Conspiracy Boy (Angel Academy) Read Free Page A

of which made me feel like an obedient Guardian trainee. “Why? Are you asking as my trainer?”
    “I’m not your trainer.”
    “Why are you here, then? Dad put you on babysitting duty again?”
    Jack frowned. “Do you really think Bud would call me if he thought you were in trouble?”
    Honestly, I had no idea who my father would call if he thought I was in trouble. Since I’d been in trouble more often than not over the past decade, one would think he’d be used to it.
    In the distance, a purple haze shimmered over the city, signaling the coming dawn. Or maybe a ton of smog, I couldn’t tell.
    Jack frowned. “It’s Lisa, isn’t it?”
    All I could do was sigh. It bugged me that he could read me so well, especially when I didn’t want to be read.
    “Lisa contacted you, and you didn’t tell me. You went to Lyle for help instead,” he said, super quietly.
    “It’s not what you think.”
    “That you trust Lyle more than you trust me?” he said. “Because that’s what it looks like.”
    “It’s not.”
    “Then what?”
    “I don’t know—”
    “Are you planning something? Is it Luc? Just tell me.”
    “You’re never around,” I yelled.
    For a long time, he couldn’t answer. Since Jack had given up authority over me last fall, it was rare that he’d allow himself to be in a position of having to discipline me. Or listen to me. Or interact with me at all, actually. It might have made sense for us flying under the radar, but it sucked for my mental state.
    In silence, I pulled out the note Lisa had left for me and handed it to him.
    “Here. If you want to break up with me,” I said, watching his eyes absorb the text, “I won’t blame you. I won’t even be mad. But Jack, I can’t just sit around and let her get hunted. And I definitely can’t help the Elders. She may be our number-one most-wanted criminal, but she’s my sister. I need to find her.”
    He looked at the ground. “Amelie—”
    “It’s cool. Dad can buy me a bunch of cats, and I’ll dress them all in matching sweaters and be one of those psycho cat ladies who eats Spam and yells at the neighbor children,” I said. “I’ll keep to myself and mutter about government conspiracies and how evil hedgehogs are. You can go on avoiding me. In fact, you won’t ever have to see me again—”
    I had to stop then. Not because I was done with the self-pity rant, but because my lips were suddenly occupied with something way more compelling.
    “What are you doing?” I mumbled against his mouth.
    In silent answer, he slid his hands up my back and pulled me closer until the heat of his skin radiated through his shirt, warming my body.
    As long as I live, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sensation of being kissed by that boy. It’s like gravity, and fire, and jet propulsion, all wrapped in a warm, velvety package and topped with candy corn. My heart skittered to life as his lips brushed mine, as soft as I remembered and every bit as intoxicating.
    Within seconds, my mind quieted. My body went floppy in his arms as the vivid edge of a vision nudged my brain.
    Jack and I sat huddled in a small clearing with a narrow stream burbling nearby. A moss-covered cabin stood behind us, and a carefully laid fire cast soft licks of orange and red across our bodies. But that was nothing compared to the bond. It glowed brilliant gold beneath our skin, its threads snaking through me like a hug. And all I could feel was that overwhelming chorus of yes .
    Yes , this was right. Yes , this was where I needed to be. Yes , this was my future.
    He reached to tuck one side of my hair behind my ear. It was an oddly intimate gesture that left me feeling shaken and wobbly inside.
    While we’d kissed, a slow sheen of light had spread across Jack’s skin, liquid gold trickling up the veins on his wrist. And the longer I stood pressed against him, and the harder his fingertips dug into my hips, the more the air around us began to swirl and buzz and