Say It Again (First Wives, #5)(3)

“That’s Checkpoint Charlie to you, Miss Budanov.”

The irony always made her grin. The man in charge of assuring that anyone entering the doors of Richter belonged had been dubbed Checkpoint Charlie long before Sasha attended the school. The fact that he was German and not American, but spoke with a perfect American accent, had all the students wondering if he was an international spy. Truth was, none of them knew if Charlie was even his real name.

She approached with her hands at her sides. They didn’t hug . . . it wasn’t allowed.

“You look well, Sasha.”

“As do you. Keeping everything protected here, I see.”

“No one comes in, or out, without me knowing.”

Sasha tilted her head to the side.

Charlie’s playful smile slid. “Not since you rappelled off the north wall, crossed the grounds without hitting one sensor, and scaled the fence before calling Headmistress Lodovica from twenty miles away to tell her she needed to tighten her security.”

Sasha forced down the pride she felt with the memory.

“I couldn’t let that French twit . . . what was his name?”

“Mr. Dufort.”

“Right . . . Pierre Dufort.” Her male antagonist in her final year at Richter. “I couldn’t let him challenge me and not deliver.”

Charlie shook his head and lowered his voice. “The senior class has attempted every year since, and has yet to repeat your actions.”

“That’s too bad.”

He scowled. “How so?”

“That either means your students are unworthy or your teachers are slipping.” Sasha felt the smile in her eye as she turned.

“I’m glad you’re back,” he said.

She paused. Was she back?

Shaking the question from her head, Sasha walked down the overgrown hall to the administration offices.

The quiet space of the teachers’ area at the school did seem as if it had shrunk. A receptionist she didn’t recognize greeted her. “Miss Budanov?”

“Yes.”

“The headmistress is ready for you.”

She tried not to show surprise. The headmistress didn’t drop everything for anyone. Since Sasha came unannounced, she expected to wait at least a short time.

Her eyes glanced toward the office of the woman in charge. “Thank you.”

Sasha hesitated at the door. Should she knock?

The buzz of the door being unlocked by the receptionist answered her question.

Sasha lifted her chin and turned the knob.

An unfamiliar chill of the unexpected washed down her spine and brought gooseflesh to her arms. Usually those sensations would be met with Sasha watching her back and pulling a weapon from wherever it was hiding. Only that wasn’t necessary here.

Passing through the threshold flooded her with memories.

The poised and elegant woman behind the desk was exactly how Sasha remembered.

“Sasha. What an unexpected pleasure.” Headmistress Lodovica stood. In black dress pants and a long-sleeve button-up blouse, her clothing choices hadn’t changed. Behind her desk was a coat stand; on it was a hanger where she draped her robe. Sasha had seen the woman without her robe, but it was a very rare occasion.

“Thank you for seeing me.”

She rounded the desk. For one brief, frightening moment, Sasha thought the woman was going to hug her.

Instead the headmistress indicated a sofa on the far end of her office. “I’m anxious to hear what has brought you back to our halls.”

They both sat, and the headmistress crossed her slim legs at her ankles and rested her hands in her lap. The woman had to be in her midforties, maybe even older, but she didn’t look a day over thirty.

“I’m anxious to discover what has me here as well, Headmistress.”

“I think we can do away with the formalities, Sasha. You are no longer a student, and I am no longer your headmistress. My name is Linette. Please feel free to use it.” Those perfect lips and high cheekbones spread into a smile, something Sasha had seen less than five times.

Sasha took a deep breath.

“I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“Coming from the woman who handed down punishment for addressing her as anything but Headmistress . . .”

“You, of all my students, know that control is easily lost when respect is absent.”

It was Sasha’s turn to return a slight grin. “Yes, I remember well. I wasn’t punished for escaping the grounds, but for addressing you simply as Lodovica when I called you from the pub.”

“One of my proudest moments.”

Sasha narrowed her eyes. “You put me in solitary for five days.” Solitary sounded as bad as it was. Like any prison, the room was dark and soundproof. It was meant to intimidate and break a person. It often did.

“For your lack of respect, not for the act. Besides, I’m aware that Charlie offered some relief.”

He had. For an hour every night she was able to breathe fresh air and eat a real meal.

“Is Charlie his real name?”

“Is that why you’re here? To answer the questions of Richter that don’t need to be asked?”

Sasha shook her head. “I learned who my benefactor was two years ago.”

Linette raised her eyebrows. “I was sworn to secrecy.”