The Perimeter (19 page)

Jamie and the others did as they were bid and filed out of their quarters. As they exited the room, others joined them in the corridors, everyone moving slowly and surely toward the outdoor central arena.

Once Jamie and his brothers reached the arena, it quickly began to fill up. More trainees joined them, along with the robed warriors and their trainers. Row-upon-row of them. Hundreds became thousands. Only inches separated each person and it soon became warm. Uncomfortably so. The smell of earth and sweat hung thick in the air, and dust fogged Jamie’s vision where so many feet had disturbed the dry earth. A relay of barking coughs started up and then gradually grew silent. There was no murmuring or whispering speculation as you might expect. The soldiers remained still, eyes facing forward. Then, through the heavy silence, the loudspeaker squealed to life.

Chapter Twenty Two

Riley

Despite the apparent civility between us and the gypsies, Luc’s left heel jigged up and down – a sure sign that he wasn’t relaxed. This small show of insecurity endeared him toward me again and I remembered the Luc who was my friend, the Luc I trusted, before all the weirdness had started up between us. And now I’d brought him into this place. A place he didn’t want to be. But he’d come anyway. Because of me.

I tried to catch his eye, but he was on alert, scoping out the immediate vicinity while keeping one eye on Reece and his buddies. His jawbone flexed and his eyes narrowed. I could see him working out escape routes and contingency plans in his head.

‘Riley, got a minute to talk?’ It was Reece.

‘Yeah, sure,’ I said. I felt Luc tense up some more.

‘Alone,’ Reece said.

I raised my eyebrows, not sure how to answer.

‘Why alone?’ Luc asked Reece, his eyes narrowing further. ‘Why can’t you say what you need to say here? In front of me.’

He ignored Luc, his eyes resting on me, waiting for my reply.

‘It’s okay, Luc,’ I said. ‘I’ll only be a sec. Okay?’

Luc scowled as Reece and I rose and left the circle. Reece led me a little way off, out of earshot of the rest of them before speaking. He leant in close, his breath warm on my ear.

‘What’s the deal with your friend?’ he asked.

‘Who? Luc?’

‘He doesn’t like me,’ Reece said. ‘And he doesn’t like you being here. Is he going to cause us any trouble? Should we be worried about him?’

‘Luc? No, definitely not. He’s just looking out for me, that’s all.’

‘You and him together then?’

I considered his question – were Luc and I together? No. I didn’t think we were. The thought made me die a little inside. I wondered why Reece was even asking me such a question.

‘No,’ I said. ‘No, we’re not together.’

‘Good,’ Reece replied. And then he smiled, his shoulders relaxing. ‘Send him home and stay a while. I’ll drop you back later.’

Why was he being so nice? And then I realised . . . Oh no, did he
like
me? No. He couldn’t. This was Reece, who’d made it abundantly clear he didn’t want me around.

His invitation to stay here without Luc made my stomach flip, but not in a good way.

‘Thanks,’ I said, ‘but I can’t. I have to get back. My Pa . . . There’s too much to do at home.’

‘Just one drink then. One for the road. Lou can entertain your friend while we talk.’

‘I don’t think Luc will want to . . .’

‘Lou!’ Reece called out, cutting me off. ‘Give Riley’s friend a tour of The Walls. Show him the sights.’ And then he casually placed his arm around my shoulders. I froze.

‘Another time, Reece,’ I stammered. ‘I really have to get back.’

‘You really don’t,’ he whispered in my ear.

Whatever I’d thought about Reece before – about his charm and his looks – I definitely wasn’t feeling it now. His arm around me felt proprietorial and threatening and I was pretty sure it was only done to piss Luc off.

It worked.

Luc stood and strode toward us, a snarl distorting his face. Lou followed, putting a restraining hand on his arm. ‘What’s going on, Reece?’ she asked.

‘Yeah, Reece,’ Luc said. ‘What’s going on?’ His voice sounded quiet and measured, though his expression was murderous. ‘Nothing’s going on,’ Reece said, a smile curling on his lips. ‘Just thought you might like a tour of the place. Riley’s already had the honour, so it’d be a bit boring for her. But I can keep her company while you and Lou have a wander round.’

‘Riley,’ Luc said. ‘Why’s that
gypsy
got his arm around you?’

‘Not sure I like the tone of your voice, mate,’ Reece said, tightening his hold on me and tilting his head. ‘You’re a guest here, you need to show a little more respect.’

A couple of Reece’s friends rose to their feet, all pretence at friendliness forgotten. The whole place had suddenly grown quieter.

‘Guys,’ Lou said. ‘Let’s take it easy, yeah? We’re not enemies. There’s a bigger threat out there. We need to get things sorted before Grey’s hoodies show up.’

‘Riley,’ Luc said. ‘We should get going.’

He and Reece glared at each other and I prayed nothing would come of it. Luc would get battered, or worse, if things kicked off. Luc’s fingers flexed and I held my breath. Reece’s grip on my shoulders meant that it wouldn’t be easy to extricate myself without him losing face. And if Reece felt humiliated, that would only make the situation worse. This thing would escalate out of all proportion if I didn’t do something to stop it.

‘Thanks, Reece,’ I said, with what I hoped was a flirty smile. ‘I’ll come and have a drink with you another time, but I can’t right now. Not with everything that’s going on. I have to get back.’

Lou caught my eye and raised an eyebrow. ‘Reece,’ she said. ‘Shall I go and start warning people about Grey’s men? Do you want us to post more lookouts?’

I could have kissed her for attempting to help me out.

Reece’s hold on me loosened as he stared at the faces around him, looking for some kind of leadership. He cleared his throat. ‘Yeah,’ he said to Lou. ‘We need to call up the council. We’ll meet in fifteen minutes round the back.’ He finally dropped his hand from around my shoulder. ‘Riley,’ he murmured. ‘Sorry, but that drink will have to wait. There’s too much to sort out here at the moment.’

‘That’s a shame,’ I said. ‘But we’ll do it another time.’
Like hell we will
, I thought.

‘I’ll hold you to it,’ he replied, tipping my chin up with his finger. ‘You’re not a girl to break your word are you?’

I shook my head. ‘Course not.’

Luc took another step closer, murder in his eyes, but I stepped between him and Reece, took Luc’s hand and pulled him away toward the exit.

‘I’ll show you both the way out,’ Lou said quickly.

Reece’s friends sank back into their cushions as he sauntered back to join them. I couldn’t believe I’d actually been attracted to him. What had I been thinking? Yes, he was good looking, but he was also intimidating and, as I’d just discovered, a bit of a bully. He scared me.

As we made our way out of the marquee, Luc’s hand dug painfully into mine. He pulled me along, anger radiating off him and I wasn’t looking forward to the conversation we were about to have.

‘You okay?’ Lou said. ‘Awkward, or what.’ She gave a nervous laugh.

‘Yeah,’ I replied. ‘Just a bit.’

‘What are you boys like?’ Lou smirked.

Luc’s scowl deepened.

‘No offence,’ she said to him, ‘but I think it’s probably best if you don’t come back to The Walls.’

‘You think?’ Luc replied.

‘Thanks for coming though,’ she said. ‘It was good of you to warn us about Grey. We’re grateful, even if things did get awkward back there.’

Once Lou had walked us safely back to the AV and waved us goodbye, I realised what an idiot I’d been. I’d been so keen to prove Luc wrong about Lou and the gypsies, to show him I knew better, that I hadn’t once considered his safety. I was glad I’d warned Lou, but that was it.

‘What the hell, Riley,’ he spat once we were in the AV. ‘What
was
that? Are you and that moron together or something?’

‘Of course not. I just didn’t want to make him angry, that’s all. You two looked like you were about to beat the crap out of each other. I’m sorry,’ I said. ‘I shouldn’t have asked you to go there.’

Luc didn’t speak. I was pretty sure I’d pissed him off for good. But part of me dared to hope he might’ve been just a tiny bit jealous. I started up the engine and we headed back to the perimeter in silence.

If I’d had any hope that our afternoon trip together might have mended mine and Luc’s relationship, I was wrong. It had pushed us still further apart and shown Luc that I wasn’t worth his effort. I didn’t blame him for being mad with me. After everything that had happened, I’d only succeeded in making things even worse between us. And now we had to go home to try and save our settlement from a crazy boy with a God complex. I bit back an irrational wave of laughter. Maybe I was losing it.

I drove slowly, not wanting to reach our destination, not wanting to think anything or feel anything because it was all too bloody depressing.

‘Stop the car,’ Luc said.

‘Huh? What?’ I replied.

‘The car. Stop the car.’

I did as he asked and brought the AV to a reluctant halt.

We were in the middle of nowhere, the Charminster Compound a dim shape behind us and our home not yet in sight. The December afternoon was ending early with a darkening sky and a bleeding sun. A couple of birds streaked through snow clouds in the direction of the perimeter.

I was sick of everything. Sick of trying to do the right thing. Sick of trying to help people. Sick of trying to get Luc to like me. Sick of the whole situation. But I had to keep it together for a short while longer. I’d let Luc have his say and then I’d go home and stick broken glass on the walls and do whatever other tasks were required of me. I was torturing myself with a mental image of Luc and Lissy as a loved-up couple when I realised Luc was saying something.

‘Can you turn off the engine?’

I did as he asked, a feeling of doom enveloping me. The silence loaded and painful.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ he asked.

‘Everything. Apparently.’

‘What? Stop wallowing and tell me what’s wrong. Why are you so determined to help everyone except yourself? And why do you keep putting yourself in unnecessary danger all the time? I’m worried about you, Riley.’

I stared ahead at the bruised sky.

‘Riley.’ His voice was heart-breakingly soft. ‘Did you hear what I said? I’m worried about you.’ I felt his eyes on me, but I didn’t turn to face him. Instead I concentrated my gaze on the outside, seeing nothing.

Suddenly, I decided that things couldn’t go on as they were. I had to tell him the truth. About how I really felt. What did I have to lose? Except my pride, and that wasn’t worth a damn. Any day, FJ would be arriving with his army. There was no time left for worrying about what Luc might think of me, when we might not even make it through this thing alive. The whole Perimeter might not make it. I didn’t want to die regretting my stubborn, fearful silence. But first I had to check something. I cleared my throat.

‘Are you and Liss . . . ?’

‘Me and Liss, what?’

‘You know?’

‘No, I don’t know. Riley, why do you always do this?’

‘Do what?’ I finally turned to look at him, but now it was him looking straight ahead out of the windscreen.

He shook his head. ‘Why do you always imagine things that aren’t there? Put words in my mouth? Cut me off before I’ve finished talking?’

‘What? I don’t do those things.’

‘You do. You think you know what I want, but you have no idea and you don’t ever stick around long enough to listen. You drive me totally crazy.’ He threw open the passenger door and got out, standing next to the AV, the chill wind ruffling his clothes and hair.

I sat where I was for a moment before opening my door and walking around to join him. It was freezing outside.