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

foot of me and put her hands on either side of my face. It was an extremely intimate gesture for anyone. For Natalia, it was downright bizarre. “Listen to me. You put your faith in you and only you. You trust yourself and no one else. Or you will be dead before you know it.”
    “Dead?” I echoed.
    That seemed like an exaggeration.
    “Yes,” she said. “Dead.”
    She stepped back, withdrawing her hands from my face. “Now, are you ready to work?”
    I nodded, trying to shake off the unease, to clear my head. “Yes. Yes. I’m ready.”
    “Good.” And then she swung.
    *  *  *
    Several hours later, I physically felt a little bit better. I was able to fend off a lot of Natalia’s attacks, and even got in a few good punches of my own. But I was exhausted. And still unsettled by what she’d said.
    Near the end of our session, I deflected a right jab, but Natalia caught me with a left punch to the side, and I doubled over. She only gave me ten seconds before hoisting me up by the collar of my shirt. She shoved me into the wall and brought a knee up for a side blow.
    I crossed my arms at the last second, using them as a shield. As she rebalanced, I brought my arms up through hers, forcing her to lose her grip, giving me an opening. I locked my hands behind her neck and pushed her down while I brought my knee up.
    The air rushed from her lungs when I slammed her in the chest.
    When I let her go, she stumbled to the floor, gasping for breath.
    Someone clapped from the doorway.
    It was Connor.
    Natalia climbed to her feet and scowled at her brother. “Stop clapping like she’s fucking Girl Wonder. You’ll give her an ego.”
    Connor stopped clapping, but the amused smile was still plastered on his face.
    Since anything I said or did could be directly quantified by the number of bruises Natalia would give me tomorrow, I said and did nothing. Even though I wanted to smile right along with Connor.
    Natalia scowled harder, if that was even possible, and shoulder-slammed Connor as she stormed out.
    Connor laughed, and I imagined Natalia’s blood boiling as the sound followed her all the way to the elevators.
    “She’s going to punish me tomorrow, you know,” I said.
    Connor came closer and handed me a clean towel. “No, she won’t.”
    I frowned. “Then you don’t know your sister very well.”
    He let me dry off for a second before explaining why he’d come. “I have a surprise for you. Head up to your room and clean up. I’ll come get you in a bit.”
    “Another surprise?” I asked.
    He licked his lips, drawing my attention to them, and I had a flicker of a thought as to what it would feel like to kiss him.
    Damn it.
    “Thank you for…you know,” I said once I’d gotten control of myself. He nodded, clearly knowing I meant the cell phone.
    “So, what kind of surprise is this?” I asked.
    “The good kind.”
    “Good is subjective.”
    He took another step, officially crossing into personal-bubble territory. “We’re going out, you and I.”
    “Where?”
    He smiled again. “You’ll see.”
    *  *  *
    I took extra long in the shower, hoping Connor wouldn’t show for a few more hours so I could maybe take a nap. Unfortunately, when I came out of the bathroom only wrapped in a towel, he was sitting on my couch.
    “What the hell?” I said, instinctively using an arm to shield myself, even though the towel did the job.
    “I told you I’d come for you,” he said matter-of-factly. “And here I am. I almost came in there to fetch you. You were taking forever.”
    Whereas he’d been in good humor when I left him an hour ago, now he seemed prickly and impatient.
    “Sorry.” I tightened the towel around my body. Connor’s eyes didn’t stray from my face, and I found myself annoyed about it.
    “Get dressed,” he said. “And hurry.”
    In the bathroom, I dried and dressed in record time and twisted my hair up in a loose bun. It wasn’t great, but it would have to do.
    When I returned to the