“Roger? What just happened?”
ChapterEight
Ari
Roger was quiet on the ride back to the school. Very, very quiet but not upset. At least, I didn’t think he was. Even after the disgusting things I’d done, the way I’d accosted him, he didn’t seem angry. More concerned. Pensive, even. Which, I guessed maybe made sense after the way I’d overindulged in the bar drinks and then thrown myself at him. The Devil’s candy, indeed.
Roger was gentle as he helped me out of his truck and took my hand to lead me into the main building, but when he hesitated at the entrance to the administrative office, my heart sank. Of course, he would want to speak with the Director, to warn him of my sinful, wanton behavior so I could be punished.
A bone-deep shudder shook my body, my stomach lurching at the memory of the clan punishments that had almost killed me before, the pain and fear that had driven me to seek the unwitting help of the beings that my clan insisted were the enemy. I didn’t want to believe that the Omega Destiny staff would sink to the same depraved levels of violence that my clan had in their quest to restore me to the righteous path, but I couldn’t be sure.
I mumbled a hastythank youfor the outing and rushed down the hall toward my room. My mind was spinning as I struggled to think of any place I could go to escape, wondering if it was even possible for me to grab my few belongings and get away before the Director’s huge security guards dragged me out to be punished. I decided not to chance it, veered down a side hall that led to an emergency exit, slipped out the rarely used door, and then took off across the lawn at a run.
The sun was already beginning to set when I finally reached the fence, grinding my teeth in frustration when the fence was too tall and too thin to climb and made of welded metal with no way to slip through. I followed the fence toward the gate. It would be guarded, so my only chance was to try and slip through when the guards were distracted. Reaching the guard shack, I was surprised to find that the gate stood open, the two guards engrossed in a conversation with a man driving a delivery van. The back door of the van was open, as if the delivery had already been made and I didn’t even think before slipping inside and crouching behind a large crate in the cargo area. When the door slid closed a minute or two later and the van began to move, relief washed over me and I finally felt like I could exhale.
My relief was short-lived. The van only followed the highway for a few miles before it pulled off the pavement onto the shoulder of the road and the driver climbed out, slamming his door. I chanced a look around the crate so I could see out the windshield. The driver was standing in front of the vehicle with his cell phone to his ear and a slight frown on his face.
When the driver climbed back behind the wheel, he seemed strangely amused and was even whistling and chuckling to himself under his breath as he pulled back onto the road and continued on.
I had no clue what our destination was, of course, but wherever we were going, my unwitting chauffeur didn’t seem to be in any hurry to get there. When he finally pulled the van to a stop, he exited the vehicle promptly and slammed his door. Peeking over the top of the crate, I watched as he climbed into a small sedan parked a few spaces over and promptly drove off.
I could see through the window that we were in town, parked behind a row of low commercial buildings with cheerful red metal roofs. I waited several more minutes and when there was no sign of the driver returning, I tried the handle of the van’s cargo door. It gave easily under my grip and the door swung open. I closed it carefully and looked around, blinking in the dim light, relaxing a little when there didn’t seem to be anyone around.
I was in the middle of an industrial area, surrounded by businesses like plumbing companies and air conditioning repair businesses, not the type of places that one would expect to have much foot traffic. And, as it was after hours, the entire area seemed abandoned. Taking that as a good omen, I turned toward the road and began to walk.
Chapter Nine
Roger
“Let me make sure I understand this,” Director Keir was scowling at me over his desk. “You can’t tell me why you think it or how you know or anything else to actually validate yourconcern,” he nearly scoffed the word, “but you think we should press Connery to be checked over by a doctor even though he just received a clean bill of health from one three days ago?”
“That pretty well sums it up,” I agreed.
Across the room, Kade was leaning against the wall, studying me with one raised eyebrow. In the chair beside me, Jeremy cocked his head.
“Fang,” Jeremy began hesitantly, “can you give us any information at all that might suggest what the problem is?”
“Nope,” I said, popping the p sound. “It would be a violation of his privacy. All I can tell you is that I’m concerned about his health.”
“Hisphysicalhealth?” Jeremy pressed. “Or emotional? Did something happen to upset him?”
Before I could answer, Kade’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He read the text message and swore under his breath.
“Chuck, we may have a problem,” he said gruffly, narrowing his eyes in my direction. “That was the front gate. The guards were reviewing security footage and it seems that one of your charges snuck into the back of a delivery van when no one was looking.”
Jeremy and Director Keir turned to him with matching amazed expressions.
“What?” Jeremy sounded confused. “Who? Why would any of the residents think they need to escape instead of just telling us they were leaving?”
And just like that, Ari taking off down the hall made sense and I groaned.
“It was Connery, wasn’t it?” Kade didn’t answer and I didn’t bother pressing him to. “Where is the van headed?”
Jeremy cleared his throat lightly. “Uh, what if it’s you he’s trying to get away from, Fang?”
“It’s not.” I wasn’t going to pretend to know what the hell made Ari rabbit, but I was positive it wasn’t me. “He was fine until I stopped at the office door, which was when he freaked out.” I held back a sigh. “He probably thought I was going to tell you…” I trailed off. “It doesn’t matter why, but he’s not trying to dodge me.”
Keir was glaring at me, but he nodded to Kade, giving him permission to answer my question.
