Tested by Janelle Stalder Page A

time. She looked back at him in surprise.
    “You let me touch you.”
    She nodded. “I do.”
    He smiled then and she could see the old Tyler instantly. It nearly broke her heart. “Then you also have a thing for me?”
    Her breath rushed out of her on a startled laugh. “I don’t know about that.”
    His smiled widened. “You do. You are mine and you know it.”
    Oh, I’m starting to , she thought, hope expanding in her chest. But she couldn’t really belong to someone who didn’t even know who she was. She needed to solve that problem before they could deal with their bigger issues.
    “What do they give you Tyler?” she asked, changing the topic. “What are these treatments that make you stronger?”
    He looked momentarily taken off guard by the swift change in subject, but recovered quickly. He took a small step back, letting his hands drop to his sides. “There is something in the food,” he said.
    “The food? How do you know?”
    He shrugged. “I can smell it. There is a chemical scent to the food they bring me.”
    That was how they were administering the treatments? The blood drained from her face. God, she’d been delivering their dinners, never realizing what she was giving them.
    “The man who used to be in the room beside mine realized this as well,” Tyler said. “He refused to eat the food until it smelled clean of anything.”
    There was a possibility, Missy thought. “And what happened?”
    His face darkened. “He starved to death. It was not pleasant.”
    “Jesus,” she whispered in horror. “They just let him die like that?”
    Tyler nodded. “He’d already been a couple of days into it when I was brought to this room. We spoke through the wall to each other. He didn’t last much longer than that. He wouldn’t even drink the water so it didn’t take long.”
    Missy felt sick just thinking about it. What was wrong with these people? She looked up at Tyler. “Do you know why they brought you here? Have they ever said anything about what they’re training you for?”
    “War,” he said simply. “They want us to attack some building and kill a man there. They’ve shown us all his picture.”
    “Us who?” Missy asked.
    “There is a group of us that they brought into a room,” he started but stilled, turning his head to the door slightly.
    “What is it?” she asked softly.
    “Someone is coming,” he said, moving in front of her. He walked back, forcing her to do the same, until her back met the wall, her front pressed against him. She couldn’t even see around his big body to see what was happening. A moment later she heard the slot in the door open and the scraping sound of a tray being pushed through. Dinner time , she thought, her stomach rolling.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER TWELVE
     
    “Is it just me, or is it unusually quiet around here?” Seamus said, stretching out on the sofa. Charlotte looked up at him just as the front door burst open.
    Sam, Vi and Pixie walked in, their voices blending into one another’s as they spoke excitedly. Seamus sighed loudly.
    “I spoke too soon,” he muttered.
    Charlotte smiled at him before focusing on the girls. She couldn’t make out what they were talking about, but they smelled like a fire pit.
    “Where have you been?” Lake asked, walking in from the kitchen.
    “Please tell me you aren’t cooking in there,” Seamus all but groaned.
    “It’s almost lunch,” she said in reply, which translated to “yes”. Charlotte could practically see him cringe.
    “I think I’m still full from breakfast,” he said.
    Lakes brows came together in puzzlement. “You hardly ate at breakfast,” she argued.
    Charlotte stood up before Seamus said anything else. She didn’t want him to hurt Lake’s feelings. She knew how hard the other girl tried at cooking. “What’s going on?” she asked the newcomers, shifting the other two’s attention.
    “Phoenix got attacked by a group of soldiers,” Sam said.
    Charlotte’s entire body