House of Korba: The Ghost Bird Series: #7 (The Academy) Read Online Free
Author: C. L. Stone
Tags: Espionage, love triangle, Young Adult, spies, menage, young adult contemporary romance, multiple hero romance, reverse harem romance
me wondering if she was coming for me.
Since I started sleeping at Nathan’s house, I had new sounds to learn. It didn’t seem to matter where I was, the nightmares still followed.
But I had to put my own fears aside. “He’s after you,” I said quietly. I looked at Mr. Blackbourne, meeting his gray eyes. “This is a trap. If you show up, and there’s a bomb threat, it’s your fault. If you’re not there, and do what he says, he’s either setting a trap for you, or there’s something else.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” he said quietly. “We have a week to figure it out.”
“So this might be our last week?” Gabriel asked. “Is it wrong to hope so?”
“We’ve still got a job to do,” Dr. Green said. He smiled, the amusement flickering in his eyes. “And I think we’re smarter than he is. Or do I give you boys too much credit?”
The only answer was to figure out what Mr. Hendricks was up to before it happened. Otherwise, I might be trapped in a school without the boys.
I wasn’t sure I’d survive without them.
Rebuilding
––––––––
I left the boys to finish up their Academy discussions. I was tempted to linger, but I knew better than to listen in. Sometimes half listening was more dangerous.
But as I left the house, I wondered what else they needed to talk about that they couldn’t in front of me. Not only that, but Silas was out on a job and I hadn’t realized that was where he’d gone. I’d been with the other boys or at the diner, busy. It was hard to keep tabs on all nine of them. Now that I knew some of the secrets of the Academy, that jobs could be dangerous, it made me realize if they weren’t in front of me, they could actually be out there doing something which could lead to one of them being in the hospital, or worse.
While they often promised me that it was actually out of the ordinary for them to do things which were dangerous, I didn’t feel like I could fully believe it. Not when so much of what they did in front of me often resulted in one of us getting hurt.
With Mr. Hendricks after Mr. Blackbourne, I realized how close I was to possibly being the reason for the failure of their mission. Mr. Hendricks was using me to manipulate them. The only one he thought he had to get rid of was Mr. Blackbourne; he saw him as the most dangerous. Maybe he thought if Mr. Blackbourne left, the others would, too. I wasn’t sure how true that was.
Nathan’s house was a few doors down from mine on Sunnyvale Court. The single story brick house had a freshly cut front lawn and in the driveway was North’s black truck. The tailgate was down, and Nathan’s bathtub was sitting in the bed, tied into place for hauling.
The front door of the house was unlocked, and I walked in to the thundering crack of sledgehammers against drywall. I was surprised I recognized the sound for what it was. Not for the first time, I realized how much I’d changed, not just in attitude, but in how much I’d learned in the couple of months I’d been around the guys.
I found Nathan and North in the bathroom, taking out the wall of the closet. Both had their shirts off, their hair sprinkled with dust. I stood back, out of range of their swings. Nathan was a half a head shorter than North, but every bit of his body was defined detail of muscle, and his shoulders were wider. With his reddish-brown hair and blue eyes, I thought the term ruggedly handsome fit him best.
North wasn’t as defined as Nathan, but his torso was very impressive. A thick mess of coarse hair trailed from the waist of his black jeans up to meet with his belly button. With his wild eyes and the dark hair, he was fierce, even when doing ordinary things.
As North moved, something caught my eye. There was a spot on his chest that looked like a deep bruise. I stared at it, because the shape was strangely familiar. I couldn’t recall...had I hit him at some point and leave a mark? Did someone else hit him?
North swung
Since I started sleeping at Nathan’s house, I had new sounds to learn. It didn’t seem to matter where I was, the nightmares still followed.
But I had to put my own fears aside. “He’s after you,” I said quietly. I looked at Mr. Blackbourne, meeting his gray eyes. “This is a trap. If you show up, and there’s a bomb threat, it’s your fault. If you’re not there, and do what he says, he’s either setting a trap for you, or there’s something else.”
“We’ll find out soon enough,” he said quietly. “We have a week to figure it out.”
“So this might be our last week?” Gabriel asked. “Is it wrong to hope so?”
“We’ve still got a job to do,” Dr. Green said. He smiled, the amusement flickering in his eyes. “And I think we’re smarter than he is. Or do I give you boys too much credit?”
The only answer was to figure out what Mr. Hendricks was up to before it happened. Otherwise, I might be trapped in a school without the boys.
I wasn’t sure I’d survive without them.
Rebuilding
––––––––
I left the boys to finish up their Academy discussions. I was tempted to linger, but I knew better than to listen in. Sometimes half listening was more dangerous.
But as I left the house, I wondered what else they needed to talk about that they couldn’t in front of me. Not only that, but Silas was out on a job and I hadn’t realized that was where he’d gone. I’d been with the other boys or at the diner, busy. It was hard to keep tabs on all nine of them. Now that I knew some of the secrets of the Academy, that jobs could be dangerous, it made me realize if they weren’t in front of me, they could actually be out there doing something which could lead to one of them being in the hospital, or worse.
While they often promised me that it was actually out of the ordinary for them to do things which were dangerous, I didn’t feel like I could fully believe it. Not when so much of what they did in front of me often resulted in one of us getting hurt.
With Mr. Hendricks after Mr. Blackbourne, I realized how close I was to possibly being the reason for the failure of their mission. Mr. Hendricks was using me to manipulate them. The only one he thought he had to get rid of was Mr. Blackbourne; he saw him as the most dangerous. Maybe he thought if Mr. Blackbourne left, the others would, too. I wasn’t sure how true that was.
Nathan’s house was a few doors down from mine on Sunnyvale Court. The single story brick house had a freshly cut front lawn and in the driveway was North’s black truck. The tailgate was down, and Nathan’s bathtub was sitting in the bed, tied into place for hauling.
The front door of the house was unlocked, and I walked in to the thundering crack of sledgehammers against drywall. I was surprised I recognized the sound for what it was. Not for the first time, I realized how much I’d changed, not just in attitude, but in how much I’d learned in the couple of months I’d been around the guys.
I found Nathan and North in the bathroom, taking out the wall of the closet. Both had their shirts off, their hair sprinkled with dust. I stood back, out of range of their swings. Nathan was a half a head shorter than North, but every bit of his body was defined detail of muscle, and his shoulders were wider. With his reddish-brown hair and blue eyes, I thought the term ruggedly handsome fit him best.
North wasn’t as defined as Nathan, but his torso was very impressive. A thick mess of coarse hair trailed from the waist of his black jeans up to meet with his belly button. With his wild eyes and the dark hair, he was fierce, even when doing ordinary things.
As North moved, something caught my eye. There was a spot on his chest that looked like a deep bruise. I stared at it, because the shape was strangely familiar. I couldn’t recall...had I hit him at some point and leave a mark? Did someone else hit him?
North swung
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