all, there’s the matter of your parents—you can’t simply run away and cause an international incident. There’d be a massive Shelby hunt, which would only make things worse. Secondly, we need to figure out a way no one will know you’re with us.”
“Right,” I said bitterly, “we can’t have the trail lead to you. We just let old Shelby rot here until she goes furry. And save the Bridges dynasty.”
Austin’s eyes flashed a warning. “Don’t take this lightly, Shelby. Taking out either one of us here at Steinfelder would be easy compared to snapping you up in the middle of Beverly Hills or picking one of my family off in the London streets. I never thought I’d be thankful for the paparazzi, but without them, we are much easier targets.”
“Targets? We’re actually targets?”
He nodded grimly. “You remember the so-called hunting accident my mother had when I was a boy? A few weeks after it happened, my father got a postcard in the mail, a plain white card with a medieval shield of arms on one side—the insignia of the Seven Horsemen. They had something to do with Mum’s death. Dad could never prove it, but he’s always been sure.”
A chill rippled through me. “So they could be watching us right now, waiting for a moment to kill you. What are you even doing here?” I hit him on the shoulder.
“I’m bloody well here for you,” Austin said, rubbing where I smacked him.
“Well, you won’t be if you get shot!”
He reached up to touch my cheek. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a fast runner.”
“So am I. I’m going with you tonight.”
“No. You’ll stay. I’ll find a way to get you out. Summon your patience.”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m not very patient.”
“Please try to be this once,” he said, slowly moving his lips toward mine.
In his kiss, I sensed his real fear for me. When he pulled away, I wrapped my arms around him, not wanting him to go. He untangled himself from me and planted a kiss on my forehead before turning away. As he closed the door of the carriage house, he glanced back at me one last time, eyes glittering.
He didn’t say I love you, but I felt it in that look just the same. I was his and he was going to protect me. It was going to be hard to be patient with all the worry swirling around in my heart and head. I just wanted us to be together, away from this awful place.
I waited until Austin’s footsteps faded, and then I pushed open the carriage house door. His boot tracks led toward the front of the school, but snow was falling again and would cover them before long. I retraced my steps to the kitchen. Once I had my snow clothes off and stowed in the girls’ bathroom again, I tiptoed down the hallway to my room. As I got under the covers, Marie-Rose moaned in her sleep but didn’t wake up.
I shut my eyes and tried not to think about all that had happened. About all the danger we were in, about how this school, this whole thing, had been a big setup. I focused on Austin, on the fact that we’d be together soon.
And my eyelids were softly closing when I heard the first gunshot.
***
In nightgowns and pajamas, every girl at Steinfelder crowded into the living room and tried to peer out into the darkness. Several of the girls came from families with private security forces and knew all too well the sound of high-powered rifles. There had definitely been shots fired.
As gossip buzzed around the room, I sat away from the group, in an armchair, shivering under a blanket. I couldn’t get warm. I was too worried about Austin. The shots had to have been directed at him. I tucked the blanket tighter around my legs, willing my shaking to stop. I just knew that he was out there in the frigid night, bleeding or worse. And I was probably the next target.
Madame LaCroix, wearing a bathrobe that looked like a Chinese tapestry, set down the walkie-talkie in her
“Right,” I said bitterly, “we can’t have the trail lead to you. We just let old Shelby rot here until she goes furry. And save the Bridges dynasty.”
Austin’s eyes flashed a warning. “Don’t take this lightly, Shelby. Taking out either one of us here at Steinfelder would be easy compared to snapping you up in the middle of Beverly Hills or picking one of my family off in the London streets. I never thought I’d be thankful for the paparazzi, but without them, we are much easier targets.”
“Targets? We’re actually targets?”
He nodded grimly. “You remember the so-called hunting accident my mother had when I was a boy? A few weeks after it happened, my father got a postcard in the mail, a plain white card with a medieval shield of arms on one side—the insignia of the Seven Horsemen. They had something to do with Mum’s death. Dad could never prove it, but he’s always been sure.”
A chill rippled through me. “So they could be watching us right now, waiting for a moment to kill you. What are you even doing here?” I hit him on the shoulder.
“I’m bloody well here for you,” Austin said, rubbing where I smacked him.
“Well, you won’t be if you get shot!”
He reached up to touch my cheek. “Don’t worry about me. I’m a fast runner.”
“So am I. I’m going with you tonight.”
“No. You’ll stay. I’ll find a way to get you out. Summon your patience.”
“If you haven’t noticed, I’m not very patient.”
“Please try to be this once,” he said, slowly moving his lips toward mine.
In his kiss, I sensed his real fear for me. When he pulled away, I wrapped my arms around him, not wanting him to go. He untangled himself from me and planted a kiss on my forehead before turning away. As he closed the door of the carriage house, he glanced back at me one last time, eyes glittering.
He didn’t say I love you, but I felt it in that look just the same. I was his and he was going to protect me. It was going to be hard to be patient with all the worry swirling around in my heart and head. I just wanted us to be together, away from this awful place.
I waited until Austin’s footsteps faded, and then I pushed open the carriage house door. His boot tracks led toward the front of the school, but snow was falling again and would cover them before long. I retraced my steps to the kitchen. Once I had my snow clothes off and stowed in the girls’ bathroom again, I tiptoed down the hallway to my room. As I got under the covers, Marie-Rose moaned in her sleep but didn’t wake up.
I shut my eyes and tried not to think about all that had happened. About all the danger we were in, about how this school, this whole thing, had been a big setup. I focused on Austin, on the fact that we’d be together soon.
And my eyelids were softly closing when I heard the first gunshot.
***
In nightgowns and pajamas, every girl at Steinfelder crowded into the living room and tried to peer out into the darkness. Several of the girls came from families with private security forces and knew all too well the sound of high-powered rifles. There had definitely been shots fired.
As gossip buzzed around the room, I sat away from the group, in an armchair, shivering under a blanket. I couldn’t get warm. I was too worried about Austin. The shots had to have been directed at him. I tucked the blanket tighter around my legs, willing my shaking to stop. I just knew that he was out there in the frigid night, bleeding or worse. And I was probably the next target.
Madame LaCroix, wearing a bathrobe that looked like a Chinese tapestry, set down the walkie-talkie in her
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