Read Online The Vanishing Girl by Laura Thalassa - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Laura Thalassa
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got to see you in the flesh. And now here we are, princess.”
“Can I have my gun back, stalker?”
His lips quirked at the name. “Not yet. You still look like you want to shoot me.”
“Stop that.”
He crossed his arms. “Stop what?” he said, tilting his head. “Reading you?”
I said nothing, which was answer enough.
He leaned in again. “I’m right, aren’t I?” he said, his voice rough.
I pulled away to look at him. “What?”
“It pisses you off that I’m your equal.” God he sounded so smug. And he was right. He’d bested me over and over again. That hadn’t happened in awhile, and it infuriated me.
I stared back at him. “You have me all figured out, don’t you?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Not even close,” he said, “but I am making headway.”
And damn him, he was.
“ That was a good start, but you can do better,” Caden said as we entered the main building of the facility.
“Shut up.” He was referring to my poor aim in Weaponry.
“You have superior eyesight and coordination; you know you can do better.”
I hid my reaction to his words. Now that I knew our genes were altered, I figured the project was to blame for the edge I’d always had growing up. Still, it was strange hearing Caden reaffirm my suspicions.
“You assume I care,” I said.
He watched me for a beat. “Eventually, you’ll have to.”
A shiver snaked up my spine as I read between the lines. At some point in the future I’d be in a situation where my aim would be the only thing that kept me alive. I hoped to get out of here before they made me into a killer.
Caden held the door open for me, and I walked in. The classroom didn’t look much different than any at my old high school — same fake wood desks and plastic chairs. Only the walls in this room were covered with posters and diagrams dedicated to the psychology of profiling people.
At the front of the room Debbie sat on top of her desk, watching students file in. Her gaze was distant, and when her eyes rested on me, she frowned.
“Here, sit by me,” Caden said, dropping his bag beneath his desk and tapping the seat next to him.
“What would you do if I said no?” I said, challenging him.
Caden’s eyes dropped to my mouth, and the corners of his lips tilted upwards. “Then I’d try harder to convince you.”
“Oh really?” I said, arching an eyebrow and moving away from him. “Because I’m not sure I want to sit next to you. I think I want to sit …” I looked around and grabbed the nearest desk — there were plenty open ones to choose from. “Here.” I plopped down at an empty desk and smiled at him.
We’d caught the attention of the few other students that had trickled in, most sitting in pairs. All were sequestered into male-female units.
Caden picked up his bag and moved to the desk next to mine.
I clicked my tongue. “ That’s your attempt at convincing me?”
“You know, persistence goes a long way. After the fourth time you switch desks and I follow you, you’ll be convinced — or at least tired of moving.” He gave me a smoldering grin, and those adorable dimples of his deepened.
I caught myself staring at his dimpled smile. “Fair enough. I guess you can sit next to me.”
“As if that was ever really in question,” Caden said, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms behind his head.
I couldn’t smother my smile. Cocky.
I took in the room once more, now filling up. Again I noticed the strange pairs of students. Goosebumps broke out along my arms. An idea niggled at the edge of my mind, but I pushed it down. It was too twisted to think about.
Debbie began class a few minutes later. She flipped on a projector and an image of a person with flared nostrils and furrowed brows came on the screen. “Can anyone tell me what this person’s expression is?”
A teleporter raised his hand, and she called on him. “The individual is enraged,” the teleporter said.
I studied the
“Can I have my gun back, stalker?”
His lips quirked at the name. “Not yet. You still look like you want to shoot me.”
“Stop that.”
He crossed his arms. “Stop what?” he said, tilting his head. “Reading you?”
I said nothing, which was answer enough.
He leaned in again. “I’m right, aren’t I?” he said, his voice rough.
I pulled away to look at him. “What?”
“It pisses you off that I’m your equal.” God he sounded so smug. And he was right. He’d bested me over and over again. That hadn’t happened in awhile, and it infuriated me.
I stared back at him. “You have me all figured out, don’t you?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “Not even close,” he said, “but I am making headway.”
And damn him, he was.
“ That was a good start, but you can do better,” Caden said as we entered the main building of the facility.
“Shut up.” He was referring to my poor aim in Weaponry.
“You have superior eyesight and coordination; you know you can do better.”
I hid my reaction to his words. Now that I knew our genes were altered, I figured the project was to blame for the edge I’d always had growing up. Still, it was strange hearing Caden reaffirm my suspicions.
“You assume I care,” I said.
He watched me for a beat. “Eventually, you’ll have to.”
A shiver snaked up my spine as I read between the lines. At some point in the future I’d be in a situation where my aim would be the only thing that kept me alive. I hoped to get out of here before they made me into a killer.
Caden held the door open for me, and I walked in. The classroom didn’t look much different than any at my old high school — same fake wood desks and plastic chairs. Only the walls in this room were covered with posters and diagrams dedicated to the psychology of profiling people.
At the front of the room Debbie sat on top of her desk, watching students file in. Her gaze was distant, and when her eyes rested on me, she frowned.
“Here, sit by me,” Caden said, dropping his bag beneath his desk and tapping the seat next to him.
“What would you do if I said no?” I said, challenging him.
Caden’s eyes dropped to my mouth, and the corners of his lips tilted upwards. “Then I’d try harder to convince you.”
“Oh really?” I said, arching an eyebrow and moving away from him. “Because I’m not sure I want to sit next to you. I think I want to sit …” I looked around and grabbed the nearest desk — there were plenty open ones to choose from. “Here.” I plopped down at an empty desk and smiled at him.
We’d caught the attention of the few other students that had trickled in, most sitting in pairs. All were sequestered into male-female units.
Caden picked up his bag and moved to the desk next to mine.
I clicked my tongue. “ That’s your attempt at convincing me?”
“You know, persistence goes a long way. After the fourth time you switch desks and I follow you, you’ll be convinced — or at least tired of moving.” He gave me a smoldering grin, and those adorable dimples of his deepened.
I caught myself staring at his dimpled smile. “Fair enough. I guess you can sit next to me.”
“As if that was ever really in question,” Caden said, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms behind his head.
I couldn’t smother my smile. Cocky.
I took in the room once more, now filling up. Again I noticed the strange pairs of students. Goosebumps broke out along my arms. An idea niggled at the edge of my mind, but I pushed it down. It was too twisted to think about.
Debbie began class a few minutes later. She flipped on a projector and an image of a person with flared nostrils and furrowed brows came on the screen. “Can anyone tell me what this person’s expression is?”
A teleporter raised his hand, and she called on him. “The individual is enraged,” the teleporter said.
I studied the
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