One-Knight Stand (White Knights #3) - Julie Moffett Page 0,4

going to be so exciting.”

“Well, I’m quite encouraged by your enthusiasm,” Professor Grange said. “Now, for the rest of you, Ms. Logan will arrive shortly to take the next group for a ride. We’ll rotate drivers for the rest of the week, so, no worries if you don’t drive today. Your turn will come. However, it will be important to pay close attention to your instructor as we describe the techniques to perform the various maneuvers.”

He returned his attention to us and swept a hand out toward Frankie, Jax, Wally and me. “Students, please get into the vehicle. I’ll provide instruction from the passenger’s seat.”

I walked slowly, trying to come up with a reason why I couldn’t be in the same car with Frankie. I almost tripped on some extensions sticking out from under the car on each side. They looked like training wheels for a car.

Professor Grange caught me by the arm. “Careful, Ms. Sinclair. Those are antirollover wheels, which allow us to conduct high-speed skid maneuvers safely.”

I swallowed hard. Forgetting my medicine had been a serious mistake.

“Great,” I squeaked.

“However, today’s focus will be on situational awareness and learning how to maneuver the vehicle safely through the slalom course,” he said. “We require the antirollover devices, as the turns in the slalom section can be quite aggressive, depending on how fast you’re going.”

Wally looked over at me, his face a weird shade of green. Jax had a dark scowl on his face. I don’t think he’d ever ridden in a car with Frankie, but he’d seen her in action in the simulator, gauged our reactions, and gotten the memo. Or maybe he was disappointed he hadn’t been chosen to drive first. Hard to say.

“Students, hurry, please,” Professor Grange said urging us along. “I will need you to put on the safety helmet that’s on your seat. It shouldn’t be necessary, but some of our maneuvers can be violent and we don’t want to risk your valuable gray matter, do we?” He chuckled, but I felt my stomach drop.

Helmets? This was getting real.

Without recourse, we climbed into the car. My hands shaking, I put on my helmet and fastened my seatbelt. Frankie carefully positioned the front seat and mirrors. The curtain was about to go up on this horror show. Still, it was time to suck it up. We were in training to be spies, after all. I mean, how bad could it be with a highly qualified, professional instructor and a car with special safety features?

I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer to that question.

I’d taken the middle hump, since I was the shortest and smallest of the three of us. Jax sat behind Frankie, because she had the seat pulled up, leaving more leg room for him. Wally wedged in beside me on my right side, his breathing just short of hyperventilation.

“This is wholly premature, in my opinion,” Wally said in a low voice. “What are they thinking, letting students drive so early in the semester?”

“I’m discovering UTOP is all about on-the-job training,” Jax said as he fastened his helmet under his chin. “Hang on. It’s likely to be a bumpy ride.”

Professor Grange shut the door on Wally’s side, then slid into his seat. “Everyone is buckled in and helmets on, correct?”

I was suddenly hyperaware of how close I was to Jax crammed in the back seat between him and Wally. Jax glanced at me as I tightened my helmet, sliding the band as far as it could go. He checked on Wally, then gave the professor a thumbs-up. “We’re good to go.”

I took one last look at Wally. He’d turned an even darker shade of green. His eyes met mine, and the dread in my stomach grew.

I knew exactly what he was thinking.

Frankie was driving. We were all going to die.

Or at least we were going to wish that we were dead.

Chapter Four

ANGEL SINCLAIR

“Situational awareness is the key to successful evasive driving,” Professor Grange instructed. “You must avoid putting yourself, or others, in a hazardous situation. That’s critical if you are to survive in your new careers.” He pointed Frankie down the winding road, presumably toward the driving track.

After several more minutes of additional lecturing and a couple of sedate turns, he instructed Frankie to turn left at the yellow dead-end sign.

Wally and I shared unspoken looks about the irony of the dead-end sign.

“Students, let me test your situational awareness,” Professor Grange said. “Who can tell me what was on any of the past three