Forged: An Altered Series Prequel Read Online Free PDF Page A

to me, and my stomach pinwheeled. I pressed into the wall, and he mirrored my movements, putting only an inch or two of space between us.
    I swallowed the rush of excitement trying to burst out of my throat, tried to put out the heat climbing up my legs.
    If this was some kind of game he was playing, I had the feeling he’d set his trap and I was already caught in it.
    He leaned into me and let go of my wrist, running his hand up my waist, sending gooseflesh down my spine. I nearly vibrated beneath his touch.
    “Don’t give up, please. I know it’s rough,” he said.
    “I feel like I don’t belong here.” I glanced away. “Like I’m not cut out for this.”
    “You are.”
    I buried the urge to snort, knowing how extremely unattractive it would be in this moment. “I don’t know about that. Your sister thinks I’m weak.”
    “Natalia thinks everyone is weak.”
    I met his eyes again. “What do you think?”
    He pushed a stray lock of hair away from my face and stared at it, trapped in his fingers, for too long. “I think this place needs someone like you.”
    He took a step back, smoothed down his oxford shirt and started for the elevator. As I watched him go, I repeated his last words in my head, over and over again until they sounded a lot like, I think I need someone like you.
    *  *  *
    Dinner that night was spaghetti. My favorite. But the table had only one place setting again, and Sam didn’t answer his door when I knocked.
    I went back to the lounge, got comfortable at the table, and dug into the food. The spaghetti was delicious. The sauce was definitely homemade and had all the right herbs and spices.
    I finished it off in record time, downed the small cup of applesauce they’d given me, and turned lastly to the lump of tinfoil on my tray. It looked like garlic bread, but when I unfolded the foil, I found a cell phone inside and a note tied to it.
    My chest felt light and fuzzy with something close to gratitude. Something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
    I undid the twine, and unfolded the note. Call Anna , it said, and was signed C.
    Connor.
    I clutched the phone to my chest and smiled.
    *  *  *
    I took care of my dinner dishes in a rush and hurried back to my room. I paced the floor, trying to decide if it was safe to call Anna here. No one ever visited my room except for Connor, and he’d been the one to give me the phone, so chances were I wouldn’t get in trouble.
    Furthermore, wasn’t Connor my supervisor? If he’d given me permission, then I assumed it was okay.
    I dialed our home phone and sat on the edge of the bed as it rang on the other end.
    It rang and rang.
    Pick up, damn it.
    Finally, the line clicked open.
    “Hello?” came my mother’s voice, small and unsure.
    “It’s me. Let me talk to Anna.”
    There was a pause, an intake of breath. “Hold on,” she said.
    No, How are you doing? or I miss you. Par for the course with my mother. Showing emotion was like pulling teeth for her.
    A moment later, little Anna’s voice filled the line, and I squeezed my eyes shut before I started bawling.
    “Hey, bird,” I said. “It’s me.”
    “Dani!” she said. “I miss you!”
    “I miss you, too. I’m sorry I haven’t called, but there aren’t many phones here.”
    “It’s okay,” she said quietly, but I could tell it wasn’t. Anna had a knack for downplaying how she really felt. Learned most likely from our mother. Maybe we were both more like her than I wanted to admit.
    “How are you?” I asked.
    I could almost hear her shrug through the phone. “I’m okay. I’ve been drawing you pictures since you left. I told Mom I wanted to mail them to you, but she said she doesn’t know the address.”
    “That’s okay. Save them for when I get home, and then I’ll have a ton to look at all at once.”
    She giggled. “Okay. When are you coming home?”
    I looked out the expanse of windows at Lake Michigan beyond. It was called a lake, but it didn’t look like one. It