The Talents by Inara Scott Read Free Book Online Page B

inviting.
    Then his arm was gone and he was waving at someone else in the crowd. But the message had been sent, and the other kids nearby looked at me with a kind of respect.
    â€œYou know him?” Esther hissed as soon as we were on the bus, her forehead wrinkling with amazement.
    â€œHe was my recruiter,” I said, trying to sound nonchalant.
    â€œYour recruiter?” Esther repeated. “What do you mean?”
    â€œHe came to my house with Mr. Judan to get me to go to Delcroix. Didn’t they come to your house?”
    She shook her head. “No, I just got a letter in the mail. I think someone might have called my mom. But why would they need to recruit anyone? Everyone knows how amazing the school is.”
    â€œOh, yeah, right.” A little ping of discomfort colored my voice as I tried to imagine why they would have sent someone to my house and not to hers. “Well, it’s probably because I live in Danville. They must visit the people who are really close by.” I didn’t mention going out to lunch, which now seemed downright odd.
    â€œYeah,” she echoed. “Well, whatever. I can’t believe he touched you.” Her smile told me she didn’t care about the recruiting thing, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
    â€œEsther!” A girl waved at Esther from the back of the bus.
    Esther squealed in reply, “Hennie?”
    The girl had long dark hair and olive skin. Her eyes were dusky brown, and a little dimple stood out in her cheek. Indian, I guessed. Even though she was prettier than Perfect Girl, something about her nervous expression made it impossible to hate her. Her gaze kept darting around the bus, and when she’d waved at Esther, she’d looked hesitant, as if unsure she’d be welcome.
    Esther dragged me down the aisle until we came to a stop in front of Hennie. “Dancia, this is Hennie. She and I went to camp together for years. We were best friends until she moved to L.A.” She leaned over and gave Hennie a sideways hug. “What are you doing here?”
    Hennie’s face brightened, and she giggled. It was a delicate, musical sound, the kind I dreamed about making every time I opened my mouth and a snort came out. “What do you think? We moved back to Seattle. My dad found a new job when I got the invitation to come to Delcroix. Can you sit with me?” She patted the seat next to her, then froze, her hand covering her mouth in shock. “Oh, I’m sorry, how rude! You’re probably sitting with your friend. I didn’t mean to…”
    â€œNo, no.” I waved my hand at them. “Don’t worry about it.”
    â€œYeah, don’t worry about it. Dancia’s sitting with me.”
    I spun around, not recognizing the voice behind me. Then my mouth dropped open. It was the dark-haired kid I had crashed a car to protect. Except now he looked anything but scared.

IT TOOK me a second to shake off my shock.
    â€œWho are you?” I asked.
    Esther, the traitor, ditched me as quickly as she had befriended me. She was now sitting next to Hennie and chattering at a frenzied pace. They were holding hands like long-lost lovers, with huge smiles on their faces. If they weren’t so happy it might have smarted a little that I was so easily forgotten and left to the sharks.
    Er…the shark. Wow. Once I focused on him, I realized the shark was way better looking than I’d remembered. He must not have showered that morning, or been sick or something, because he looked totally different now. He had thick black hair that covered his forehead and partially covered his steel-gray eyes. Spiky lines from a tattoo peeked out from the edge of his shirt. His face was all angles, with high cheekbones and hollows underneath and a sharp chin. He wore a dark T-shirt that hugged his wiry torso.
    He rolled his eyes. “Come on, you know me,” he said. “In fact, I owe you a favor.”
    â€œWhat do