Night School: Resistance (Night School 4)

Eleven forty-seven.

She couldn’t wait any longer.

It was late enough.

She switched off the lights.

In the darkness, she made her way to the desk and climbed on top of it. The window was already open.

With easy assurance, she stepped out on to the ledge.

It was a clear summer night – cool but not cold. The air smelled faintly of pine and Allie took a deep, steadying breath as she balanced three storeys above the ground.

She’d performed this feat many times since coming to Cimmeria. The danger of it, the thrill of being one step from oblivion, was like an old friend and she smiled to herself as she felt her way across the face of the building.

You can forget how dangerous anything is if you do it often enough.

Sliding her feet along the ledge, she traced her fingertips across the rough brickwork, feeling for indentations that could provide a grip.

She was heading for a spot where the roof dipped low enough to make access fairly simple. But to get there she had to pass two windows. The first was Rachel’s.

When she reached it, the window was open but the lights were off. Feeling a bit guilty for not telling Rachel what she was up to, she slid past it with silent steps.

She was just about to move on when she heard soft voices floating through the window.

Allie’s brow furrowed. Who was Rachel talking to in the dark?

She stopped on the far side of the window to listen. The voices were both female. But they were speaking so quietly it was impossible to make out words. Then she heard a soft peal of musical laughter, like bells ringing. She knew that laugh. Rachel was talking to Nicole.

A quick pinprick of jealousy pierced her.

She knew she was being unreasonable. Nicole and Rachel were both science geeks and they’d always had a kind of steady respect for each other’s intellect.

Now that Rachel was in Night School, they must be getting closer, that was all.

As she hurried away from the window, Allie told herself that this was a good thing. Nicole was brilliant in Night School. She was really looking out for Rachel.

But the voice in her head wouldn’t be quiet.

I’m right next door. Why didn’t Rachel come to me?

The next window she passed was closed. Through the glass all she could see was the wooden shutter inside. Cimmeria had lots of empty bedrooms now.

Just beyond that was the low dip in the roof. Making her way to it, she reached up to get a grip on the tiles.

At that precise moment, someone reached down and grabbed her wrist.

Allie stifled a scream.

Instinctively she pulled back, losing her balance. Her heart pounding, she teetered on the narrow ledge, scrambling for a foothold.

But the hand on her wrist was solid as stone.

‘Allie, it’s me.’ In the darkness above her, Sylvain peered down at her. ‘Jump. I’ll pull you up.’

Allie didn’t move. His grip was strong but death waited below her if his hand slipped. Her life would be in his hands.

Her heart pounded a staccato rhythm.

‘Don’t let go.’ She warned him.

His eyes were locked on hers. ‘Never.’

Jump.

Still, she hesitated. She didn’t know why she was afraid. If Sylvain was basically her boyfriend now, shouldn’t she trust him more than anyone?

Taking a deep breath, she jumped.

Using her upward velocity as an aid, he pulled her on to the roof with such ease it felt like flying.

She landed hard on the slate tiles beside him.

He steadied her, one arm around her waist. Her body pressed against his as she sought her balance. The jump had sent adrenaline racing through her bloodstream, heightening her awareness of every point of contact between them. She felt as if she was pressed against a flame.

Swallowing hard, she tried to act normal.

‘Bloody hell, Sylvain,’ she complained. ‘You scared the life out of me.’

‘I thought you’d seen me,’ he said. Loosening his hold on her, he motioned for her to follow. ‘Come over here. The night is so clear. The stars are incredible.’

A breeze blew her hair as she followed him up one of the roof’s steep peaks.

‘Are you certain we’re OK up here?’ Allie whispered as they walked.

‘It’s safe,’ he said. ‘No guards.’

‘I haven’t been up here in ages.’ She stepped cautiously over a loose ceiling tile.

‘It’s not easy to be alone now,’ Sylvain said. ‘We’re constantly watched. But I noticed the guards don’t patrol the roof. This may be the only place.’

They stood at the base of a gigantic, Victorian chimney that soared ten feet above their heads. Sylvain leaned back against it with insouciant style. He might have been standing beside a swimming pool instead of on the roof of a school in the middle of the night.

His confidence was undeniably sexy. Butterflies swirled in Allie’s stomach.