Resistance by C. J. Daugherty Page A

Jules was back, Carter would be happy. And then she could be happy with Sylvain. And she and Carter could be friends again. They wouldn’t be confused into thinking there was something romantic between them when they’d been so careful to make sure there wasn’t.
    Jules would fix everything.
    ‘I’ll figure something out,’ she said, nodding to herself.
    His eyes distant, Carter turned back to the books. ‘I should have known Allie would come to the rescue.’ His voice was cool; enigmatic. He pulled out a thick book and handed it to her, signalling the end of the discussion. ‘This looks like a good one.’
    She flipped it over in her hands. The title was Conquering the World .

    F or the rest of the evening Allie couldn’t get that moment with Carter out of her mind. It was impossible to think about the British Empire when she kept hearing him say her name in that way.
    ‘ Allie .’ Like a caress.
    She had to have imagined it. She just had to.
    But had she imagined how she felt? The way her heart leapt when she saw him?
    This couldn’t be happening.
    When it was finally time for Night School training she was glad. All her nerves were stretched tight. She wanted to kick things. And hit them hard.
    She was eager to get back to work. After what happened in France – and the things she’d learned from Isabelle – she wanted to know more ways to defend herself. More ways to elude Nathaniel’s guards.
    The next time they came for her she wanted to surprise them with her sheer arse-kicking skills.
    She’d trained while she was away but training on your own wasn’t as effective as the whole Night School group dynamic, which made her push herself harder. She just hoped she hadn’t fallen behind the others. That she was ready for whatever they were working on now.
    Just before nine, she headed down the basement corridor towards Training Room One with Zoe, who was in a much better mood now. After learning what had happened that morning, she’d been researching panic attacks and was telling Allie everything she’d learned in animated detail.
    ‘And when your heart does that thing it’s not dangerous,’ she explained. ‘It just feels like it is.’
    ‘Yeah, it’s a totally un-dangerous heart attack,’ Allie agreed. ‘Like a giant coronary joke.’ Still talking, she opened the door to the girls’ dressing room. ‘I love giant …’
    As she stepped into the room her voice trailed off. She stopped walking so suddenly Zoe ran into her.
    ‘Giant what?’ Zoe asked, looking over her shoulder. Then she stopped, too. ‘Oh.’
    Across the room, Rachel stood next to Nicole. Both were in black leggings and tops, black running shoes. Full Night School gear. Allie’s eyes travelled from Rachel to the empty hook on the wall behind her. Above it, one word had been freshly painted: Patel.
    Nicole and Rachel were both watching her with hopeful smiles. But as Rachel clocked Allie’s expression, her smile turned uncertain and then faded away entirely.
    ‘Surprise?’ Rachel said.

12
    Twelve
    ‘ W hat the hell is going on?’ Allie had gone cold inside, as if someone had shoved a shard of ice into her heart. ‘Rachel, what have you done?’
    Rachel held up her hands. ‘I wanted to surprise you. I talked about it with my dad this weekend. He worked everything out with Isabelle.’ Her voice was calm but Allie could hear the nervous tremor just beneath the surface of her words.
    ‘Then un-work it. Because this isn’t happening.’
    Allie’s tone was ominous. Inside, she was reeling. How could Rachel do this? She wasn’t athletic. She was a brain. She’d be putting herself in danger, and for what? To fight Nathaniel? To fight Gabe ?
    She didn’t stand a chance. They’d kill her.
    ‘Allie.’ Nicole’s voice was quiet but her expressive eyes held a warning. ‘Rachel has the right to make her own decisions.’
    ‘No, she doesn’t,’ Allie snapped. ‘Not when it comes to this. I won’t have her here,