Child of Recklessness (Trials of Strength Book 2) by Matthew R. Bell Page A

workers.
    ‘ What do you mean?’ I asked.
    ‘ We need to de-stress, Lucas,’ she replied, ‘before we all go
mad.’
    I
thought about it. It wasn’t really what I had in mind, I wanted to
work non-stop, find my father, stop him, and find some way to get
back some of our lives. But the pleading in Anna’s blue eyes
stopped my words short. I couldn’t think of myself right now, if
Anna wanted this, then I’d do my best to give it to her.
    ‘ Alright,’ I finally said, and her gorgeous face broke into a
heart-breaking smile. ‘Only thing is, you get to tell everyone, and
organise it. It has to be here too, our faces are plastered
everywhere, it kinda limits our options.’
    Anna
jumped onto the bed and wrapped her arms around my neck. She placed
a soft kiss on my lips and moved back to the bathroom to get
ready.
    I hope this is the right thing to be doing.
     
    *
     
    ‘ Did Anna speak to you yet?’ I asked, feigning a blow at
Chris’s stomach, and throwing one at his face.
    It was
early the next morning, and true to form, Chris hunted me down. I
still hadn’t been able to grab a coffee.
    ‘ Yep, I think it’s a good idea,’ he replied, blocking my head
blow and throwing his elbow at me. ‘We need a moral boost,
especially if we’re staying to fight.’
    ‘ We are,’ I said.
    Chris
stopped and sat down heavily, panting. He motioned for me to sit
opposite him.
    ‘ We need a plan, Lucas,’ he said once I’d sat down.
    ‘ You’re the one whose brain never stops, what do you think?’ I
asked.
    ‘ When we find your Dad, could you kill him?’ Chris replied,
eyeing me carefully.
    I never
even took a second to think about it, in my heart, I
knew.
    ‘ No,’ I sighed, ‘no, I don’t think I can.’
    Chris
nodded.
    ‘ I thought that,’ he said. ‘Alright, not a big deal, I
can.’
    I looked
up sharply.
    ‘ What?’ I gasped.
    ‘ I don’t see anything short of taking your father out of the
picture from stopping him or his group, do you?’ Chris said, and I
shook my head. ‘And if we can find him, where he is, there might be
enough proof to keep the government off our backs.’
    ‘ What do you mean? Blackmail?’ I said.
    ‘ Yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. Right now we could cause
them trouble, that’s why we’re being hunted, but it’s nothing they
can’t sweep under the rug,’ Chris panted. ‘But if we can find something, something
definitive of the events in Greystone or concrete information about
the experiments that preceded Greystone, then we’d have them on the
ropes.’
    I
agreed, and we finished the training session. I quickly, and
finally, grabbed a cup of pure caffeine before going for a shower.
I sighed blissfully at the rich dark liquid, and Anna stared at me
from the couch, a frown on her face.
    Once I’d
dried and changed, I joined the group back in the main room. Brian
and Chris whispered heavily at the computers, and I took my place
by Anna’s side. Paul was nowhere to be seen, and when I asked, Anna
informed me she’d sent him on a supply run for her ‘party’. Since
his and Brian’s faces weren’t all over the news.
    ‘ What are they whispering about?’ I asked, refraining from
listening in, I felt guilty about it.
    ‘ Brian got a location from the drive,’ she replied
casually.
    ‘ What!?’ I blurted.
    I stood
up and moved over to the two men in the shadows. They cut off their
conversation at my approach, and I hit them with a cold
stare.
    ‘ Anything prudent I should know?’ I said.
    Chris
shook his head, and Brian had suddenly developed an obsession with
the wall behind him.
    ‘ Really?’ I pushed, a little bit of anger welling in my
stomach.
    ‘ Anna told you already?’ Chris muttered, but he didn’t wait for
an answer. ‘Anna!’
    She
looked up innocently and smiled.
    ‘ Oh, I’m sorry, was what you told me supposed to be a secret?’
she asked, and I smiled.
    ‘ You know damn well it was,’ Chris growled, and I turned back
to stare at his