Free The Pulse Series (Book 1): Pulse by Steven Laidlaw

what?"
    "It's what we are, but I don't want to get into it now. We'll talk about it more when we get to where we're going."
    "Where are we going?"
    "Training camp."
    I opened my mouth to push him further, but another thought occured to me. "Why were you in the cell next to me back in lockup? That was a setup, wasn't it."
    Bradley grimaced and had the good graces to look sheepish. "Yeah, sorry about that. I wanted to meet you before all this recruiting crap. Wanted to see if I could see the real you."
    I raised an eyebrow. "And?"
    "Jury's still out," he said with a half smile.
    I grit my teeth. "So Trey sold me out the moment we got into jail, huh?"
    Bradley gave me a sidelong glance. "Look, I—"
    I held up a hand. "Don't."
    A few minutes passed in silence before I sighed and turned to him again.
    "So how long left on this trip?"
    "Should be there in about three hours."
    I crossed my arms across my chest. "So you say I'm not a prisoner, but I'm going to some training camp with you. You going to brainwash me?"
    Bradley shook his head. "Nah, no need."
    "And whys that?"
    "Because you'll choose to join us."
    "What makes you say that?"
    "Because of where you're from."
    My eyes widened and I leaned forward to poke him in the chest. "You know nothing about the city I grew up in you stupid tourist. You don't get to spend a day in a place I've spent my entire life and then judge me for it."
    Bradley raised his hands up, palms outward. "Hey, wait, that's not what I meant. I saw the way you moved through the place when you ran. The effortless way you slipped between people and maneuvered your way out of danger. I got to see you at full speed running from Gus and Roger, and I've got to say, I'm impressed."
    I felt heat in my cheeks at the compliment, and scolded myself for acting like a schoolgirl. This man wasn't my friend. He was my enemy. I shouldn't be happy about any of this, and I damn well shouldn't be crushing on the guy who was forcing me into a life I didn't want. Either way I took my finger from his chest and sat back down on my seat. "Who's Roger?"
    Bradley pointed toward the front of the plane. "The pilot. Other man who was with you and Gus."
    I nodded and waited a few moment before replying. "So you could see me when I ran?"
    Bradley nodded. "I could see it on your face. Even in the awful situation we put you in you loved the thrill of the chase. You loved the escape. The moment that I saw you make the decision to jump from the roof is the most happy I have ever seen anyone. You'll love it with us."
    I snorted laughter at him. "That's where you're wrong. You watched me so hard but missed the most vital point. The reason I was happy wasn't because I was going to jump off that roof. It was because—"
    "Because you were free," Bradley finished, smiling at me.
    I frowned in confusion. If he understood then how could he think that I would be happy about having my freedom taken away? I opened my mouth to ask him but he beat me to it.
    "I think you have a lot of misconceptions about what it's like in the military. Especially in our division." He turned away from me and leaned his head against the headrest on the chair. "How about you just hold your judgment until you've seen it for yourself."
    "Only if you stop pretending you know everything about me."
    Bradley smiled. "Oh trust me, I know there is a lot more to you than meets the eye."
    I frowned again. What did he mean by that?
    "Let's try to get some rest."
    I looked up at Bradley, but he already had his eyes closed. I shook my head and sighed, trying to convince myself that now wasn't the time to worry about some boy's opinion of me. After wriggling on the chair to find a comfortable position I closed my eyes and tried my best to sleep.
    I wasn't successful.

ELEVEN
    I grit my teeth and gripped the armrests as the plane touched down. Bradley had offered to let me sit up with the pilot for the landing, but I'd put a halt to that foolish notion right away. Once we'd stopped we