The Undesirable (Undesirable Series) by S. Celi Read Free Book Online Page A

my God. Oh my God. They shot her like that , they murdered her,” I rambled. I sobbed and all the emotion I had kept inside forced itself out of my body. “This is horrible. Those people act like Nazi henchmen. It’s like we’re in some repeat of Hitler’s Hell.”
    “Who?” Fostino frowned and chewed on his bottom lip.
    My eyes widened. “What do you mean, who?” I shoved a hand through my hair and I grew more agitated. “We— we learned about him in school. Back when we were kids.”
    Didn’t we?
    Fostino shrugged. “Oh yeah, that guy. I mean, that that’s totally different than this.”
    “What? They taught it to us. He — he killed—“
    “Shh.” Fostino put a long tan hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “God, I feel so awful. I should have done something today.”
    “Like what?” I wiped my face with the ragged edge of the bathrobe and swept the thoughts of Hitler from my mind at the same time. “You’re just in the Homeland Guard.”
    Fostino’s jaw tightened. “I knew last night it would be bad,” he admitted. “Like I told you, they told us in drill there’d be a selection, and some people had to be sacrificed for the good of the cause, for The War Effort. Some people who live here, people who live among us, don’t live for the cause. Undesirables. They want Canada to win and take control of the oil for good. They want the US to suffocate.
    “But I never knew things would turn out like that. I mean with your mother.” He ran his hand over his mouth and shook his head. Once again, his eyes had a haunted look. “You know, I couldn’t believe how calm you acted when that happened— you know, during the shooting.”
    “What do you mean, calm?” My eyebrows knitted together, and sniffled. “No way. Not me. Not at all. Ugh, I just feel sick. And no one cares.”
    “I care. You were strong today.” Fostino took a deep breath in and then blew it out. “I saw you the whole time— during The Count, what you said to the women at the front of the line, the way you handled yourself. You have amazing strength.” He folded his hands together, leaned his elbows on his knees, and focused on me. “You’re a survivor. A very tough person.”
    “No. I’m not,” I scoffed as a chill ran through my body. “A tough person wouldn’t allow all that to happen.”
    “You may not see it, but I do.” He raised one eyebrow. “There’s something inside you that’s going to make sure you survive all of this… whatever happens next.”
    I didn’t know what to do, so I waited for a few moments. The silence thickened as I tried to dry my eyes. “How’s Farrah?” I asked after an eternity. “She seemed…I don’t know... she seemed shocked today. Just like me.”
    “She’s not good. Mostly scared. She sits in her bedroom and talks to her doll. She won’t talk to me, even when I try to tell her stuff.” He lowered his eyes to the floor.
    “Tell me what else you know,” I demanded, but kept my voice hushed. He bit his lower lip before he shrugged.
    “Nothing, really,” he admitted. “They’ve got their own set of rules direct from Maxwell Cooper himself. This is not a simple thing. It might not make sense now, but it will. It’s that, well, some Undesirables live right here, right now, and work for the enemy. They should be rooted out and destroyed.” Fostino sighed as if I should accept his explanation once again.
    “Why did you tell me about the danger at The Count?” I wondered, at last able to verbalize one of my thoughts from our conversation. “Why me?” I threw up my tear stained hands. “And why in the hell did you kiss me?”
    His hand caught my arm. “Hey, I’m sorry I did that. I just got carried away.” He paused and I wondered what was on his mind. “I didn’t think I would see you last night,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what I should do once I did.” Fostino swallowed and rubbed his Roman nose. The gesture magnified the spray of freckles on the bridge