Page 28 of Forged in Deception

Destiny shuddered visibly at the thought, but Cora looked more bright-eyed than before.

“Speak for yourself! I’d love to chat with another being. Imagine how much we could learn from them. Maybe they know the cure for cancer or how to build a car that runs on water. The way I see it, it’s just another reason why studying DX8 is so important.”

Alarm bells were ringing in Asher’s mind the more that Cora talked.

He didn’t know what mental health condition she had claimed to have in order to be accepted into the trial, but it seemed like her real intentions had a lot more to do with some weird UFO contact project.

He glanced over at Karlin, who was off on her own near the edge of the bluff. He wanted to talk to her about Senera’s patient selection policies. He doubted the FDA would take kindly to Cora being part of this kind of supposedly scientific trial, and it could be a source of easy evidence for the company’s negligence.

Just as he thought he might get the chance to catch her alone, however, Bajwa got to his feet and announced that it was time for a trust building exercise.

Asher could practically see Karlin rolling her eyes from where he stood, but he forced himself to keep his groan an inward one. He had a feeling that whatever the man had in mind was going to be a lot less fun than the annual Forge Brothers Security paintball tournament.

Maybe it wasn’t the best activity for building trust, but getting to shoot paint pellets at his brothers once a year just had to be good for his job performance.

“All right, everyone, it’s time to pair up!”

Bajwa began ordering people around, and before Asher had a chance to think, Karlin was standing beside him.

He couldn’t believe his luck. Except for the fact that she looked like she was ready to shoothim, and maybe not with a paintball gun.

“You know, there are worse people than me you could be forced to partner with,” Asher said.

“I didn’t even say anything,” Karlin said, though her expression didn’t soften.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a very expressive face?”

“Gee, thanks.”

“It can be a compliment!”

“Okay, was it?”

Asher considered this for a moment while Karlin continued to frown.

Seriously, something had to give with this woman before he lost his mind completely.

“I just don't understand why you insist on being so hostile to such a sweet and handsome gentleman such as myself, Karlin,” he said innocently. “It’s really quite confusing.”

“I’m not hostile,” she argued.

“Maybe not on purpose,” Asher admitted, giving her a wicked grin. “I did notice that you made no attempt to deny my sweetness, nor my handsomeness.”

“That’s not what–”

Before Karlin got a chance to damage his ego any further, Bajwa gave an ear-splitting whistle and told them all to pay attention.

“What are we doing?” Asher whispered.

Karlin just shrugged, looking as confused as the other group members paired up around them.

“Let’s start with the classics,” Bajwa announced. “It’s time for some trust falls!”

KARLIN

Karlin felt her heart beginning to beat a little faster. She seriously hated stuff like this, and Bajwa usually changed things up with each retreat, so it was difficult to know what to expect.

“Now, if my lovely partner would help me demonstrate?”

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