your dad being who he is.’
Aaron’s face darkened.
‘What are you two saying?’ Jas asked.
‘Nat’s just asking about my dad,’ Aaron said. He turned to me and lowered his voice to a whisper again. ‘And I’m telling him that my dad is trying to expose Riley
exactly like he is, none of which has
anything
to do with me and your sister.’ His cheeks flushed a bright red.
I said nothing, just stared out of the window. A few moments passed; the room filled with tension.
Then Aaron folded his arms and leaned over, his mouth by my ear.
‘I’m dating your sister, Nat,’ he hissed. ‘Get over it.’
I shook my head. ‘Fine,’ I muttered. ‘But I have no idea what she sees in you.’
Another pause. I kept my gaze on the woods outside, but I could feel my face burning. That had been rude. And stupid. Regardless of whether or not Aaron was a Riley spy, there was no point
antagonising him. And it wasn’t fair on Jas either. I turned to him, ready to apologise but, much to my surprise, Aaron was smiling.
‘I have no idea what she sees in me either,’ he chuckled. ‘She’s way out of my league, but there you go.’
I grinned in spite of myself as the tension eased and Aaron moved away, back to Jas. He was still an idiot – and possibly worse. But I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. For
now.
Outside, the sun was getting lower on the horizon, the sky dotted with clouds. Suddenly I missed Charlie with a physical pain.
‘Nat?’ Jas said, her voice timid.
I turned around.
‘We need to find a way out of here,’ she said.
I nodded. ‘I know, but the doors and windows are locked, the guards are armed . . .’ I looked at her, helplessly. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
‘Then let us help you
work out
what to do,’ Aaron said earnestly. ‘You’re the one with the training. Go through the options. Jas and I will help you make a plan. I
can run fast and I can fight too . . .’
I opened my mouth to tell him that fighting would be of no help whatsoever – and then it struck me that, if we were smart about it, fighting our way out of here was, in fact, our best
option.
I frowned, as an idea bubbled into my head.
‘What?’ Aaron asked. ‘What are you thinking?’
I went over and crouched down beside them. ‘Listen,’ I said. ‘Then I drew them close and whispered my plan.
Charlie
I followed Uchi into the cottage. In spite of all my anxieties I was intrigued to meet Riley’s son. I was expecting a little boy – after all, Riley was only in his
early thirties – so I was taken by complete surprise when a tall, black-haired teenager in black jeans and a grey jumper slouched out of the kitchen, a shorter, dark-skinned woman at his
side.
‘Gracie and her son, Spider,’ Uchi said, introducing us.
I shook hands with Gracie. She seemed nice – a lot warmer than Martina and very beautiful, with long glossy dark hair and clear tawny skin. Her son looked up. I stared, struck by how
good-looking he was: olive-skinned and square-jawed, just like Riley, but with high cheekbones and dark, intense eyes.
He shrugged by way of a greeting. Well that was fine with me. I wasn’t here to make friends. Uchi said he would see me after I’d eaten and asked Spider to show me around.
Spider looked neither pleased nor annoyed by this request. If anything, he seemed bored. He obeyed Uchi in long-suffering silence, showing me firstly around the ground floor – a series of
rather flouncy, flowery rooms with contrasting patterns on the sofas, curtains and rugs – then upstairs to the four bedrooms. I was given a small room on the right of the main landing. It was
nowhere near as smart as my room in Riley’s house, but it looked comfortable enough. A tunic, a fleece and two pairs of leggings had been laid out on the bed. I picked up the tunic. It
wasn’t my sort of thing at all, but it would be easy to move in which, I was guessing, was the point. I wondered how soon my training for the
Aaron’s face darkened.
‘What are you two saying?’ Jas asked.
‘Nat’s just asking about my dad,’ Aaron said. He turned to me and lowered his voice to a whisper again. ‘And I’m telling him that my dad is trying to expose Riley
exactly like he is, none of which has
anything
to do with me and your sister.’ His cheeks flushed a bright red.
I said nothing, just stared out of the window. A few moments passed; the room filled with tension.
Then Aaron folded his arms and leaned over, his mouth by my ear.
‘I’m dating your sister, Nat,’ he hissed. ‘Get over it.’
I shook my head. ‘Fine,’ I muttered. ‘But I have no idea what she sees in you.’
Another pause. I kept my gaze on the woods outside, but I could feel my face burning. That had been rude. And stupid. Regardless of whether or not Aaron was a Riley spy, there was no point
antagonising him. And it wasn’t fair on Jas either. I turned to him, ready to apologise but, much to my surprise, Aaron was smiling.
‘I have no idea what she sees in me either,’ he chuckled. ‘She’s way out of my league, but there you go.’
I grinned in spite of myself as the tension eased and Aaron moved away, back to Jas. He was still an idiot – and possibly worse. But I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. For
now.
Outside, the sun was getting lower on the horizon, the sky dotted with clouds. Suddenly I missed Charlie with a physical pain.
‘Nat?’ Jas said, her voice timid.
I turned around.
‘We need to find a way out of here,’ she said.
I nodded. ‘I know, but the doors and windows are locked, the guards are armed . . .’ I looked at her, helplessly. ‘I don’t know what to do.’
‘Then let us help you
work out
what to do,’ Aaron said earnestly. ‘You’re the one with the training. Go through the options. Jas and I will help you make a plan. I
can run fast and I can fight too . . .’
I opened my mouth to tell him that fighting would be of no help whatsoever – and then it struck me that, if we were smart about it, fighting our way out of here was, in fact, our best
option.
I frowned, as an idea bubbled into my head.
‘What?’ Aaron asked. ‘What are you thinking?’
I went over and crouched down beside them. ‘Listen,’ I said. ‘Then I drew them close and whispered my plan.
Charlie
I followed Uchi into the cottage. In spite of all my anxieties I was intrigued to meet Riley’s son. I was expecting a little boy – after all, Riley was only in his
early thirties – so I was taken by complete surprise when a tall, black-haired teenager in black jeans and a grey jumper slouched out of the kitchen, a shorter, dark-skinned woman at his
side.
‘Gracie and her son, Spider,’ Uchi said, introducing us.
I shook hands with Gracie. She seemed nice – a lot warmer than Martina and very beautiful, with long glossy dark hair and clear tawny skin. Her son looked up. I stared, struck by how
good-looking he was: olive-skinned and square-jawed, just like Riley, but with high cheekbones and dark, intense eyes.
He shrugged by way of a greeting. Well that was fine with me. I wasn’t here to make friends. Uchi said he would see me after I’d eaten and asked Spider to show me around.
Spider looked neither pleased nor annoyed by this request. If anything, he seemed bored. He obeyed Uchi in long-suffering silence, showing me firstly around the ground floor – a series of
rather flouncy, flowery rooms with contrasting patterns on the sofas, curtains and rugs – then upstairs to the four bedrooms. I was given a small room on the right of the main landing. It was
nowhere near as smart as my room in Riley’s house, but it looked comfortable enough. A tunic, a fleece and two pairs of leggings had been laid out on the bed. I picked up the tunic. It
wasn’t my sort of thing at all, but it would be easy to move in which, I was guessing, was the point. I wondered how soon my training for the
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