The Trials (The Elite Series) Read Free Page B

ear.
    “Moore’s Flowers and More. This is Rebecca speaking. How may I help you?”
    “Hi, Mom.”
    “Connor, Oh hey , sweetie. How are you? How’s the new school?”
    “It’s good , I’m, ummm, I’m learning a lot already.”
    “ Great, how are your new coaches?”
    “ They’re awesome. My new coach’s name is… Morrigan, and she’s been helping me… adjust. How’s the store running without me? Are you all right?”
    “Connor, your mother is capable of running a store without you, you know. Everything is fine. Don’t worry about the shop. You just concentrate on school and sports. Have you made any friends yet?”
    “I think so. There are a few people starting to come around.”
    Connor heard his mother muffle the phone and whisper to someone in her store. “I’m sorry, I’ll be right with you. It’s my son… he just left for college and he’s calling me.”
    “Listen , I know you have to get going. I just wanted to say hi and tell you I’m okay.” Connor hesitated, but couldn’t help but think this could be the last conversation with his mother if he failed the first trial. “And I wanted to tell you how much I love you. More than love you, how much I respect you. I know it couldn’t have been easy to raise me by yourself and how much you’ve had to sacrifice for me. I’m going to make you proud. I won’t let you down.”
    The phone was silent on the other end. The n his mother’s voice came back full of emotion. “Connor, I don’t know what to say. I love you, too, son, and if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.”
    “I love you , Mom. I’ll call you again as soon as I can.”
    “Love you , too, Connor. Be safe.”
     
     

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    T he limousine continued to glide through rolling hills and open fields on the vast acreage of the Abelardus property. The sun was high overhead and the weather outside contrasted the mood inside the limo perfectly. Outside it was bright and fresh. Clean air seeped through the cracked windows and added an exciting breeze. Inside the limo it was dim, and the moods emitting out of Connor’s two traveling partners were bleak and foreboding.
    Randolph sat with his legs crossed next to an enormous designer suitcase. He tucked his phone away and now sat reading William Golding’s The Lord of the Flies .
    Lu was sitting next to Connor, silver aviator sunglasses facing out the window near Randolph ’s seat. Connor soon found himself wondering if Lu’s gaze was pointed at the European scenery or at their traveling partner. If Connor had to guess, Lu was thinking about the Catskill incident and how Randolph had been one of the Elites that ambushed him and his sister. They wouldn’t even be here now if Connor hadn’t interfered.
    “You were really going to kill us , weren’t you? I mean, in the forest a few days ago, you were going to kill me and my sister,” Lu said evenly to Randolph.
    Randolph didn’t even hesitate or lower his book to look at Lu. “Yes, we were. If it’s any consolation, I didn’t want to and it wasn’t my idea, but just like you, I will stand by my family until the end.”
    Lu looked over at Connor. “Well, at least the psychopath’s honest.”
    Connor, Lu , and Randolph sat in silence for the majority of the trip. After the limo exited the Abelardus’ extensive property, they pulled onto a highway, and now found themselves maneuvering through light traffic, old buildings on either side of the road.
    “Anyone hungry?” Lu asked. Not waiting for an answer from either one of them , he pushed a button near the handle of his door and spoke to the driver. “Can you pull over somewhere so we can grab a bite to eat, please?”
    “Yes , sir,” came the simple response from the other end as the car slowed down and exited the highway.
    Connor had only his eyes to tell him their location. Small buildings that looked like they were hundreds of years old were built almost on top of each other,