Cold Blood by Heather Hildenbrand Read Free Book Online Page B

getting closer to school. It still felt cool, but I could feel my body already acclimating. I didn’t need the hoodie wrapped quite so tight anymore. The cool felt good. The air was refreshing against my skin. One thing to like so far, compared to home: class outside. Not a very long list.
    “ You okay?” Logan asked, pulling me out of my thoughts as we stepped clear of the trees. Someone had left the classroom door propped open, and I concentrated on that instead of meeting his eyes.
    “ Yeah, I’m fine. Just hungry.” Half-truth. I really was starving. That greasy breakfast sandwich I’d eaten earlier was long gone.
    “ Well, then, you’re in for a treat. One thing I can say for Wood Point: the food is the best.”
    We passed through the now empty classroom and out into the hall. The press of bodies, and the buzz of voices, animated now that there was a break in class, reminded me of my high school back home; or any high school for that matter.
    A shoulder slammed into mine, jarring me. I backed up a step from the impact and looked up into a blond halo of hair and a sugary smile that dripped acid. It was the girl from the courtyard. A couple of her brunette followers flanked her. None of them looked sorry, or surprised, that she’d run into me.
    “ Oops, I didn’t see you there,” she said, her smile pasted on. She moved away, but not before I heard her turn to her minions and say, “you know dogs, always underfoot.”
    My jaw fell open in surprise. For a moment, I was too stunned to react. Despite everything I’d already seen and heard that morning, no one had said anything to my face. Until now. I bit back on my temper as I watched her fade into the throng of moving bodies and disappear down the hall.
    “ Who was that?” I asked, concentrating on Logan’s face, and trying to resist the urge to run after the blond and take a chunk of that pretty hair out of her head. I balled my hands into fists and squeezed.
    “ Victoria Lexington,” said Logan in a tight voice. “Her father is on the Board for the school and a member of the Commission. Her mother does charity work for Hunter organizations.”
    “ Commission?” The words weren’t making sense, maybe because I wanted to take a bite out of Victoria Lexington’s face.
    Logan raised an eyebrow underneath his baseball cap. “The Commission of Hunter Affairs and Security.” He spoke slowly, like he was speaking to a toddler. “You’ve seriously never heard of it?”
    I shook my head.
    “ Wow. So you really weren’t told anything?”
    “ How do you know what I was told?”
    Logan ducked his head, looking guilty. “It’s hard not to hear things." He gestured at the bodies around us.
    I nodded. I could understand that.
    We made our way past the large entrance doors and up the wide set of stairs I’d seen earlier. At the top was another hallway and in front of us, a set of heavy double doors, propped open. Through them I could see a large, open room with tables set in loose rows. Kids talked and laughed, their voices drifting out in a collective boom. Running the length of one wall sat a long counter lined with various food choices and kids browsing the entrée selections as they slid trays along towards the end.
    “ Come on,” said Logan, stepping through the doors and veering off to the right to join the buffet line.
    I followed and fell in line behind him, taking the empty tray he offered. I pushed forward and stopped again, eyeing a steaming bin of chicken Alfredo that smelled as good as it looked. Next to it stood a simmering pot of vegetable soup, with rolls that looked shiny and freshly baked, instead of dull and browned, like my old high school’s version. The smell alone was enough to convince me that it was edible. I hesitated, craning my neck to see what was up ahead. My stomach growled.
    A tray bumped into mine and I noticed a tanned arm holding the tray next to mine. My eyes traveled up, following the arm to the body it belonged to.