Seth: Futuristic Spy Romance (Cyborgs: More Than Machines) by Eve Langlais Read Free Book Online Page A

hole.” As for her, she’d had enough of rubbing her knees raw and second-guessing whether she’d made the right choice. She’d take her chances with what lay beyond the grille.
    “Is this your way of saying you’re not enjoying our adventure?”
    “This isn’t an adventure. Or have you forgotten who we work for?”
    “ All work with no fun makes for a—-”
    “Good soldier,” she finished. “Now shut up, just in case there’s someone up ahead.” It was probably too late for stealth, given they’d not exactly been quiet. But, still, she wanted to concentrate on what might possibly await in the light. Hopefully not guns trained on the opening.
    While she’d mostly believed him when he said this was probably part of their test, a tiny kernel of doubt also existed and wondered if the test was one of patience that required her keeping her ass sitting in a chair back in the boring white room.
    Too late now. Peering through the mesh screen of the barrier over the duct, she noted an empty room. How anticlimactic. The walls were the same pristine white as the one she’d left, but instead of furniture or people, the only items of note were four doors, each a different color.
    How odd.
    Pushing at the grille with hands dusty from their crawl, it swung away from the opening with nary a squeak. With some inching and squirming and an oops from him as his hand touched a body part he shouldn’t have—a grope she enjoyed a tad too much—she managed to get herself to ease out of the opening, legs dangling down first. She dropped to the floor, landing in a crouch, eyes darting around as she searched for movement.
    A part of her expected alarms to go off or for troops to come rushing in, guns aimed. Nothing happened.
    “Look out below,” Seth sang. She dodged out of the way a moment before he landed with a flex of his knees. He grinned at her. “Well, that was fun.”
    “ You obviously don’t get out enough.”
    “Oh lighten up, gorgeous. Admit it, this is kind of exhilarating. Top-secret selection by the brass. A locked room. A concealed way out. Think of this as a quest, a puzzle quest. Solve the riddles, and we win a prize.”
    “Or get dishonorably discharged.”
    “Pessimist.”
    “You’re one of those annoying people who sees the glass as half full , aren’t you?”
    “No, I’m the one who doesn’t care and chugs it before asking for more. But enough about my amazing philosophy when it comes to life. What have we here?”
    “A room with doors. Yay. And to think I crawled through a dark tunnel for this excitement.”
    “Alone time with me is always exciting.”
    She groaned. “Can’t you be serious for a minute?”
    “Nope.” Seth wandered the perimeter of the room, peeking at each portal in turn.
    She remained in her spot, arms crossed, watching him. “So, Sherlock, what’s our next move?”
    “Does your asking mean you’ve conceded to my superior intellect and abilities?”
    “No. But, since you’re the one with the bright ideas, I’m sure you have a plan.”
    Because at this point, Anastasia didn’t. Four doors. No signs. And no instructions. Did she choose her favorite color? Was there a pattern? Had she missed a clue somewhere along the way? She worried about making the wrong decision. Thus far, crazy and outspoken or not, Seth seemed to know how to play the game the military had them engaged in. Sink or swim time. She’d trusted him up to this point, might as well see if he could take them all the way.
    “ A plan? Bah. Plans are for the meticulously organized. I think better on the fly. It’s one of my better traits.”
    “Somehow, that’s not reassuring.”
    He just grinned in reply and turned back to his perusal of the space. He mused aloud. “So which door do we pick? Red, for the color of my passion, which throbs for you.”
    She made a moue of distaste but couldn’t help the flutter of her heart.
    “Blue for the beauty of your eyes?”
    He wouldn’t win her over with corny