Nathan Read online

  He wasn’t going to have too long with her. “Hey,” he said. He leaned toward her until his face closed in on hers.

  It was hard not to just hug her. She was looking terrified. He just wanted to reassure her.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “I won’t say anything to them. What about the other girl? You have a sister, right? Did she get this, too?”

  Sang shook her head. She slid out of the office chair, and he backed off as she sat on her heels on the carpet.

  Shrinking. Getting out of the center of attention.

  “She didn’t have to drink...” she said, but then swallowed and said nothing.

  Nathan slid off the bed himself and sat down next to her.

  What else could he do?

  If Kota wasn’t going to make the call...could he? For her?

  But there was a reason Kota wasn’t calling in for it.

  However, Nathan didn’t really want him to. In all likely scenarios, they’d have another team monitor her. Maybe a girl team got called in to make friends and check on what’s going on.

  It could be they’d have to break contact.

  They’d have to back off to allow the girl team to be the main contact. And then what?

  And he didn’t want an Academy team to take over this. Maybe Kota knew. He usually did.

  It had to be them. They knew more than anyone what she was going through. They were in position. They had the capability to handle this. And they’d already made a connection. They weren’t a girl team, but they already established communication and opened her up to admitting what was going on. That was half the work and it was already being done.

  He wanted to reach out to her again, feeling the urge to take her hand, to hug her, to say something that would help.

  Only the others were coming back up the stairs.

  Maybe that was good. He wanted to help her, but he couldn’t do it alone.

  And he knew once the team knew, none of them would say no to this. The letter he brought over in his pocket, that was a lost cause. Whatever mission the Academy wanted him to do, Sang overrode that. They’d have to find someone else.

  Next Up—Meeting Sang: GABRIEL, free for newsletter subscribers.

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  The Academy Ghost Bird Series:

  Introductions

  First Days

  Friends vs. Family

  Forgiveness and Permission

  Drop of Doubt

  Push and Shove

  House of Korba

  The Other Side of Envy

  The Healing Power of Sugar

  First Kiss

  Black and Green

  Love’s Cruel Redemption

  Unsung Requiem (Coming Soon!)

  The Academy Scarab Beetle Series

  Thief

  Liar

  Fake

  Accessory

  Hoax

  Tempest (Coming Soon!)

  Other C. L. Stone Books:

  Spice God

  Smoking Gun

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  Also by C. L. Stone

  Meeting Sang - The Academy Ghost Bird Series

  Kota

  Victor

  Silas

  Nathan

  North Shore

  Melody

  The Academy

  Ghost Bird: The Academy Omnibus Part 1

  The Academy - The Bird and the Beetle

  Ghost Bird: The Academy Omnibus Part 2

  The Academy - Bonus Materials

  The Academy - Touch of Mischief

  The Academy - Sound of Snowfall

  The Ghost Bird Series

  The Academy - Introductions

  The Academy - First Days

  The Academy - Friends vs. Family

  The Academy - Forgiveness and Permission

  The Academy - Drop of Doubt

  The Academy - Push and Shove

  The Academy - House of Korba

  The Academy - The Other Side of Envy

  The Academy - The Healing Power of Sugar

  The Academy - First Kiss

  The Academy - Black and Green

  The Academy - Love's Cruel Redemption

  The Scarab Beetle Series

  The Academy - Thief

  The Academy - Liar

  The Academy - Fake

  The Academy - Accessory

  The Academy - Hoax