Page 170 of Silver Elite

“No.”

I can’t stop the protest. “But it’s my ward.”

“Exactly. That’s why it’s a no. You and Sutler are going to C with Xavier.” His hard tone brooks no argument.

“What are Anson and Noah going to be doing in Hamlett?” I push.

Cross folds his arms to his chest and gives everyone in the room a stern appraisal.

“Here’s the deal. You guys might belong to the same unit, but this isn’t a team effort. Everyone here is still on need-to-know. You don’t concern yourselves with what your fellows are doing, keen? The specifics of their ops make no difference to you or your mission.”

My stomach sinks like a stone when I realize he’s really not going to tell me what he plans to do in Hamlett.

After the briefing ends, I linger in the war room, waiting for Ford and Struck to leave before I stomp over to Cross.

“It’s my home,” I snap at him. “I have friends there.”

He lifts a brow. “If your friends aren’t part of an Uprising cell, then they should have nothing to worry about.”

“You’re the one who said my uncle wasn’t working for the Uprising anymore. You said he was dormant.”

“This has nothing to do with your uncle. We’ve been watching Hamlett for six months.”

Six months?

My mind starts racing. That’s long before Jim was executed. Long before I killed a white coyote with a shot that caught the Command’s attention…Suddenly it dawns on me. That’s why Cross was there that night. He wasn’t celebrating Liberty Day. He was on Elite business.

The knowledge that there’d been eyes on us for six months makesme sick to my stomach. Griff uses the tunnels to smuggle Mods out of the labor camps. Tana works at the inn and provides intel to the network. They’re both in deep with the Uprising.

“Your helo leaves in an hour. You should go now.”

I glare at him.

“What?” he says.

“I prefer you when you’re making me come.”

His lips twitch. “Dismissed, Darlington.”

I’m turning to the door when someone raps on it. A man in his mid-twenties and bearing a strong resemblance to Cross enters the room.

Travis Redden. The colonel.

“Am I interrupting?” Travis asks.

He’s not in uniform but wears a gray shirt and black trousers. His hair is a few shades lighter than Cross’s, but his eyes are darker, an intense midnight blue. Although he’s not as tall and muscular, he is just as handsome as his younger brother.

“Soldier, this is Colonel Redden,” Cross tells me.

When I start to salute, Travis grins and says, “Don’t bother. I’m not about the formalities.” He studies me for a moment before addressing his brother. “New member of Elite?”

Cross nods. “We filled six slots from the summer session. Darlington is one of our best.”

I remain on guard, scrutinizing Travis the way he did me. I remember Roe calling him practical, Cross saying he’s driven. I note the sharp intelligence of his eyes. This is a man who takes everything in. Doesn’t overlook a single detail.

“But not Roe,” Travis murmurs with a knowing smirk.

“No. He’ll find a good post in Silver Block.”

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