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Uncertainty swirls in his gray eyes, and it looks like he wants to ask more questions, but all he says is, “Okay.”
“And Jacques?”
I pause, making the silence stretch until he is shifting his weight uncomfortably. Letting a bit more of Enrico Morelli shine through, I stare him down with commanding eyes.
“Yes?” he asks nervously.
“If you linger instead of going straight back to the gun range, I will shoot you in the head.” It’s not even a threat. Just a simple statement of facts. “Understood?”
He must realize how dead serious I am about that, because his face pales slightly. “I understand.”
“Good. Make sure she’s there tomorrow afternoon, or I will come after you instead.”
“She’ll be there. I swear.”
“Excellent.” A smile that is more threat than anything else slides across my mouth. “Have a good Sunday.”
Before he can reply, I turn around and stalk back to the street. Rolling my shoulders, I straighten my spine as I start back towards our house.
I draw in a deep breath to block out the last remnants of those inconvenient feelings that I have for Isabella. The time for half-measures and talk is over. It’s time for answers. It’s time to do what I should have done the moment I saw her.
Releasing a long exhale, I watch the first faint light of dawn push the darkness away from the horizon.
The decision is made and now the plan is in motion.
Tomorrow, I will show Isabella why she really should have killed me that night six years ago.
31
ISABELLA
Even though I’m fairly confident that Derek and Sebastian are in fact not lurking in these woods, I still remain alert and discreetly sweep my gaze back and forth as I follow Jacques, the third-year who is the informal leader of our team, deeper into the forest outside Blackwater.
“We’ll be doing several short tests in here today,” he says.
I quickly shift my attention to him instead. “Okay.”
“I need to get a sense of where everyone’s skill level is at before we can start training for real, so I need to see how well you all can actually handle yourselves in the woods.”
Which means that I need to quickly figure out the rules and scope of these tests so that I can make a plan for how to complete them in the most average way possible.
“That makes sense,” I reply before adding casually, “What will the tests be like?”
“I’ll fill you in before each one.”
Damn it. Then I will need to improvise before each one. But since I can’t show any irritation, I just shrug. “Alright.”
We continue in silence.
Thick gray clouds cover the sky today, painting the forest in bleak hues. But it thankfully doesn’t look like it’s going to rain. Or at least, it didn’t when we went into the forest. In here, the canopy is so thick that I can barely see the sky through the mass of leaves.
I flick another glance towards Jacques, debating whether to press for more specific details of the first test at least. When he contacted me last night, he told me to wear clothes fit for the woods, so I put on my boots, a pair of long pants, and a thin long-sleeved shirt. All in colors that would help me blend in between the trees. And he told me to not bring any equipment or weapons. Which means that this will most likely be a test that involves staying hidden or finding someone else who is hiding.
After a while, a small clearing becomes visible. I raise my eyebrows as we walk into it. There is a tall rock wall on the other side of the open stretch of grass. It blocks the way forward.
Fucking hell, don’t tell me that we’re climbing that. It’s one thing to fake being mediocre at hiding. But if I have to pretend to be bad at climbing a sheer rock wall, I might get myself seriously injured.
“Alright, we’re here,” Jacques says, and stops about halfway between the tree line and the rock wall.
