The 39 Clues: Unstoppable Book 2: Breakaway by Jeff Hirsch Read Free Book Online Page B

black water.
    “You okay?”
    Jake coughed and then he nodded weakly.
    “Can you swim?”
    “Yeah,” he said. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
    By the time they pulled themselves out of the surf and onto the beach, all they could do was collapse onto their backs. Amy lay there panting, the muscles in her arms and legs buzzing with exhaustion. Jake was sitting up, draped over his knees, breathing hard and shivering despite the warmth of the night. He looked like a half-drowned puppy. Amy couldn’t help but smile.
    “You were right,” she said over the crashing waves. “I was completely lost.”
    Jake looked back to her, pushing the wet hair out of his eyes. She had given him a golden opportunity to rub it in. All she could do was brace herself for it.
    “You were actually only about a mile or so from the museum,” he said. “You would have gotten there.”
    In the wet chill, Jake’s smile felt as warm as a bonfire.
    “Come on,” Amy said. “Let’s get out of here. Maybe if we’re lucky, Dan’s found that pizza.”
    Amy started to go but Jake took hold of her wrist.
    “Back in the medina. Going after that guy . . .  it was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done in my life. I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted to
do
something. You know?”
    “Yeah,” she said. “I do.”

    Twenty minutes after they found a taxi willing to take two sopping-wet teenagers, Jake and Amy pulled up in front of their hotel.
    “Hey, look,” Amy said, pointing out the window. “It’s Dan and Atticus.”
    The two of them were just coming up the sidewalk as Jake and Amy left the cab.
    “Whoa!” Atticus said when he saw them. “What happened to you guys?”
    “What?” Jake said, mock incredulous. “We just went for a little swim.”
    Amy laughed. “Yeah, it was such a nice night we couldn’t resist. What did we miss here?”
    “We found it!” Dan exclaimed. “Tunisian pizza! And you’ll never believe it. The stuff has tuna fish on it!”
    “And hard-boiled eggs!” Atticus chimed in.
    “At first, you think it’s a crime against the pizza gods, but then you taste it and it blows your mind.”
    “We’ll have to try some,” Amy said with a doubtful look. “Att, Jake says you think we should try your father again.”
    “Totally,” he said. “You guys want to change first or something?”
    “Nah,” Amy said. “We’ll dry off on the way. Come on.”
    The four of them set off down the streets of Tunis, Amy and Jake trailing behind while Dan and Atticus took the lead, babbling excitedly about a video arcade they found down near the medina. All around them, nightclubs and cafés were buzzing. The air was warm on Amy’s skin, and it smelled of the spicy aroma of roasting meats from the restaurants they passed.
    For a wonderful moment, Amy felt like just another tourist, gliding through the town with her friends without a care in the world. She even found herself wishing Ian was there and Jonah and Nellie and Hamilton, too. Even Pony.
    “It’s just up here!” Atticus said, leading them down a quaint street lit by the glow of amber streetlights. They went halfway down the block, then opened a black gate that led up to a small two-story house.
    Amy knew there was something wrong immediately. The front door was hanging wide open. Even from the sidewalk, she could see a turned-over bookcase and a floor covered in papers.
    “Does your dad live alone?” Amy asked.
    Atticus nodded, speechless, and Amy rushed past him, up the stairs and into the house. She stood in the brightly lit front room, surveying the damage. The place had been ransacked. Coffee tables and chairs were turned on their sides and every surface was covered in papers and books and journals, all looking like they had been torn off the shelves and thrown aside randomly.
    “Dr. Rosenbloom!” Amy called.
    “Dad!” Jake yelled.
    “I’m trying to call his cell phone, but he isn’t answering,” Atticus said.
    “It’s probably nothing,” Jake