prefacing this by telling you to keep in mind how much you’ve learned over the last few months.”

The apprehension coursing through Summer kicked up a notch. “That bad, huh?”

“Summer Dear, his father’s in a detention facility.”

“Like jail?” Summer’s voice came out in a high-pitched squeak.

Gabriella nodded.

“Did he do it? Is he guilty?” Summer stared at Gabriella, wanting her to say, Of course not. I wouldn’t be asking you to do this if he was guilty.

“He’s done a great deal of repenting, and he desperately wants to make peace with his son. He doesn’t know it, but he’s sick, so he’ll never make it to parole. Which is why it’s so important to get Liam to visit him now.”

Summer shook her head. “No. I don’t think I can do that. Did he kill someone?”

The hesitation was enough for Summer to know she was going to hate Gabriella’s response. “His actions did cause a few innocent lives,” Gabriella said softly. “We all make mistakes.”

Images from her mom’s death flashed through her mind. The convenience store. The man who’d pulled the gun. Mom and the woman she’d gone on a Cipher job to help lying dead on the floor. Everything inside her turned hard and cold. “There’s mistakes, and then there’s killing people. My mom is gone because of someone like that. You’re asking too much.”

“Liam will be the one to suffer, though, and that hardly seems fair. Don’t worry about the punishment for Dennis. He’ll have to pay for his crimes. He’s already paid a great deal, being in jail for the past eight years. Low security or not, jail is not a pleasant experience.” Gabriella squatted in front of Summer and spoke in a soothing tone. “This is what you’ve been training for. You can do this.”

All the speculation Summer had been doing about her job over the past few months hadn’t even come close. She’d often looked around the school, wondering if her next assignment would be there. If any of her old friends would be involved. Never did college student and inmate father cross her mind.

“Like with Ashlyn, you’ll have some time on this one,” Gabriella said. “That doesn’t mean you don’t need to hurry things along, and, I’m not going to lie, it’ll be a tough one. But you will have enough time. As long as you start right away.”

Words kept getting caught in Summer’s throat, unable to make it out her mouth. Anger heated her veins at the unfairness of it all. From what she’d heard, this Dennis guy deserved to die alone. He’d taken someone else’s family away. Why did he deserve his?

Gabriella patted her knee. “Let’s just get you introduced to Liam, then we’ll figure out the rest. He’s going to be at a party down on fraternity row tonight.” She stood, searched her pockets in vain, and ended up grabbing a notepad and pen out of the air. When Summer first met Gabriella, pulling things out of the air had sent her mind reeling. Now, it seemed almost normal. Actually, she wished she could pull stuff out of thin air as well.

“This is where you need to go.” Gabriella handed over the note. Purple glittery pen looped across the page, giving added flair to the address and the immaculately drawn map beside it. “I know you’re going to hate this, but you need to take someone besides Troy. You need to be approachable, not attached—not to mention Troy might have trouble getting in.”

“I don’t have any other friends,” Summer said. “Friends that could get into the party anyway.” Sad but true. As much as she loved the Misfits, chess-playing twins and a kid who liked to film everything didn’t stand a chance at a frat party. And Marcie didn’t go out, period.

“Kendall seems like she’d be good in this situation,” Gabriella said.

Summer groaned. She and Kendall had semi-patched up their relationship, but it was still awkward, and she didn’t want to owe Kendall any favors. Part of her wondered how Gabriella even knew about Kendall, but she knew better than to ask—the Angel of Death would only talk in infuriating riddles about the mysteries of the universe.

“Just be careful,” Gabriella said. “I’m not happy about the situation, but you’ll have some added protection.” She looked to the heavens—Summer assumed, anyway. She doubted the out-of-date popcorn ceiling was going to protect her somehow. “Still, you should probably take your mace.”

“Sounds like a blast.” Summer slumped forward, propping her elbows on her knees. Her first college party, and it was already shaping up to be a bust.

The jewel-encrusted watch on Gabriella’s watch chimed.

“Oh, Heavens! I’ve got to go,” Summer said at the exact time Gabriella did. She already knew the drill, and she did a pretty good impression of the Angel of Death, if she did say so herself.

One corner of Gabriella’s mouth turned up. “Very funny. I’ll be checking in later.”

Then, as always, Gabriella’s outline glittered before disappearing completely.

* * *

Music always made menial tasks better, so Summer put her earphones in, cranked up her tunes, and started unloading the dishwasher. Singing and dancing, she twirled here and there, putting away the dishes. She tucked the spatula in the utensil drawer and spun around.

And froze mid-song and dance, blonde curls covering one of her eyes.

Troy stood in the archway of the kitchen, giant, heart-melting grin on his face. He stuck a thumb toward the living room. “Your dad let me in.”

Heat flooded Summer’s cheeks, embarrassment mixing in with the tingly excitement of seeing her super- cute boyfriend. All hers. That realization never got old. She tugged out her earphones, wondering just how much singing and dancing he’d witnessed.

He crossed the kitchen and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I thought you said you couldn’t sing.”

“I can’t. And I really wish you hadn’t heard me trying to.”

Troy leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, sending her heart rate skyrocketing. “Because now you have to kill me?”

“Exactly.” Summer closed the small distance between their mouths, covering his mouth with hers. She ran her fingers up his arms and looped them behind his neck, loving the way his fingers dug into her sides as she deepened the kiss. They both knew it was only a matter of time before Dad “accidentally” interrupted, so each kiss, each second she could be pressed against him, felt stolen.