She handed them to Julian, who held them out.
Nathaniel ignored the papers, cocking his head to one side and studying Allie intently. Finally, he plucked the pages from his hand and unfolded them. Then he slipped them into the pocket of the tasteful grey blazer.
‘Well this is unexpected,’ he said, not hiding his suspicion. ‘I’d love to know what made you change your mind.’
When Allie said nothing, he turned his attention back to Julian. ‘What do you stand to gain from this, Julian?’
While he was distracted, the guard next to Allie pulled her back again, putting more space between her and Nathaniel. Allie didn’t glance up at him; her attention was focused on Nathaniel.
‘Nothing in particular,’ Julian was saying mildly. ‘I’d like to see the end of this unpleasantness as much you.’
At that moment, Nathaniel’s phone buzzed. Frowning, he pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the message. His face darkened and he held the phone up – its screen glowed blue in the night.
‘What the hell is this, Julian?’
This was the moment they’d been waiting for. The key to Isabelle and Julian’s plans.
Allie held her breath.
‘That,’ Julian said, ‘is the other issue we wish to discuss with you.’
‘These are resignation notices,’ Nathaniel said, as if Julian hadn’t spoken. ‘From Orion. Including yours.’ He scrolled through them faster and faster. ‘There are dozens of them.’ He glowered at them. ‘Explain yourself Julian or I swear to God…’
Julian held up his hands. ‘This is why we’re here, Nathaniel. As you can see, Miss Sheridan is not the only person leaving Orion. Many of us will be leaving with her. Those who have unfortunately disagreed with you over the direction the organisation should take.’
‘This is insane.’
But Allie thought Nathaniel had begun to look pale. He clearly hadn’t expected anything like this.
His sudden nervousness emboldened her.
‘You should be happy, Nathaniel,’ she said. ‘We’ll be out of your way forever. I will never vote against you in Orion because I won’t be in it. You can run the group as you wish, without interference from now on.’
‘Think of it, Nathaniel.’ Julian’s voice was warm, convincing. ‘You’ll have absolute control. The power will be… immense.’
Nathaniel let that sink in. His eyes glittered.
‘What do you want in return?’ he asked. ‘You won’t just give me everything I want and walk away. There’s bound to be a price.’
‘Oh of course.’ Julian’s tone was mild. ‘It’s nothing much.’ He held up both his hands, his long fingers stretched out flat. ‘You’re standing on it.’
‘You want the school.’ Nathaniel’s voice was flat.
Allie hazarded a glance at Isabelle. She was watching him closely, eyes intense.
‘That’s right,’ Julian said. ‘It’s all we ask. Sell Cimmeria to us for a very fair price, and we will give you everything you ever wanted.’
‘And if I don’t sell it to you?’ Nathaniel’s voice was tight.
‘Oh, I’m certain it won’t come to that,’ Julian said. ‘But if you refused you should know there would be ramifications. Our combined wealth exceeds yours. We would fight you every step of the way. Devoting ourselves to making the organisation so dysfunctional and unhappy your leadership would become infamous. Leaving you, in the end, with no organisation. No school. Nothing.’
Allie couldn’t imagine where the ruthlessness in his tone had come from. It had just appeared, bone-chilling and devastating.
She shivered.
The guard nudged her again. Another step back.
This was getting irritating. Everything was going smoothly but he’d now pushed her back so far it was difficult to see what was happening. She’d ended up behind all the guards. Julian and Nathaniel were both hidden from her view.
Why was he being so protective?
Puzzled, she glanced up at him. He was staring at Nathaniel, utterly alert. His face wasn’t at all familiar.
The fine hairs on the back of Allie’s neck rose. It was her only warning.
He grabbed her, wrapping a hand tightly across her mouth so she couldn’t scream and lifting her off her feet. Spinning her skilfully away when she kicked.
Even as she struggled in his grip, Allie was working through what had happened.The guard behind her must have been one of Nathaniel’s men – they dressed largely the same as Raj’s. He’d slipped in behind them while everyone was focused on Nathaniel.
In all the excitement, no one had noticed an extra guard.
She struggled in the man’s grasp, but he was very strong. Her feet were off the ground. She hated the feel of his fingers against her mouth, she could taste the salt of his skin on her tongue.
She kept thinking someone would notice but he’d carried her behind a line of decorative hedges now, and no one could see them.
His hand over her mouth and nose was making it hard for her to breathe. They were getting closer to Nathaniel’s cars.