The Gender Game Bella Forrest (best young adult book series TXT) 📖

a cab. We waited until we arrived back at the lab, where we had left Lee's motorcycle. Only as Lee started the engine and we rode off did he speak.

"What just happened?" he asked. I could feel how tense his chest was as I gripped it.

"I'm sorry," I breathed. "I spotted my cousin, Cad Thorne, and there was no way I could think to warn you. I had to get out of his sight."

Lee let out a deep sigh—of relief, I could only assume. "Well, I'm glad that was the reason," he muttered. "I honestly thought you might've tried to do a runner."

"No," I reassured him.

"You'd be a fool to attempt it," he said.

"I know." For more reasons than you might be aware of.

I told Lee about the men I'd encountered in the alleyway, looking for "strays".

He tensed up again. "God, Violet. Alleyways are the absolute worst place for you to stand at night. Especially in that part of the city. Guys like the ones you ran into are known to snatch even married women. They take females away from the city and surrounding suburbs, deep into the mountain region. There are a number of scattered towns in those harder-to-reach areas which are inhabited primarily by peasants, though frequented by city men more than the state would like to admit… Let's just say they're not places you'd enjoy visiting."

I took the hint. Men seemed to be able to get away with using women for their own dark deeds here in Patrus, unlike in my homeland. Any untoward approach by a man toward a woman in Matrus would be the last thing he ever did. It virtually never happened.

"Did you show them your ring?" Lee asked, rounding a corner and joining the main highway that led to the foothills.

"Yes," I lied. It was easier to lie than attempt to justify why I had not.

As he lapsed into silence, I recalled the last unsettling words Viggo had spoken. He had already guessed something wasn't right about me.

"What did you make of what Viggo said?" I dared ask.

"Well, obviously, getting into trouble the day after your arrival wasn't the smartest idea. Especially not with Viggo." Lee sounded pissed off.

I blew out a breath. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? If Cad hadn't arrived, I wouldn't have left you. How does Viggo even know about me being a bakery girl?"

"I told the guys in the lab," Lee said through his teeth. "I guess he overheard the conversation or was privy to office gossip."

We spent the rest of the journey in silence; a silence that was broken only by Samuel as we entered the house.

Lee headed straight to the staircase after locking the door, without a backward glance at me.

"So what now?" I asked, hands on my hips as I stared at his retreating back. "You said you would finally tell me the actual plan."

Lee paused in his ascent, but didn't turn around. "I know," he muttered. He hung his head, reaching to rub his temples. "But as I said, it's unfortunate it was Viggo who found you… Just give me a bit of time to clear my head and consider if anything needs to change. I'll still tell you the plan this evening. I promise."

I watched in annoyance as he disappeared up the stairs, while I was left with a slobbering Samuel.

I moved to the kitchen, and, since I hadn't actually eaten anything for dinner—I suspected Lee hadn’t either—I rummaged in the fridge. We had already finished all the leftovers, and there were no other precooked items here that I could see. I ended up grabbing a slab of butter and some bread from the cupboard over the sink. Pulling up a chair at the table, I buttered a slice and chewed glumly.

Whatever was ahead of me, this sure hadn't been the best start.

When Lee came back downstairs, I was still sitting at the table, paging through an old newspaper I'd spotted on one of the seats. It was actually extremely interesting to see the way Patrus presented the news. Their excited tone when reporting their advances was so at odds with that of Matrus when covering the same news. And the types of advertisements that appeared in between the pages were also… interesting. I struggled to find a single one that didn't feature a scantily clad girl. Modeling is apparently one profession that is excusable for women here…

I set the paper down as Lee took a seat opposite me.

I raised my brows expectantly.

"I've thought about it," he said, leaning back in his chair and rocking slightly. His demeanor was calmer now. "Tonight could have been worse." His expression softened as our eyes met. "I'm sorry if I was harsh earlier. You just have no idea how stressful it was not knowing where you went. When you ran, I honestly did believe you'd lost your senses and were trying to escape… So…" Pressing his hands together, he sat forward. "Now you've seen the egg. You know where it's located, and hopefully could find it in that lab in the dark if you had to… In a few weeks, the city lab's ten-year anniversary will take place. A banquet will be held to commemorate the occasion. It is not a widely-publicized event; it's reserved specifically for the scientists who work in the lab, and members of the king's council have also been known to attend. The night of this banquet will be the perfect time for us to strike."

Weeks. My stomach plummeted—I had hoped this would be over in days. The thought of staying in Patrus for so long terrified me. If tonight's mini-fiasco was anything to go by, I was sure to mess up again. My nature wasn't designed to handle this environment.

I stared at him, frowning. "I don't understand. On a night when so many important people are together in a room, wouldn't security be higher than usual?"

"Yes," Lee replied. "But that shouldn't hamper anything, if all goes to plan… Give me a