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.

checkpoint every hundred meters, and the guards were thorough. They barked orders in the local dialect—a weird blend of English and something else—making it

and stared at the massive factory looming ahead. It looked more like a

to empty their pockets

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

capital is a dump," she whispered in awe. "But this place?

little girl grabbed her arm. "Let me go first!

No point

were the only women in the group. The eight men finished their exams quickly, but the little girl still hadn't

when the girl finally stumbled out. Her face was

crouched down, about to ask what happened, but the

A man in a white coat

"Come in."

the girl, who was clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her

with equipment. One of

desk, barely

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

man just

kind of exam they

Clara braced herself, her face turning cold. "What do you think you're doing?" He raised an eyebrow, giving her a once-over. "Isn't

with a sharp crack,

face

Fine! Guards! Someone

guards stormed in, the man