I followed Julian out of the lounge, through the lobby, and to the street. He stopped and turned to me as the door swung shut behind us.
“We might give you guys the day off tomorrow,” he said. “I’d been hoping to spend it with you, but I think I’m going to have to hang out with my parents.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why were you like that today?”
His eyebrows drew together. “Like what?”
“Rude. Why were you rude to Noah? And Grayson.”
“Noah does not take this seriously enough.”
“He’s the best one on the team. And just because he posts videos on YouTube doesn’t mean he’s not taking it seriously.”
“He spends all his time talking to his phone, and then turns around and judges my training methods. Just because he’s the best doesn’t mean that he can do any better. Would you like it if you had someone constantly making snarky remarks about your job?”
“No,” I admitted.
“Are you really judging me for this?” His tone softened a little. He sounded hurt.
“I didn’t mean that,” I said. “But I think that the stress of trying to keep everyone safe is getting to you. Why were you mad about me going into the garage? You said that you should have made me stay with you, which is insulting, frankly. I’m trained to fight these things.”
“I know you are, but . . .” He looked uncomfortable.
“What?”
“You’re just one of the weakest ones on the team. I don’t say that as a criticism,” he added quickly. “I know you’re working hard, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t worry about you. I let you out of my sight for a few hours in Paris, and you nearly got killed. Then I do it again today, and you end up trapped in a garage full of scrabs. I’m just trying to make sure you’re safe.”
I flushed. He wasn’t wrong—I was one of the weaker team members. But I hadn’t thought I was that far behind Dorsey, or Priya, or Zoe. Maybe I was wrong.
“It’s not your fault,” he continued. “Grayson should have spent more time on training. I told him that, but he wouldn’t listen.” He blew out an annoyed breath and glanced at where an incredibly fancy black car pulled up to the curb.
The car door opened, and I could actually see Julian’s shoulders tense. A man stepped out. He had the same handsome face and the same dark hair as Julian. But his hair was streaked with gray, and his face was twisted into a snarl.
“Of all the fucking stupid things to say,” he spat at the woman climbing out behind him.
“I’m sorry, I just thought—” Julian’s mom had her purse clasped to her chest, and she abruptly cut herself off when she spotted me. “Oh. Hello.”
“Mom, Dad, this is Clara,” Julian said. “She’s on my team.”
Julian’s dad rolled his eyes and muttered something I couldn’t understand.
“And she’s my girlfriend,” Julian added. His father had no reaction to that.
“Nice to meet you, Clara,” his mom said. She was a small woman with a neat blond bob and a worried expression. “I actually saw your picture online, with Julian.”
“Mom, I told you to stop reading those gossip sites.” Julian’s tone was annoyed.
“Why? Everyone loves you two.”
Julian’s dad walked away, headed for the crosswalk that led to Julian’s hotel. It seemed he was done talking to us.
“It was nice to meet you, Clara,” his mom said, and scurried after him.
“I’ll see you later,” Julian said, planting a kiss on my forehead.
“Then why did you come?” I heard Julian’s dad say loudly to his wife. A passing couple appeared startled.
I looked from Julian to his dad. I had a bad feeling, the kind I got when Dad came home. I knew that pleading expression his mom had. She was trying to keep him happy.
“Is everything OK?” I asked Julian, catching his hand before he could follow them.
“Yeah, he’s always like this.” He rolled his eyes and squeezed my hand before letting it go. “Sleep well. Enjoy your day off tomorrow.” He turned to follow his parents.
35
I spent the next morning in bed. Grayson gave us the day off to follow a lead and formulate a strategy to track MDG, and Julian was with his parents, so I wasn’t sure what to do with this sudden free time.
I was still annoyed with Julian, but I sort of wished he’d texted or called me today. I was a little worried about him after meeting his dad. I glanced down at my phone again and sighed. I needed to find something to do to take my mind off it.
I rolled over and looked across to where Edan was stretched out in his bunk, a book propped up on his chest.
“Hey,” I said.
He tilted his head back and then rolled over on his stomach, putting the book aside.
“You don’t drink, do you?” I asked.
“No.” He glanced around the empty room. “Everyone else is downstairs drinking, aren’t they?”
“Yes. The bartender is serving all recruits. Even at noon, apparently.”
“Patrick did mention something about day drinking.”
“Do you want to go to the gym?”
He propped his head up on his hand and gave me an amused look. “You want to go to the gym on our day off?”
“I thought we could practice sparring. Without everyone around judging us.” Julian’s words kept running through my head—was I really that much worse than the rest of the team? I needed to take every opportunity to practice.
“Yeah, OK.” Edan ducked as he scooted out of his bunk and climbed down the stairs. “Can we get fish and chips after, though? I feel like that’s what you’re supposed to do in London, and I don’t know when I’ll get another chance.”
“Sure.”
I jumped out of my bunk and walked across the room to my locker, spun the dial and opened it. We’d received two stipends so far, and I had a small stash of cash. I pulled a few bills out and tucked them into
