Between Shadows by Chanel Cleeton Page B

eliminate Luke was the fact that we were close, but I never considered the possibility that the Director wanted to shatter the ties between us.
    Mission accomplished.
    And still—it doesn’t make sense. Some of us are used for more missions than others; some of us have extra skill sets and are better suited for specific missions, but we aren’t supposed to stand out. We’re ranked internally and the Academy monitors our ability, but beyond that they don’t really care about us. What Luke’s suggesting—that the Director has somehow taken a special interest in one of us—goes against everything I’ve seen at the Academy.
    “What did you do?”
    Confusion flickers in his brown eyes. “What do you mean?”
    “You had to do something to have the Director interested in you. There’s no way she could know what the target told you. So why is she asking questions about you? Why you?”
    “I’m not so sure her questions are about me.”
    “What would she want with me?”
    “You tell me.”
    “There’s nothing.” I think back to all of my interactions with her, analyzing and cataloguing each memory. I am her best asset, true. And yet there’s nothing I’ve done—or failed to do—that would raise her suspicions about me. I’ve been a good asset. I follow the rules for the most part.
    If you don’t count my trips to the confessional.
    “You mentioned before that you noticed someone following you.”
    “I thought that was you.”
    “Trust me. If I’d been following you, you wouldn’t have noticed me.”
    My eyes narrow. “You’ve gotten cockier since you left the Academy.”
    “With good reason. You have no idea what it’s like outside of the Academy. Your missions are easy in comparison.” He leaps up from the couch, stalking toward the kitchen. He grabs another crystal glass from one of the cabinets, pouring the same amber colored liquid from before.
    Drinking is discouraged at the Academy; we’re always supposed to be ready for an assignment. He swallows the drink in a big gulp.
    I frown. “You haven’t changed. You’re just as reckless as you used to be.”
    “That’s funny coming from you.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You’re the last person who should lecture anyone about recklessness.” He pauses. “I saw you. At the church.”
    For a moment, I forget to breathe.
    Advantage, Luke.
    “So you have been following me.”
    “I followed you once. The morning before we met in the Director’s office. That was it.”
    I don’t know what to believe anymore. We’re taught from the beginning not to trust anyone, that everyone is deceiving us. We’re taught that our only allegiance is to the Academy.
    And yet I keep coming back to him.
    “They would kill you if they knew,” Luke says, any trace of humor gone. 
    “I know.”
    “Then why do you go? Why risk it?”
    How can I explain something I barely understand myself?
    “Why did you come back?” I counter. “Why not just run? If you’re so good at hiding and you really think the Academy isn’t what they claim to be, then why not take off? You don’t have anything tying you here. Did you come back because you want some kind of revenge against me? Or did you come back to destroy the Academy? Or did you come back to kill two birds with one stone?”
    He folds his arms in front of his chest, his expression hooded. “You still don’t trust me.”
    “I don’t. If you want to get back at me, then just do it. You want to go head-to-head? Fine. But I’m not going to risk my sister getting hurt by this. I’m not going to go up against the Academy on some hunch that you have. A hunch that may or may not even be true.”
    “What if I got you proof?”
    “Why won’t you let this go?”
    “How many kills have there been since I left? Six? Ten? How many lives have you taken? Wouldn’t you want to know if everything you did was a waste? They trained us to kill—to accomplish our missions. But what if we’re not doing what we thought