Page 29 of One Knight Stand

Frankie resisted the pull on her arm. “Angel, this could work for us. Look, Wally just came in. He’s sitting over there.”

She motioned with her head, and I looked over. Sure enough, Wally was sitting on one of the benches looking out at us. He’d pulled a hat low over his head and wasn’t easily recognizable in the dim light. But I’d know Wally anywhere, and so did Frankie. Unfortunately, I’d been so preoccupied with staying on my feet, I’d forgotten all about him.

I was currently scoring a big fat F in spy operations. Why had I chosen skating?

“Look, I can get you over to him without alerting the guy that he’s with us,” Frankie said in a low voice. “Bump into him, then tell him the plan, and BOOM. It’s done.”

“There’s only one problem with that,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“I don’thavea plan yet.”

“You will.” Frankie spoke with such confidence, I almost believed her. “You said we need a distraction, so just figure out how to make one and go from there.”

It wasn’t that simple, but she was looking at me with so much faith, Ihadto figure something out.

My brain raced through numerous possibilities and came up blank. I blamed it on the skating, since my brain was more in a survival mode than a thinking one. Where were those obsessive brain cells when I needed them? It was almost our turn for the limbo, and I still had nothing.

I started to panic. “Frankie, how am I going to get over to Wally and bump into him without it looking intentional?”

“I’m going to push you under the limbo pole,” she said, maneuvering behind me. “When it’s your turn for the limbo, duck beneath the pole. I’ll aim you toward the exit nearest him. Once you get there, take a few steps out of the rink and fall into his lap. Make it look accidental. Tell him to act like he doesn’t know you, and to head to the bathroom after he helps you up. Then after a few minutes you can go to the bathroom as well. It’s in an alcove hidden from the view of our follower. If he tries to go after you, I’ll run interference. Tell Wally the plan and get it underway, Angel, because we’ve got to get out of here soon.”

I gaped at her, impressed and maybe a little envious, because she’d been the real spy, surveilling the area while I was too busy trying to stay on my feet. In the meantime, I still had a nothing in terms of a coherent plan, and yet she somehow had faith I’d come up with something on the fly.

I tried to explain to her I couldn’t just pull a complex distraction out of thin air, but it was my turn at the limbo. Everyone started screaming at me to go low.

Holy limbo.

I barely had time to yelp as Frankie placed her hands squarely on my back and pushed me toward the pole.

Chapter Eighteen

ANGEL SINCLAIR

Since I had neither the coordination nor the skill to duck while balancing precariously on skates, I hit the limbo pole dead center—like a really bad pole vaulter—ripping it out of the hands of the people holding it and sending it spinning across the rink. I tried not to scream as I continued my speedy trajectory toward the rink exit, emitting small squeals of terror instead. I left the rink without one shred of dignity or grace, hit the carpet with a skate, and didn’t have toaccidentallybump into Wally. I flew into him, knocking him off the bench and onto the floor with spectacular accuracy.

“Ooof,” he gasped as he landed flat on his back, my elbow slammed into his gut.

The crash knocked the wind out of me, so I sprawled partially on top of him, thankful I’d come to a stop, but not able to move or breathe yet.

Wally wiggled to sit up, ruefully rubbing the back of his head. “Ouch. Is this part of the plan? Killing me and stealing my car keys?

I finally caught my breath and tried to get up, but my skates were tangled. All I could think was that two geeks in a roller rink was a great start to a joke.

“Shh, Wally,” I hissed, finding my voice. “Pretend you don’t know me. Keep your hat down low over your face and stay in the shadows so you don’t get recognized. I’m just a klutz girl who fell on top of you.”

“Why can’t that happen in real life?” Sighing, he got to his feet first and held out a hand to help me up. “What’s going on?”

“We have eyes on us inside and outside the rink. We need to ditch them. Go to the bathroom and wait for me at the entrance. I’ll tell you the plan then.”

I made a big deal of apologizing, and Wally brushed himself off, dutifully heading toward the bathroom. I hoped it appeared to the casual onlooker like he was in a hurry to get away from me.

I sat down on the bench Wally had vacated, rubbing my shoulder. Who knew skating was such dangerous work? I dared a sideways peek at the man in the shadows. He was still there, but it was impossible to tell if he was looking directly at me.

I made a big deal out of waving at Frankie, who was still out on the rink, and gave her a thumbs-up. She waved back and motioned for me to return to the rink. Vigorously shaking my head, I motioned a big thumbs-down. She lifted her hands in a shrug and returned to the line for more limbo.

I watched the skaters a bit longer, then stumbled toward the bathroom, holding the wall as I moved along. As soon as Wally saw me, he rushed over.

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