Page 210 of Damsel in Disguise

“I don’t understand any of this. What exactly are these people looking for?”

“You.”

The one-word answer actually makes me forget to breathe.

“If you remain here, they will find you. As head of the research department, I’ve already been instructed to notify them if I spot you on campus… or anywhere else,” his jaw tightens almost imperceptibly. “I’m supposed to deliver you to them, Ariella.”

A chill runs through me.

“But I haven’t done it,” his blue eyes hold mine. “I’m standing here defying a direct order because I believe there’s still time to get you somewhere they cannot reach. Come with me. Allow me to keep you hidden while I find a way to contain this before it becomes something neither of us can survive.”

I think about Adrian. About the condition, he made me promise. “You answer every call.”

My hand closes around my phone.

“I should at least let Adrian know that I’m leaving.”

Alistair shakes his head. “The lesser knows, the better.”

“He’ll worry…”

“Ariella, if they are monitoring communications, one phone call could expose everyone connected to you,” he’s completely serious.

I look down at the phone in my hand.

My instincts tell me something is very wrong. But my instincts have been phony before.

Alistair has lied to me.

He has manipulated me.

But he has also saved my life.

And somewhere between those truths, I stopped knowing which version of him to trust.

“Mind if I hold onto your phone for now?” he’s extends his hand to me.

“Wait, no. Why?”

“If I fail today, it may be the only way I can ensure someone finds you.”

That shuts me down.

That should be the first warning sign, one that I consciously choose to ignore—his doesn’t connect.

Yet for one last time, I decide to trust him.

With a nod, I hand him my phone, without asking him why.

“Good,” his expression doesn’t change as he softly mutters the word and puts my phone inside his coat.

Alistair gathers the research files into a neat stack before standing.

“We shouldn’t use the main corridor.”

I blink, my brows frown again.

“Anyone could be waiting for you,” he says, meeting my eyes with a steadiness that leaves no room for argument as he heads towards the office door.