Resist Read Online Free

he asks, his tone reproachful.
    “The screens have been tampered with,” Niamh snaps. No one but Cain Knavery’s daughter could get away with speaking like this to the general of the pod’s army.
    He arches an eyebrow. “You, leave us,” he tells Todd, who’s finally found his way into his T-shirt.
    “So, I’ll get an air tank from the basement, yeah?” Todd says. Everyone, including Niamh, ignores him.
    Jude closes his eyes and massages the lids. “Go help your boyfriend, Niamh,” he says.
    “ Excuse me?” Her jaw drops and she takes several moments to be deeply offended. “You’re in my house.”
    “Please, Niamh. Let me speak to Jude.” I dip my head to one side, and she stomps out of the room after Todd.
    Jude stands up, slides his hands into his pockets, and rocks back and forth, side to side, in his dirty boots. The creamy marble floor is covered in muck he’s carried through the house. “It’s important you’re safe. We’ll keep snipers on the roof for another couple of days, and I strongly advise you to stay indoors,” Jude says. He is broad and tall, but he looks unusually tired and defeated.
    “Do you think I need a babysitter?” I ask.
    “I don’t doubt you’re able to take care of yourself. It’s a precaution, that’s all.” I’ve been training under Jude Caffrey with the Special Forces since I was thirteen and he knows I could take down an assailant with two fingers. And I did—just days ago at The Grove.
    Jude moves to the sink, turns on the tap, and puts his neck under the running water. He shakes his head and stands up straight, the water running into his shirt collar. Then he pushes his thinning hair out of his face with wet hands and clasps them behind his back. He’s stalling, I realize, and my gut aches. What is he so reluctant to tell me?
    “The pod’s gone mad. You know the auxiliaries have rebelled,” he says.
    “They have every reason to,” I snap. I’ve never questioned what the Ministry stands for, but that was before seeing the trees at The Grove, before destroying them at Jude’s command.
    He looks like he’s about to say something, then changes his mind. I take a short breath. “Where’s my father?”
    He pinches the bridge of his nose, and I brace myself against the wall because it’s obvious why Jude’s so nervous. My ears ring. “Your father’s dead, Ronan,” he says.
    I wince at the words. My muscles tense. “What?” I say. I’ve heard him; I need time to take it in, that’s all.
    “I’m sorry,” he says.
    “Yes,” I say. I stay on my feet, which is more than I managed when Wendy told me my mother was gone. All I could do back then was moan into the kitchen floor. Today I retain my balance. And my composure.
    But I’m so damn thirsty. My mouth is dryer than ever. I return to the fridge, get the jug and drink straight from its lip, juice spilling across my mouth and all over my shirt. Jude takes the jug from me. His jacket is missing a button. A loose thread hangs where it should be. I focus hard on it. I have to focus on something. Maybe the button was ripped off at The Grove.
    “You’re in shock. Sit down,” he says. He’s probably right. And if I’m feeling like this, how will Niamh take it?
    She doesn’t know, and I’ll be the one to tell her. The air seems to have thinned. I pull at my collar.
    Jude leads me to the dining table, where he lowers me into a low chair. “Breathe slowly,” he says. I push him away. I don’t want his hands on me.
    “I knew something like this must have happened,” I admit. I take large gulps of air as the words dead and forever spin in my head. I wasn’t my father’s favorite, and we weren’t friends. Still, I didn’t want this.
    “At the press conference, Quinn started a—well, your father was mobbed and attacked, but it was a heart attack that killed him. By the time the medics arrived, it was too late.”
    “What should I do?” I ask. I need him to tell me what life looks like