The Fortress by Catherine Holland (english reading book TXT) 📕

activated on your cell so that if anything should happen I would be able to know where you are and come to your aid.” Ryan could see her thinking it over, she looked down at their twined fingers and said; “I’m seriously considering accepting your offer of protection but I can see a few faults in your logic.
“Firstly if I accepted your offer to stay here, it would cause an argument with my family; and if something happened to me after that I wouldn’t be able to live with the guilt. Secondly my parents would never agree to me staying with a male especially as I wouldn’t be able to explain and they know I’m not dating anyone.
“And thirdly; I don’t own a cell phone.” She’d blushed after admitting to not having a cell, he’d unintentionally embarrassed her. “Ellen I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel awkward or uncomfortable. If the best idea is for you to stay with your family then I’m fine with that; I will work with whatever is most convenient to you.
“Don’t worry about not having a cell phone I have plenty here. I also have something else with a tracking device already installed in it, in case you’re taken and you don’t have the cell. But you still need to decide what you want to do.” Ellen pulled her hand from his and stood up, she paced the space behind the arm chair she’d sat in thinking.
“Look, what you’re offering to do is incredibly sweet, but I wouldn’t be able to accept the cell phone, not without a lot of questions from my parents; so that wouldn’t be a good idea. I appreciate your being honest with me, and I’ll be honest with you, I’m scared after what you’ve told me. And I accept your offer of protection but not because I’m afraid; I’ll do it, I’ll be the bait.”
Ryan abruptly stood up and walked over to Ellen, he stopped her pacing and turned her towards; he admired her courage but he couldn’t let her do something out of fear. “I understand that you accepting my offer is a big deal for you; but the one thing I cannot allow is for you to put yourself at risk. I understand the need to do something, but it shouldn’t be done out of fear.” He could see the fire gleam in her eyes. “I’m not doing this out of fear; I admitted I’m scared about being the next victim, but me being the bait makes perfect sense and it’s our only shot at getting whoever is doing this; also don’t -.”
Whatever Ellen was going to say next was lost as Ryan brought his lips to hers; he kissed her slow and gentle, not understanding why he’d felt the need to kiss her. After a second or two Ellen kissed him back, Ryan felt her arms go around his neck and her fingers brush through his hair. After a few minutes of kissing they broke apart.
Ellen turned her head away embarrassed. “Sorry I don’t know why I did that.” Ryan said. She flashed him a smile then replied, “I don’t know either, but I’m glad you did. Before you kissed me, I was going to say I don’t want to be late for College; but I think I already am.” Ryan looked at his watch, “No you’re not, it’s not even half eight yet; relax you have plenty of time.”
He saw her nod and then she went and sat back down aqgain, Ryan took her empty mug into the kitchen to them both a fresh one, and grabbed a small box from a kitchen drawer. A few minutes later as Ryan re-entered the living room, he put the coffees down and sat next to Ellen. He wordlessly handed the small black box and saw her open it then gasp in surprise.
She held the small delicate necklace in her hands for a moment before placing it back in the box. “I’m sorry Ryan, the necklace is baeutiful but I can’t accept it; it must have cost a fortune.” Ryan shook his head in exasperation, “Ellen, that necklace contains a tracking device; it’s a way for me to know where you are at all times, to help keep you safe.”
She looked up at Ryan and then nodded, he saw her take the necklace back out of the box and unclasp it; she struggled for a moment to put it on when Ryan said “Come here, let me help.” She turned sideways and lifted her hair out of the way as he clasped the thin gold chain around her neck, he then purposely brushed his fingers gently over the back of her neck.
He felt her shiver and then pull away. “Thank you Ryan, the necklace is beautiful; I knnow it contains a tracking device but its beautiful all the same.” “Your welcome Ellen, and just so you know, I meant every word I said about protecting you to the best of my abilities.” He saw her nod, the trust and belief in her eyes.
Ryan drank his coffee quickly then waited for Ellen to finish; ten minutes later Ryan and Ellen left the house and were on their way to the College. As he dropped her off outside the main office he said, “Don’t worry, I’ll know where you are every minute of the day; and I’ll be back here at three to collect you.” He saw her nod once again, the fear clearly showing in her eyes.
Ryan gently took hold of her chin and pulled her towards him, meeting her half way. He kissed her gently and didn’t stop until he felt her relax against him. He then waited whilst she got out of the car and was safely inside the building before driving off.


Chapter Ten


Ahmed and Basiten had witnessed the male drop off Ellen, kissing her before he let her go; they hadn’t given it a second thought but had instead concentrated on their plan to lure Ellen from the safety of the College. They were friendly towards her during the first half of the day, and invited her to go for a ‘walk’ at lunch to discuss her theories on the Castle.
At first she’d declined, but as the day had progressed she’d become comfortable with them and had eventually agreed; she was meeting them at the main entrance to the College at twelve noon. As the twins stood waiting for her Ahmed said; “This is the last one brother, and then tomorrow we will discover the truth.” Bastien nodded in reply his eyes scanning the courtyard watching for Ellen.
At last he spotted her walking towards them eating an apple; she threw the core into a nearby bin and nodded as Ahmed said “Ready?” They had walked a few feet from the College, one brother on either side of her; boxing her in when Bastien asked, “So Ellen, why do you think the documents were forged during the battle?”
Ellen looked surprise at his boldness but replied; “I don’t think the documents were forged; I think that that was just a farce to attemot to start war.” Bastien glanced at her, leading her onto a wide trail in the woods. “What makes you say that?” She shrugged, “I don’t know, it just seems that way to me. I’ve been unable to find proof in the library or online as to how, why and where the documents were forged; and without that proof it just seems to lay the foundations for war.”
This girl is very opinionated was Bastien’s first thought, they walked on in silence for a few minutes; going deeper into the woods. He could feel Ahmed’s anger and excitement, but he himself felt nothing, keeping detached from his emotions seemed to be the best way to handle this girl. They had set up a spot for the perfect ambush, he only hoped that Ahmed would be able to keep himself under control.

* * * *

Ellen hadn’t been paying attention to where they were going or how far they’d walked, she looked at her watch surprised by the amount of time that had gone by; she looked at Bastien and said “I think it’s time we headed back to the College, we don’t want to be late.”
She made the suggestion lightly, as though it were the most natural thing to say, meanwhile her instincts were screaming at her, telling her she was headed for danger. Bastien seemed to not hear her so she repeated herself a little louder, hearing the fear in her voice. “It’s getting late, I’m going to head back to the College so I’m not late, are you coming with me?”
She saw Bastien look at her quickly, and then looked at his brother; he looked back at her and then nodded, as she turned around to head back the way they’d come she found herself staring at Ahmed and he looked furious. Without warning a set of strong arms grabbed her from behind, she fought, automatically trying to break free but it was no use.
She was still facing Ahmed and a look of triumph shone in his eyes; as he stepped towards her she spat in his face and continued her struggle. As she looked up again, she saw a fist come flying towards her face; she braced herself for the impact but was still unprepared for the sheer amount of pain as his fist connected with her jaw.
She cried out in pain, momentarily forgetting to struggle as her head snapped to the side. She jerked her head back and then continued to struggle, another fist came at her, hitting the other side of her face, and she refused to let her body give up, even though black spots were dancing in front of her eyes. She saw the fist come at her for the third time; felt it connect with her nose and then knew no more.

* * * *

Ahmed looked at the now unconscious girl in his brothers’ grip, “Why do they insist on spitting in my face?” Bastien looked at his brother, “Well seeing as how I had her arms pinned what else could she do? Would you have preferred she kicked out at you?”
Ahmed looked up at the obvious amusement in his brothers voice and glared at him, then looked back at the girl, blood poured from her broken nose and the bruises were already starting to show from where he’d hit her, not once but three times. No other female he’d hit had lasted longer than the first punch. He hit her once more for good measure then picked up her legs and helped his brother carry their burned the last hundred yards to the van.
Bastien got in the driver’s seat and waited for the sound of the back of the van closing, before he started up the engine and drove off towards his destination.

* * * *

Ryan couldn’t believe what he was seeing, he’d been glued to his computer since coming back from dropping Ellen off at College, he’d seen her move from room to room in the College; then had seen her leave the premises at noon. She walked into the woods and had then stopped.
Several minutes had gone by and then she’d started moving again; slower than before and had then inexplicably picked up speed and was now moving through the woods away from the College. That meant only one thing; Ellen