Jenna Black - Resistance

“Is there something I can do for you, Miss Lake?” Mari asked, glancing pointedly at her watch. Most retreat guests were in bed by now.

Nadia smiled and hoped she didn’t look as anxious as she felt. The last thing she needed was to make Mari suspicious.

“No, thank you,” she said. “I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d stop by the library and get a new book.”

She couldn’t tell from Mari’s expression whether she was buying it or not.

“Poor dear,” Mari said, still with the same expression of false cheer. Her face had probably frozen that way. “Would you like a cup of chamomile tea? Works great for me when I have trouble sleeping.”

“No, thanks.” God, this woman was annoying. Nadia wasn’t sure if she was genuinely trying to be helpful or if she was just nosy. “Curling up with a good book is what does it for me.”

“All right. You let me know if you change your mind.”

“I’ll do that,” Nadia promised, then practically bolted from the hall.

Shaken by what felt like a close call, Nadia dutifully stopped by the library and picked up a book. At least this way if she wound up bumping into Mari again on her way back in, she’d have evidence that she’d been to the library as she’d claimed. How she would explain being gone so long—especially if Mari asked the librarian how long Nadia had been there—she wasn’t yet sure.

Book tucked under her arm, Nadia slipped out of the building and made her way across the grounds. Clouds had rolled in since last she was outdoors. The grass was damp, and the air smelled of wet earth. Nadia hadn’t noticed it raining, but she supposed that wasn’t surprising when she’d been lost in thought. A quick glance up at the sky revealed no hint of moon or stars, but she had no way of knowing if those clouds portended more rain.

Dante was waiting for her when she arrived at their rendezvous, and once again, he was inside the fence. She would have scolded him for taking unnecessary risks, except she was so glad to see him she found herself greeting him with a hug instead. She accidentally thumped him on the back with the book, and he laughed as he obliged her by slipping his arms around her.

“Is that a book in your hand, or are you just glad to see me?” he teased, and Nadia smiled against his chest, surprised at how natural it felt to hold him like that.

“I didn’t realize the two were mutually exclusive.”

Keeping an arm around her shoulders, Dante guided her into the cover of the woods. He impressed her with his sense of direction by heading straight to the fallen tree they’d sat on the previous night. Like everything else around them, it was damp from the rain, but Dante opened up his raincoat and invited her to sit intimately close beside him.

“You’re early,” Dante commented.

“So are you.” She’d expected to have to wait for him, but she certainly wasn’t unhappy that she didn’t have to. “How long have you been here?”

She felt his shrug. “A while. I parked closer tonight than I have before. I don’t want to leave the car in the same place every night. Someone might notice.”

His words reminded her once again how much of a risk Dante was taking by coming here every night. Maybe he was right, and his position as a security spy would allow him to talk himself out of trouble, but she didn’t imagine his superiors in the department would be too happy about his extracurricular activities. She wasn’t even sure his resistance superiors would be happy about them. What vital information could he possibly learn from a girl who was completely cut off from her Executive life?

“You shouldn’t keep coming here,” she said, though even she could hear how halfhearted her protest was. She wanted to do the honorable thing and urge him to protect himself, but she wasn’t sure how she could face her current situation without his visits to look forward to.

“I want to,” he said simply. “I always thought Executives lived the good life, but I can see with my own two eyes that they’re treating you like shit. Um, I mean dirt.”

She glanced up at his face and saw his wince. It made her smile. “You think I’ve never heard the word ‘shit’ before?” she teased. “I’ve also heard ‘fuck,’ and—”

Dante laughed and covered his ears. “Stop! You’re shattering my illusions!”

She gave him an answering grin, even as she thought to herself sadly that with her fall from grace, she would never have to censor her language again. Her fellow inmates at the Executive retreat might look down their noses at her if she let something “unladylike” slip out of her mouth, but it would be nothing compared to the reaction she’d have gotten out in the public world. Executive girls did not swear. That didn’t mean she’d never been exposed to bad language, both on the net and from real people. Bishop, in particular, had gone out of his way to be offensive whenever he thought he could get away with it.

She snuggled more closely against Dante’s side as the humor drained out of her. “You haven’t by any chance heard anything else about what my parents are going to do with me, have you?” Perhaps it was disloyal of her to encourage Dante to spy on her parents, but since she figured he’d be doing it anyway, it couldn’t hurt to try to find out what he’d learned.

Dante rubbed up and down her arm in a comforting gesture. “I don’t think they’ve even spoken to each other since yesterday. They were both pretty angry. Your mother and your sister went a couple rounds this evening, I think, but by the time I got close enough to hear what they were saying, they’d stopped. Don’t give up hope. You’ve got people in your court.”

Nadia made a vague sound of agreement, but she wasn’t what you’d call convinced. Gerri was a more formidable opponent than their father, but even she had trouble standing up to their mother. And, of course, she had her children to think about. If Nadia remained in the public eye, the taint of her scandal would trickle down to every member of her family. Right now, her niece and nephew were too young to understand and be hurt by it, but when they got older, they would be subject to the taunts of jealous peers.

Nadia was already feeling gloomy enough that the first drop of rain spattering on the tip of her nose seemed only fitting. More drops quickly followed.

“Damn it!” Dante cursed, then started wriggling around. Nadia had no idea what he was doing until he managed to work one of his arms out of the sleeve of his coat. “Put this on.”

Nadia shook her head and put her hand on his arm to stop him before he could go any further. “I won’t melt,” she told him as it started raining harder.

She read the stubborn jut of his chin before the next words left his mouth. “You can’t go back to the retreat all wet.”

She didn’t let go of his arm, and with her sitting on part of his coat already, she had him fairly well hobbled. “It’s a lost cause. Even if I put your coat on and raise the hood, my feet and legs will still get wet. If someone sees me coming in, they’ll know I’ve been outside.” Not to mention that the book she’d taken from the library was already starting to feel soggy.

Dante looked so stricken she couldn’t resist reaching up and running her fingers down his cheek. “There’s no rule that says I can’t go out wandering in the rain at midnight if I want to,” she assured him. “I’m not going to get into any trouble.”

She would have to be extra careful about any future midnight forays, because the staff would probably be suspicious of her explanation. She’d definitely be worried that someone was watching her. But that wasn’t the same as getting in trouble, and she only had to worry about it if someone actually saw her.