Maverick (Maverick Academy Series) (27 page)

“I’ll see you tomorrow Nolan
,” she called over her shoulder. Whit thought she heard him chuckle as the door closed behind her.

Her heart was pounding from his kisses, but her head remained unsure about her decision.
Could she trust him? He said all the right things and she’d believed him, but was Nolan really capable of changing? In her heart, she didn’t think he would change. She knew that thought had been lurking in her head the whole time, but she hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it. If she was really honest with herself, she knew it was just a matter of time before he hurt her again and inside she called herself a fool for giving him another chance.

Chapter 31

Over the next few days, Whit ran around like a chicken with her head cut off. She studied for exams, practiced with her team, practiced alone in her room, tried to force herself to have visions, and last but not least saw Nolan whenever possible. She wanted to see him as much as she could since holiday break started in four days. Three weeks apart was a long time when she’d just got him back. They had already exchanged email addresses and phone numbers, but it wouldn’t be the same as seeing each other. Nolan’s family lived near Nashville, Tennessee, which was a bit far to visit for the day. Whit hoped she could talk Mona into letting Nolan come and visit for a few days, or maybe he’d invite her to his house. At least that way they’d get to see each other.

The time they’d managed to
spend with each other since they’d gotten back together had been rushed and short. They studied together, but because of exams that meant they’d actually studied. Whit still laughed when she thought about the one time they’d managed to be alone and free from books for five minutes. Since she had never seen his room and Mark was playing basketball in the gym, he’d pulled her into his dorm.

His room was the typical teenage guy’s room
: clothes scattered around on the floor and across the furniture, beds unmade, and a poster of a swimsuit model on the wall. Whit started laughing when she looked around. Nolan chuckled, then tackled her so they were lying on his bed. It didn’t take them long to get hot and heavy. Whit whimpered as Nolan pushed her shirt out of the way so he could kiss her stomach. Her hands were fisted in his hair as his lips slowly moved up her body. They’d been so caught up in the moment that neither of them had heard the door open and close.

“So this is why you couldn’t play basketball?” Mark laughed before flopping down on his own bed.

Whit felt her cheeks heat up with a blush and tried to hide her face in Nolan’s chest.

“Mark, don’t you have somewhere you need to go?” Nolan asked
, clearly trying to get rid of him.

“Nope. We only got fifteen minutes until team practice. I’m afraid if I leave, you’ll miss practice all together. Can’t have that
, since the game’s tomorrow. Sorry, Whit. Can’t be helped.” Make shrugged.

Whit was disa
ppointed, but understood. Nolan wrapped an arm around her waist as he walked her out. She’d noticed that since they’d gotten back together, he touched her constantly, almost like he was afraid if he didn’t she would disappear. She liked it though. It made her feel cherished and wanted.

***************************

Her brain felt exhausted from practicing. She felt good about all the progress she’d made, but her mind definitely needed a break, especially since they were competing against Nolan’s team tomorrow. She hated to think about Darby being with Nolan, but she trusted him. Whit didn’t know much about Darby’s talent, even after she’d asked around. All she knew was that Darby was considered a “good” mindbender. Whit wondered if that meant powerful, or if she was just good rather than great. Regardless, it made her to worry. If Darby got the chance to torture Whit in any way during the game, she would do it.

Whit closed her eyes
, hoping for sleep for once. She’d spent every night since Dark Conquest started trying to have visions about the upcoming games. She’d managed to have a few dreams, but only one more about the game, and it’d only shown Ellie being captured. Whit had told her team, and Ellie had looked defeated when she’d heard it. Whit explained that her visions didn’t always come true; sometimes things changed and the vision became false. She told Ellie not to worry about it, and that she didn’t even know if it had been a vision. It could’ve just been a regular dream.

The dreams that had really bothered her
, though, had been about someone watching her. It was similar to the dream she’d had a few weeks earlier, where someone was watching Ellie, Rory, and her as they went to a party. Only this one had been worse.

In the dream, she’d been unpacking her clothes at Mona’s house. The scariest part was
that she was watching herself from someone’s eyes. Someone watching her from outside her aunt’s house. Whit had watched herself eat dinner, then watch some television. She’d then got a phone call, because she’d watched herself run back into her room to talk on her cell. She guessed it’d been Nolan or one of her friends, since she wanted to talk in private. The dream had ended when the person who’d watched her walking slowly to a black car. They got in and shut the door. As they drove off, Whit saw a gun sitting on the front passenger seat.

When she woke up from the dream, she’d been covered in sweat, her pajamas sticking to her. Why would someone watch her? Did it have something to do with Maverick? Was it the Redeemers? Were they trying to gather information on Maverick so they could attack? It scared Whit so badly
that she discussed the dream privately with Mrs. McFaddin. Whit expected her teacher to downplay the dream, but she didn’t. She actually looked worried, and told Whit to tell her immediately if she had any more dreams like that one. Whit tried to ask questions, but McFaddin had claimed that she needed to talk to the headmaster, and left quickly.

It stilled terrified her to think about someone watching her, maybe waiting for the chance to hurt her or someone she loved. She told Ellie, Rory
, and Nolan about the dream, and told them to be careful. It bothered them as well, especially Nolan. He didn’t like the idea that someone was following her away from school, and even suggested that she go home with him or one of her friends instead of going to Mona’s. His concern touched Whit, but she knew Mona wouldn’t let her go home with someone for the entire three weeks. Maybe for a few days, but not the entire break.

Whit accep
ted that someone was going to be watching her, but that didn’t mean she had to accept it without doing anything. She decided that she was going to try to figure out who it was, at least. When she mentioned her plan to Nolan, he became so upset that she thought the vein in his head was going to pop. He didn’t want her getting in trouble or making any enemies. They’d finally agreed to table the discussion until after their game on Wednesday. Whit knew he wouldn’t like it, but she was determined to find out who was watching her and why, even if it scared her to death.

Chapter 32

Whit’s team huddled in the release room and watched the clock count down slowly toward game time. Rory was going over their strategy for the billionth time. First they’d quickly search for any usable objects. They hoped the net was nearby again, since it had been so useful last game. Then, because they already knew the game floor, they’d start hunting the enemy. The same was probably true for the Silent Assassins, but the Vixens hoped they’d get the jump on the boys. Rory reminded everyone that their team had two bonecrushers, a fire caster, a stalker, and a mindbender. Whit knew the members were Nolan, Mark, Tavis, Sam, and Darby.

She and
Nolan hadn’t discussed their games or the strategies they’d used at all, since there had always been a chance they’d compete against each other. Now Whit was glad she’d kept her mouth shut; it would definitely have hurt her team if she’d told him anything. When they were doing their research, they found out that the Silent Assassins had destroyed their opponents, the Smokin’ Aces. Nolan’s team had managed to capture four out of the five members. Whit knew that meant one of two things: either the Silent Assassins were very good or the Smokin’ Aces had sucked. She didn’t know which it was.

Her visions of the game were fresh in everyone’s minds but Whit didn’t think they would do much good. They hadn’t given them much to work with.
Ellie was determined to change the vision about her, and not get caught. Whit wished she’d been able to give her more information, but all she’d seen was Ellie being led to the hold. Rory had also told Whit that she needed to come up with some ideas to use her mindbending. Since Mark was targeted in her dream, she started there. She had some ideas, and told Rory that when the time came she would try it out.

Now she
glanced at the clock again: 5:45 left before the game started. The waiting was the killer. Just standing around watching that clock made her want to pull her hair out. She could feel the nervousness in the room. Lindsey and Ellie were pacing around like trapped jungle cats. Misty sat in the corner with her eyes closed. Her face looked relaxed, but Whit knew she wasn’t, because her feet were tapping continuously on the floor. Rory kept calling out instructions and encouragements, trying to make sure everyone knew what to do. Rory was very competitive, but since her friend Tavis was on the other team, she wanted to beat them for bragging rights as well.

As the clock went under the minute mark, Whit’s hands started to sweat. She hated the feeling of being hunted
, and didn’t really like hunting others. She knew that the next time Dark Conquest was played, she’d stay out of it. It was too nerve racking for her.

The
n the horn sounded and her team pushed through the door. The game floor looked exactly the same, as far as she could see. But she’d forgotten how dark it was. Last time, it’d taken a while for her eyes to adjust, and it looked like it would be the same this time. Whit quickly trolled the area near their hold, looking for anything useful. Before long, she spotted something hanging off a stack of crates, and started climbing. It was a large, dark-colored blanket. She threw it to the floor before climbing down, and hurried back to their safe zone with her find.

Rory was ecstatic and immediately came up with a plan to use it. The plan was to move toward enemy territory, then find a spot and wait. Rory would hide under
the blanket, while Lindsey played the bait. Once a member of the Silent Assassins wandered in, Lindsey would freeze their legs together, and Rory would leap out and wrap the blanket around them. Lindsey would then freeze the blanket closed and Rory would carry the bundle to the hold.

On top of the blanket, Misty had also found a bucket. Their plan to use the bucket was a bit stupid and crazy, and Whit wondered if it would even work. Basically Whit was going to use the bucket the same way she’d used the net. She would float it
above them until someone came close, then drop it on their head, distracting them. Ellie would then sneak in close and, when the person pulled the bucket off, she’d be right in front of them smiling that mesmerizing smile. It would work if it all went perfectly, but Whit worried that Ellie would get caught if the plan went wrong.

Rory reminded everyone to stay alert, especially since the other team might have the net or something equally effective. The Venomous Vixens walked as silently as possible through the crates
, split into groups, but sticking as close to each other as they could.

As they neared the pond, Misty signaled that she heard footsteps heading in their direction.
Rory motioned for Whit, Ellie, and Misty to hide, while she laid down and draped the blanket over herself. Lindsey huddled behind a crate, peeking around the corner. Whit laid flat on the top of the crate beside Ellie and Misty. Everyone stayed completely still as the footsteps got louder and louder. She peeked over the corner of the crate right as a large figure crept into view. Tavis. He was only a few feet from Rory, but definitely couldn’t see her because of the darkness. Rory would be crazy happy if they captured him within the first hour of the game.

Whit saw Lindsey slide around the crate she was hiding behind to have a clear shot at Tavis.
But right as she raised her hands to freeze his legs, something creaked behind her. She quickly stepped behind the crate, but Mark had already seen her. He darted toward her and Whit knew between Tavis and Mark, Lindsey’s chances for escape were small. Both boys were bonecrushers – they were incredible strong and could run faster than any other class.

Lindsey threw a
stream of ice over her shoulder, hitting Mark in the chest. It slowed him down, but Tavis was already moving to intercept her. Now that the action was away from her, Rory threw the blanket off and ran after Tavis. He was so focused on Lindsey that he didn’t see Rory until she tackled him to the ground.

Whit, Ellie, and Misty watched in silence as Rory and Tavis wrestled, while Lindsey tried to escape Mark. Whit knew
that Lindsey needed help, so she used her mind to move the blanket over Mark’s head and drop it. He became tangled in the blanket and fell to the ground. Lindsey stopped running and turned in his direction, pointing her hands. A moment later, Mark and the blanket were encased in an ice cube. Trapped. Mark’s strength enabled him to shift the cube around, but not break it. Lindsey must’ve seen it start to weaken, because she quickly refroze it.