Read Online Resistance by C. J. Daugherty - Free Book Online Page A

then … what?’
    ‘Are you sleeping? Having nightmares? Panic attacks?’
    Allie, who had suffered from all of those problems in the past, flushed. This wasn’t what she wanted to talk about. They had, in the past, had very frank conversations about Allie’s life. But it was hard to just plunge back into that kind of thing.
    ‘I’m fine.’ Allie’s tone was cool. ‘I’ve been through worse. I just want to know what’s going on with Nathaniel. How he found me. Who the spy is. What we do now.’
    ‘Yes, I’m going to get to that.’ The headmistress sipped her tea, a worry line deepening between her eyes. ‘But I’m also concerned about what all this is doing to you. You’ve been through a great deal.’
    Allie thought about last night. Kissing Sylvain. The confusing but good swirl of emotions that had summoned. And how, for just a little while, she’d forgotten all of this.
    ‘I’m really OK,’ she said honestly. ‘I don’t know why I’m OK. But I’m OK.’
    Isabelle studied her face as if looking for clues, then took a sip of her tea. ‘Good. That’s the most important thing. If you’re fine …’
    ‘I am,’ Allie insisted.
    The headmistress inclined her head. ‘Then we can talk about where we are. What would you like to know?’
    Allie didn’t hesitate.
    ‘I want to know how Nathaniel found us in France. And I really want to know how safe I am at Cimmeria. Because when those guys were shooting at me I decided I don’t want to die.’
    A normal headmistress might have found this impertinent. But Isabelle wasn’t normal.
    ‘We think it was a coincidence. Nathaniel must have been watching Sylvain’s house for some time,’ she said. ‘There is no other way. Certainly it didn’t come from inside this school. It couldn’t have. Not one person aside from myself, Lucinda and Raj has known where you were at any point since you left the school in March.’
    ‘Not even the teachers?’ Allie asked, surprised. Usually Isabelle’s close cadre of senior teachers were told everything.
    Isabelle shook her head. ‘Not one person,’ she repeated.
    Allie sat back in her chair.
    The idea of Nathaniel just hanging around the Cassels’ house, watching Sylvain’s family, was ominous.
    ‘Why would he watch them if he didn’t know I was there?’ she asked. ‘What was he looking for?’
    ‘The Cassels support Lucinda. And they are the single most powerful family within the European organisation.’ Isabelle’s face darkened. ‘It appears Nathaniel is broadening his range.’
    This was starting to make Allie nervous. ‘But if he’s watching them he must have a purpose. Are they safe?’
    ‘You’ve seen the Cassels’ security team,’ Isabelle said. ‘They’re extremely well protected.’
    Allie remembered the guards standing on ladders to see over the tall walls that surrounded the Cassels’ compound, binoculars fixed on the surrounding countryside. The cameras atop the tall solid gates. The razor wire and armoured SUVs.
    ‘Yeah, but …’ Allie left the sentence unfinished.
    … Nathaniel still found us.
    She may not have said it aloud but Isabelle seemed to know what she was thinking.
    ‘They are as safe as it is possible to be right now,’ she said gently. ‘That much I can promise you.’
    ‘And us?’ Allie held her gaze. ‘Are we safe?’
    Isabelle didn’t respond immediately. She drummed her fingers very quietly on her desktop as if deciding what to say.
    ‘I wish I could say yes,’ she said finally. ‘But I’m afraid the answer is no. You’re not. No one here is safe.’
    This, Allie hadn’t expected.
    ‘If I’m not safe, why am I here? Why bring me back?’ Allie couldn’t keep the bewilderment out of her voice.
    Isabelle gave her a steady look. ‘You’re here because Lucinda wants you here.’
    ‘Why, though?’ Allie asked, her voice rising. ‘Why does she want me here?’
    Again the headmistress hesitated. ‘You’ll have noticed we are more …