Silenced by Natasha Larry Read Free Book Online Page A

Pike.”
    She’s nowhere near as impressed with me as I am by her. She’s not traditionally beautiful, but she is impossible not to stare at. Her hair is close shaven except for the long, thick bang that swoops over the right side of her face. Big, bright eyes that almost look black. There’s some reddish brown powder rubbed around them. At first it looks like make up, but as I inch toward her I see that it’s a natural part of her skin. A mark of some kind from the gods.
    I shrug. “That’s me.” I flash the best smile in my I-wanna-tap-that arsenal. A gesture she returns by sucking on her teeth.
    “Well, whoopee for you. Glad you finally got it together.”
    I blink as Tripp laughs like a high otter. Shaking it off, I lean over and offer my hand. She stares at it, then gazes back up at me.
    “If I’d known such a beautiful lady was waiting, I’d have hurried my ass up.”
    Behind me, Shoestring chortles. Kiwi shakes her head and grins over my shoulder. She lifts herself up and saunters away, still shaking her heard. My gaze follows her.
    That body is ridonculous. That’s what my white buddies used to say about a body that won’t quit. Fit, yet curvy. Nice, plump ass. She can definitely get it.
    “Ouch,” Tripp says now that she’s out of the room. He strolls around and faces me. “Guess you aren’t her type.” He winks.
    He reaches out and runs his fingers across my cheek. I freeze, my brows furrowed. “But you are mine.”
    His eyes scan me up and down and I narrow my eyes. A hand plants on his hips and I shake my head. Oh, hell no.
    “I’m not gay, Shoestring.”
    He frowns. “They never are.”
    Before I can respond, a loud knock interrupts us. He winks again and sashays across the room and around the corner.
    I rub my eyelids. What the fuck is going on here? I’m in a house with Tripp and his super white name in some reenactment of Brokeback Mountain .
    Then there’s Kiwi, with her unwarranted black girl attitude giving me blue balls for no reason.
    “Kenya!” Tripp bellows from out in the hall. “Come in, girl.” The door slams shut and two pairs of feet pound their way into the living room.
    “Pike.” Kenya nods at me. I nod back. She looks around. “Where is Kiwi?”
    A bang rings out from another room in the house, and Kiwi comes rushing in. She smiles at Kenya. “I’m here.”
    Kenya claps. “I’m here to escort you to the main grounds where you’ll take lunch in the main cafeteria. Colonel Jax will lead the Presenting. All you three have to do is sit on stage next to him. From there, Juliet will brief you on the rest of your day.” She smiles. “If you’ll follow me.”
    Kiwi is on her feet first and the two of them start for the front hall. Tripp glances at me. I take it as a cue to stand up and get moving. He follows suit. Together, we rush to catch up. They’re halfway through the door. As we close the distance between us, Tripp lets me go ahead of him and closes the door behind us.
    Outside, the light is sickly yellow. The four of us trudge across the grounds of Compound Six, which is on an old military base in what used to be Alabama. As we walk, I step closer to Tripp.
    I nod ahead toward Kiwi. “She always that mean?”
    He shakes his head. “A little intense, but no, the attitude is new.” He grins. “Showed up at the same time you did.”
    My hand rises to shield my eyes from the weird interrogation room glare.
    I grin. “Well, I like a challenge.”
    Tripp sniggers. “I’ll take that bet.”
    I shake my head. “If you win, I’ll let you give me a blow job.”
    Laughter gushes out of him and I glance up at the sky. There is something off about it. A flicker of yellow ripples across a space that is more silver than blue. For some reason those ripples put me on edge.
    I’m so busy looking up that I barrel right into Kiwi. My head jerks down toward her. “Sorry,” I mutter.
    She hisses up into my face.
    Surprise doubles me back, eyes narrowed. “The