Night School - Endgame Read Free Page B

forehead and stitched her scalp back together. Across the room, Rachel rested her head on Nicole’s shoulder.
    Everything was horrible. Everything was wrong.
    But Cimmeria was home. And this was the closest thing to normal Allie could imagine right now.
     
    A few hours later, Allie hurried down the school’s sweeping main staircase. After a shower and a change of clothes, she felt a little more like herself. Ready to figure out what to do now.
    Her head throbbed, and her hand strayed unconsciously towards the stitches in her scalp, now mostly hidden by her thick, golden-brown hair.
    She hadn’t taken the pain pills the doctor gave her. She wanted to keep her head clear.
    It was time to plan.
    When she reached the ground floor, she turned into the wide formal hallway. The polished, oak-panelled walls gleamed. Sunlight danced off the gilded frames of the oil paintings, making them sparkle. The crystal chandelier hanging above the wide staircase glittered like diamonds. The marble statues on the landing could have been carved from snow.
    Allie could never remember loving any place as much as she loved this school. But already she felt she was losing her grip on it.
    Without Lucinda, how could they stay here? She’d held this place together.
    And now she was gone.
    As she passed the headmistress’ office, tucked away under the grand central staircase, Allie’s footsteps hesitated. She knew she needed to talk to Isabelle – to explain her actions. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wasn’t ready to be that grown up yet.
    Still, she needed information now. She needed to talk to someone she could trust.
    At that moment, a guard walked by, dressed all in black. Allie caught his eye.
    ‘Where can I find Raj Patel?’
     
    Allie and Raj sat across from each other in the mostly empty common room. Allie perched on the edge of a deep leather sofa. Raj was in a chair, watching her with unreadable dark eyes, almond-shaped, exactly like Rachel’s. He’d come as soon as she’d asked for him, even though he must have been busy. And she saw no judgement in his expression.
    ‘I just have to understand what happened,’ Allie said.
    Raj didn’t look surprised by this.
    ‘The plan went smoothly,’ he said, ‘until it didn’t.’
    She listened quietly as he went over everything that had gone right. She and Carter had made their way across Hampstead Heath just before midnight, as planned. They’d found Allie’s grandmother right where she was supposed to be, on Parliament Hill. And Nathaniel had joined them only a few minutes later than expected.
    The mood had been calm – even jovial at times.
    Until Jerry and Gabe appeared, each holding a gun.
    ‘Lucinda left Jerry shackled in a van near the park,’ Raj explained. ‘He was guarded by two members of her personal security team. We don’t know how Nathaniel discovered the location she’d chosen. But he did. Her guards were overwhelmed. Jerry was freed.’
    Allie sagged back in her seat. It was so sickeningly obvious. The best plan foiled by the simplest means.
    The most complicated design in the world can be destroyed in seconds by a basic hammer.
    ‘Where did they get the guns?’ she asked.
    ‘Gabe, I’d imagine.’ Raj’s voice dripped distaste. ‘He’s the only one insane enough to bring guns to a parley.’
    Allie glanced at him. ‘You don’t think it was Nathaniel’s idea?’
    He shook his head. ‘I got a good look at Nathaniel when he saw those weapons – he didn’t seem happy.’
    This was a surprise. Nathaniel was a control freak. Surely he didn’t encourage off-roading among his minions.
    ‘As soon as we saw the guns we had to move,’ Raj continued. ‘I threw everything we had at them. And it worked. Eventually. But…’
    His voice trailed off and he rubbed his eyes.
    ‘But Lucinda was shot.’ Allie finished the thought for him. She leaned forward intently. ‘Raj, did anyone see who shot her? Was it Jerry?’
    Jerry Cole was the