The Gender Lie (The Gender Game #3) by Bella Forrest (ebook reader for laptop TXT) 📗

classes, I felt closer to my classmates than anyone else, excluding my family. That’s really clever, Viggo! Much better than my idea.”

I started to reply, before I realized she had bounced off the bed and was halfway across the room. “Where are you going?” I asked, and she cast a beatific smile over her shoulder.

“I’m going to see if Desmond has time to hear your idea,” she called as she walked out the door.

I frowned and opened my mouth to protest, but Violet was already gone.

An hour later, Violet was sitting in the chair, watching Desmond’s face closely as I explained my idea. Desmond listened attentively to me as I spoke, and I kept a careful eye on her. After I finished, I waited patiently, curious as to how she would react.

Desmond’s eyes shifted back and forth between us, consideration on her face. After a moment, she smiled. “There is a lot of merit in your suggestion, Mr. Croft, and I would love it if you took the lead on this. I’d like you to start off with a small group of children—the ones deemed the least dangerous—and send me a daily update. Are you amenable to that, Mr. Croft?”

I eyed her warily, surprised at her rapid agreement. Every inflection of her voice, every change in her face, seemed genuine, and I was beginning to doubt my earlier assessment of her. I had no true reason to doubt her intentions, yet I still found myself feeling guarded and suspicious.

“It is, with two conditions,” I said after a pause. I felt Violet’s gaze on me, but I kept my attention on Desmond, watching her reactions closely.

She gave a small amused smile, but her eyes were wary. “And what would those be?”

“The first is that Tim is in the first group.”

Violet beamed at me, joy lighting up her eyes.

“He can be,” Desmond said. “What is your second condition?”

I braced myself before stating, “I want Melissa Dale to help me.”

Immediately, dark shadows flooded into Desmond’s eyes, and her entire face tightened. “No,” she said flatly, her tone low and lethal. “She is not permitted to leave her cell without my permission, and I am not granting it.”

I crossed my arms. “I find your reaction to her confusing,” I remarked. “After all, she did kill one of your enemies. Regardless of what her status was at the time, if there was anybody who ever needed a second chance, it would be her. Why do you distrust her so much?”

Desmond’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Did you forget that she is a spy of Matrus? The instant we give her any freedom, she will use it to try to find a way to escape. If she manages that, she’ll bring the entire force of the Matrian wardens here, and the queen will probably assign some of her advanced sisters here. You nearly died the last time a princess came around. Are you so eager to face them again?”

“Did you forget that you were also a spy of Matrus?” I shot back, and she frowned, a crease forming between her eyebrows.

“It’s not the same. I changed. My loyalties changed when my son was taken.”

“And hers changed when she pulled the trigger and killed a princess,” Violet interjected.

Desmond stared at her, then closed her eyes. I could see her warring with indecision, her internal debate playing out in the way she moved and remained quiet. Violet and I exchanged glances while Desmond breathed steadily.

She held that position until she cracked her eyes open. “All right,” she conceded through tight teeth. “I will allow Ms. Dale out of her cell, only when there is training. When she is not training, she is back in her cell, and when she is not in her cell, she is in chains. This is non-negotiable, and the only time I will offer this deal. What do you say?”

I shrugged and looked at Violet, who also shrugged. “It sounds good to me,” I said, looking back at Desmond and giving her a broad smile.

She narrowed her gaze at me, and then smiled back. “Good,” she said cheerily. “Now, I understand you’re in recovery, Mr. Croft, but you’ll need to get started quickly. Please send me a list of what you need and your overall plan when you get a chance today. I’m giving you a month before we review the results and decide to proceed.”

“A month isn’t enough time to—” I started to argue, when Violet cut in over me.

“A month will be fine. I’m sure we’ll have some positive feedback by then.” I glanced at her from the corner of my eye, and she met my gaze with an encouraging expression.

I nodded, following her lead.

“All right, you two,” Desmond said, glancing at her watch. “It’s time for me to move on… Enjoy the rest of your day.”

And, without further preamble, Desmond walked out.

Watching her walk away, I still felt unsettled by her, but only had a vague feeling to support it.

More than once as I was speaking, I had felt like Desmond had been on the verge of denying all of my requests until Violet chimed in. It was odd—could it have been because I was a Patrian? I knew that Desmond had recruited Patrians, but maybe she just didn’t know how to interact with them well.

I turned to Violet, feeling baffled. “I don’t think she likes me very much,” I said after a moment.

Violet smirked.

“What?”

“Nothing,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just that she said the same thing about you.”

I furrowed my brows. “I guess it was the fact that I antagonized her when I first met her.”

“What did you say?” she asked.

I shot her a grin. “I called her gutsy for acting so blunt,” I responded cockily.

“That does sound like you,” Violet replied.

“A devilishly good interrogator?”

She shook her head. “Paranoid is a word that could be used,” she said.

“Hm… I prefer cautious myself.”

“Suspicious?” Violet suggested.

“How about vigilant?”

“Disbelieving in a good thing?”

“Could we go with attentive instead? I think