Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Chapter 863

Charles looked at Grayson and shook his head, exasperated. "You should just go home. Your family wants you to toughen up, not get yourself killed. I'm sure they've got people watching your back anyway. But if you go in there, you might not make it out alive."

"Come on, man, you'll protect me, right?" Grayson latched onto Charles's arm, looking up at him like he was some kind of hero. "Please?"

Charles yanked his arm free without a second thought.

When Clara clung to him like that, he actually felt kind of proud. But Grayson? That just gave him the creeps.

Charles didn't hesitate he gave Grayson a swift kick right in the ass. "Get lost! If you get into trouble, don't expect me to save you."

Grayson rubbed his backside, looking absolutely stunned. "Why are you willing to take her, then?"

"She's tougher than you."

Grayson just stood there, still massaging his bruised pride, lost for words. He'd seen Clara back in the rainforest-she was wild, and he knew enough not to mess with her.

Clara and Charles made their way to the front of the group. The men in charge of picking test subjects lit up when they saw them and nodded in approval.

They climbed into a battered SUV nearby. Inside, the smell hit them like a wall. Four or five strangers were already crammed in, all from different countries, completely unfamiliar with each other.

Once all ten seats were filled, the engine rumbled to life.

Charles glanced at Clara, worried she might be bothered by the awful smell, but she just found herself a small corner, sat down quietly, and waited.

Three hours later, the car finally started winding up the mountain roads.

They barked orders in the local

the others and stared at the massive factory looming ahead. It looked more like a fortress, with hundreds

security check, forced to empty their pockets and leave everything behind. Then,

A tiny girl, maybe ten or eleven years old, stuck to Clara like glue. She spoke perfect Chinese, and her eyes were wide with wonder. From the moment they stepped inside, she couldn't stop marveling at how fancy everything

in awe. "But this place? It's like something from

it was time for Clara's checkup, the little girl grabbed

point

women in the group. The eight men finished their exams quickly, but the

finally stumbled out. Her face was ghostly pale, all the excitement gone, replaced by

what happened, but the

man in a white

"Come in."

who was clutching her

the exam room was cramped and filled with equipment. One of

sat at a desk, barely looking up. "Lie

the bed and nodded at the bloody sheets. "You're not going

just sneered in

anyway, curious what kind of exam they

turning cold. "What do you think you're doing?" He raised an eyebrow, giving her a once-over.

but with a sharp crack, Clara twisted and broke his

back, face white as a

Fine! Guards! Someone get

guards stormed in, the man