My face grows warm.
My phone is currently stuffed inside my bra. No way I’m handing it to him.
“You give me your phone,” I say.
He pulls it out of his pocket and hands it over. I put my number in and save it. I told it out to him, and he takes it, sending me a text immediately. I feel it vibrate.
“Do not give my phone number to anybody,” he says. “Only a hand full of people in this school have it.”
“So I shouldn’t write it on the bathroom wall?” I joke.
He laughs. “If you do, I’ll write yours on the boys bathroom wall.”
“Fine. I’ll only share it with a few of the girls who are obsessed with you.”
“You better not.”
“Promise I won’t,” I say. “I can’t believe you trust me with it, though. We just met.”
“Well, we are friends, right?”
“Right,” I say. “I shouldn’t dominate your time anymore. It was very nice meeting you, Damon.”
“You too,” he says.
I walk back over to where Tristan is standing. He starts laughing.
“You suck,” I tell him.
Tristan just keeps laughing. “I knew you’d like him.”
“I don’t like him.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” he says.
“I will,” I say. “I’m going to go hang out with somebody else now.”
“Okay,” he says. “Training starts in the morning at five. Meet me in front of your dorm. And wear comfortable shoes. I’m going to bed. I’m sick of dealing with teenagers.”
I grin. “I’m going to have so much fun torturing you.”
“We will see who is doing the torturing tomorrow after I train you,” he says, then walks off.
I wonder what he meant by that.
THREE
Number one priority.
I wake up at half four. I get up, quickly get dressed, and grab some toast and water before meeting Tristan outside. I have a feeling that whatever we are doing today will require me to have a lot of carbs. When we get back, I’ll have to grab some fruit or something.
“Morning, coach,” I say to Tristan when I see him standing outside my building.
He grins, making my heart skip a beat. At least I have something fun to look at while he trains me. “Ready to be tortured?”
“Yes, sir,” I say, mock saluting him.
“We are going to start out by running four miles,” he says.
“Piece of cake.”
“Fine then. Five mile,” he says. “Let’s go.”
He starts running and I follow him.
While we are running, we fall in step beside each other, running in silence. I can’t help but think about all the early morning runs I did with Alik, and how much I miss them. I’m glad I get to run with Tristan, though.
Tristan reminds me a little bit of Alik and Dimitri. He’s about their age and he’s athletic, like they are.
As we are running, I get a text. I pull my phone out of my pocket, keeping the same pace.
Damon: I had fun dancing with you last night.
“What are you smiling at?” Tristan asks.
“Nothing,” I say quickly.
“Did somebody text you?”
“Maybe.”
“Was it Damon?” he asks.
I roll my eyes instead of reply.
Me: What are you doing up at 5 in the morning?
His response was immediate.
Damon: Thinking about you, of course.
Damon: What are you doing up?
Me: Running. Doing five miles today.
Damon: We should go running together sometime.
I nearly run into a tree, so I put away my phone away.
Tristan, of course, laughs.
“Think we can speed up a bit?” he asks. “We’re nearing the two mile mark. I want to see just how fast and far you can run.”
“No problem,” I say, and then give it all I’ve got.
Alik and I used to do intense runs a few times a week. I loved them. I like to push my body to the limit and see what it can do. I also like seeing how I improve over time, and how much better my breathing has gotten. My legs don’t cramp as bad anymore either, which is nice. And my lungs don’t burn. I can run for a lot longer than five miles at a time.
We run like that, side by side, until Tristan says, “Okay, slow back down.”
We slow back down to a normal pace.
“How far?” I ask.
“We’re at four miles now,” he says. “You’re good. I think you could’ve made it another mile. You’ve got great leg strength.”
He doesn’t even sound out of breath.
Of course, I’m not either.
“Thanks,” I say.
“What about your arms?” he asks.
“I’ve tried boxing with my brothers, but that’s about it. My arms aren’t as strong as I’d like,” I say.
“We will work on that,” he says.
“So why did we start with running?” I ask.
“I thought that would be obvious. Whatever situation you’re in, it’s always best to run. Run first, ask questions later. Though, sometimes you might have to fight. But if you can outrun somebody, that can be one of your greatest defenses,” he answers. “I want you to be prepared for whatever situation you may find yourself in.”
“So, does Damon know you work for the government?” I ask, changing the subject. I don’t want to talk about being in danger. Especially not if I’m going to be in danger from my own father. Somewhere, deep inside, I’m hope him and my mum are wrong about Dad.
“He knows I’m undercover and that he can trust me,” Tristan answers. “But he doesn’t know why.”
“Will he think it’s weird we are hanging out?”
“No. He knows that there is a situation where another student needs protecting. I’m here to protect him if needed, but you are my number one priority. Always,” he says, and gives me a look that tells me just how serious he is. “So, after this is over, do you want to go to church?”
“Sure,” I say.
The only church I’ve ever been to is in Russia, so it’d be nice to see how different American churches are.
“Is Damon a good guy?” I ask, hoping that he doesn’t give me grief for asking. I can’t deny that I’m very attracted to Damon, and I want to know if I can trust him before my attraction turns into a crush.
“He seems to be,” Tristan says. “I’ve worked for his dad a few times before, as well as people from my agency. The girls all love him, as you saw, but they’re only after his money and power.”
“Oh, yes. I’m sure that had absolutely nothing to do with his good looks,” I say, thinking about his grey eyes.
“I’m a dude. I don’t know if Damon is good looking or not,” he says. “But just remember, he’s lived a very privileged, sheltered life. He has money, cars, private jets, yachts and goes on exotic vacations all over the world. Things that are normal to him are outrageous to me. Though, I guess your family has a lot of money too.”
“No,” I say. “I mean, we’re not poor, but we’re not rich.”
He stops running.
So I stop and turn around.
“What?” I ask him.
“Katerina, your dad is a billionaire,” he says.
“I think I would know if my dad was a billionaire,” I say, shaking my head at him.
“Right. Just like you’d know if your dad was a terrorist.”
His words hit me hard, and emotions overtake me. I start crying, which is something I never do in front of somebody else. None of my brothers, aside from Eduard, or my father have ever seen me cry. And here I am, crying in front a person I’ve known three days.
My dad is a liar.
He’s everything that he’s taught me not to be.
Tristan walks over and pats my shoulder. It’s so awkward that I find myself laughing through my tears.
“What?” he asks, clearly con
fused.
“You’ve obviously never consoled anybody before,” I say, wiping away my tears.
“Why do you say that?” he asks.
“You just patted me on the shoulder,” I say.
He laughs, making me laugh harder.
“What should I do next time?” he asks.
“I don’t know,” I say. “I would say hug me, but that would just be awkward.”
“I don’t hug anyway,” he says.
“Right,” I say. “Well, let’s get this training session over with so we can get to church.”
“Okay,” he says, then takes off running.
I think I’m going to like training with Tristan.
What are you fighting for?
After training and going to church with Tristan, we run into Damon in the dining hall. His bodyguards are standing around the room, but they’re not annoyingly beside him today. At least he didn’t send his bodyguard to talk to me first.
“Hey,” he says. “You stopped texting me this morning.”
Tristan laughs from beside me. “That’s because she almost ran into a tree.”
I glare at him.
Damon wasn’t supposed to know about that. I want him to think I’m graceful. I usually am, but he distracted me.
“Tristan, hey man,” Damon says, as if just noticing he’s standing there.
“Hey,” he says back.
“He’s your bodyguard?” Damon asks me.
“Sort of,” I answer.
“Not that you need one,” Tristan says, cupping his shoulder. I may have accidentally kicked him a little to hard while he was training me. Since he told Damon I almost ran into a tree, I’m kind of glad I did kick him. “You’re crazy strong for such a little girl.”
I ignore the little girl comment.
“So why do you need a bodyguard? Who is your family?” Damon asks. “They must be some crazy high up politicians in Russia to get support from America. Or rebels. Is your family trying to take down the Russian government?”
“You know you’re not allowed to ask questions,” Tristan tells him.
“This is stupid. I deserve to know,” he says. “I used to get two bodyguards at school. Now I have six, and they’re always with me. I thought they were going to try to come in the shower with me this morning. It’s crazy. And then I heard about that dead girl in the woods. Dean Bello said the girl died of natural causes, but I heard she was murdered. How many fourteen year olds die of natural causes?”
“I just do what I’m told. You need to talk to your father if you’re upset,” he tells Damon, then looks at me. “And don’t tell him. If you do, it could not only put your life in danger, but his as well.”
“Fine, whatever,” I say. “I won’t tell.”
“Good,” he says, then leaves the dining hall.
“Your bodyguard doesn’t have to stay with you twenty four seven?” Damon asks.
“No. Thank God. Tristan would get on my nerves if he was around me that much,” I answer. “Mostly I think he’s just around to train me. Or torture me.”
“Train you for what?” he asks.
“To fight, of course,” I answer.
“I mean what are you fighting for?”
“For my life.” Because if my dad is as bad of a person as my mum thinks he is, as bad as Tristan tells me he is, I might just have to fight for my life.
“Something bad must be going on,” he says. “Do you think Tristan would let me train with you guys?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe. Why don’t you ask him?”
“I think I will,” he says.
“But why do you need to fight? You have six bodyguards.”
“A back up plan won’t hurt, right?”
“Guess not,” I say. “Though I could beat up a few bad guys for you.”
It’s a joke. I am not sure I’d be able to fight off a bad guy. Me kicking Tristan’s shoulder this morning was complete luck. I am fast, but I’m not that strong. Running and boxing with Alik has helped, but I have a long way to go before I’m ready to take down bad guys.
“I can’t let my girlfriend be a better fighter than me. That’s just wrong,” Damon says.
“Good thing I’m not your girlfriend.”
“But you will be,” he says.
I roll my eyes. “You wish.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Ugh.
Why does Damon have to be the president’s son?
Why does he have to have a crush on me?
Better yet, why do I have to be so attracted to him?
“I know you like me too. I can see it in your eyes,” he says.
“Damon, I’m attracted to you. I admit that. But that doesn’t mean I want to date you. I hardly know you,” I say.
“I think I love you,” he tells me.
“You think?” I ask. “Damon, love isn’t just a feeling. It’s not words. Love is an action. If you really love me, then you would have to show it.”
“How?” he asks.
“I don’t know. I’ve never been in love.”
“Me either,” he says.
“Then why do you think you love me?”
He shrugs. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe it is just attraction. But attraction can grow into something more. I mean, doesn’t all love start with an attraction?”
“I suppose so,” I say. “But, just for future reference, I don’t think you’re supposed to say stuff like this to a girl when you first meet her. To be honest, it’s kind of weird.”
“Oh,” he says. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize,” I say. “But like I said last night, I want to be your friend.”
“I’d like to be your friend, Katerina.”
I like the way he says my name. It sounds good with his American accent.
I think I’m going to like being friends with Damon Hartley.
FOUR
I know it’s not.
It’s the first day of class, but that doesn’t stop Tristan from making me meet him at five o’clock in the morning for training. When I get outside, I suddenly wish I would’ve combed my hair, because standing beside Tristan is Damon. He only has two of his six bodyguards with him.
“Ready for training?” Tristan asks.
I nod. “How many miles today?”
“Let’s do four. I have a feeling some of us need to catch up,” he says, looking at Damon.
“Four miles?” Damon asks.
“Running,” Tristan answers.
Damon looks a little pale.
“You said you wanted to go running with me sometime, right?” I ask. I hope he’s up to running four miles. Four miles is nothing.
“Oh yeah,” he answers. “I love running.”
Tristan, who is smiling, takes off running. I quickly catch up to him. I look back and see Damon is a little behind us, but we don’t slow our pace. He seems to be keeping up for the most part. His two bodyguards are on each side of him.
“Maybe tomorrow we can do ten miles. I’m going to get out of shape just running four,” I say to Tristan.
“Ten?” I hear Damon behind us. He sounds out of breath.
“We can run ten miles,” Tristan says. “How long can you run before getting tired?”
“My brother and I used to do a half marathon twice a week on a trail behind our house,” I tell him. “I never get tired doing that. But we decided to run a marathon a couple times. I guess I’d get tried three fourths of the way through then, but not tired enough to stop.”
“We should do a half marathon tomorrow then,” he says. “Let’s try to do them twice a week so you stay on schedule.”
I hear Damon breathing hard behind us. Feeling sorry for him, I stop. Tristan does too.
Damon bends over, putting his hands on his knees, breathing hard. “Was that four miles?”
“That wasn’t even half a mile,” Tristan says.
“I thought you were a runner,” I say.
“I wanted to impress you,” Damon sa
ys. “Sorry. I will learn to run if it means I get to spend time with you.”
Tristan now looks thoroughly annoyed. “When you can run five miles without taking a break, I’ll train you. Until then, you’re holding Katerina back. Her life depends on this, and I can’t have you in the way. You have six bodyguard to protect you. She only has me, and I can’t always be with her.”
“Okay,” Damon says. “I’ll start running. You guys should go on. I don’t want to hold her back.”
“Come on Katerina,” Tristan says to me, and takes off again.
I give Damon an apologetic look, and then run after Tristan. I catch up to him in no time.
“Let’s take it easy today on the running,” Tristan says when I catch up to him. “I noticed yesterday that you have a lot of leg strength, but your upper body could use some work. I think I’m going to start you on some weights.”
“Sounds good,” I say.
My phone vibrates and I pull it out of my pocket, careful so I don’t run into any trees. I’m surprised that it’s not Damon.
Savannah: Where are you at?
Me: Running.
Savannah: You are such a freak ;). Physical exercise and I don’t get along.
Me: You should try it sometime.
Savannah: Nooooo thank you. I was going to ask if you want to go get breakfast but I guess you’re busy.
Me: Sorry.
I slip my phone back in my pocket, grateful for her offer. Savannah doesn’t know anything about my life. She knows I’m from Russia, but she doesn’t know my dad’s a terrorist. She doesn’t work for some secret government agency and her dad’s not the president. It’s kind of nice having a normal friend.
I get the feeling that Savannah comes from a very ordinary family that definitely doesn’t have a lot of money. Part of me wonders if Asher’s dad pays for her to come here. It would make sense. But I don’t want to ask her, because I’m afraid it would embarrass her. I like that she’s not like everybody else here.
Fate (New Hope Academy Book 1) Page 6
