Page 180 of Silver Elite

“I’m on my way.”

“Please hurry.”Her voice is a whisper. The anguish in it spreads through my mind like a pebble skimming the water, creating ripples.

I still have my earpiece in, but the feed stays silent. No Xavier or Hadley or Cross barking in my ear, ordering me to get my ass back to the compound. They haven’t noticed I’m gone yet.

Within minutes, I’m at the inn, ditching the motorcycle in the square. There are no guards stationed outside. I walk inside and find the front desk empty. The place is too quiet, and that chills my blood.

I hurry up to the second floor. Room 4 is at the end of the long corridor. At the top of the staircase, I slow my pace, reverting to my training. I have no idea what I’m going to find in that room, and I don’t want to burst in gun blazing.

Creeping along the carpeted hallway, I let Tana know I’m here.

“Almost at your door. Let me in.”

I hear a rustling of sound. The knob begins to turn, the door opening a crack.

Big, terrified brown eyes meet my gaze. A second later, Tana releases a choked sob and pulls me into the room, locking the door behind us.

The sight that greets me freezes me in place.

There, sprawled on the bed in a pool of crimson, lies Anson.

Dead.

Completely, thoroughly dead. Lifeless eyes staring into nothingness.

My breath catches in my throat as I stumble backward. “Oh my God. Tana…What happened?”

Her hands are shaking uncontrollably as she hugs herself, rubbing her upper arms. “I…I didn’t mean to…He…he attacked me.”

I take a hesitant step forward, my gaze sliding between Tana and the body on the bed. His long hair is wet. Soaked in blood. The bullet hole isn’t quite between his eyes. It’s closer to his left one, toward his forehead. There are no splatters on the headboard, only the sheets, and the direction of the blood castoff is toward the foot of the bed,which tells me he was probably on top of her, facing the headboard. Looks like Tana rolled him over when she crawled out from under him.

His uniform pants are undone.

Her dress is torn.

Vomit bubbles in my throat, and my heart shatters into a million pieces as I grasp the gravity of the situation.

“I killed him.” She’s clearly in shock. She stares at me, unblinking, her cheeks stained with tears.

“Hey. Tana. Listen to me. It’s okay. You’re okay.”

I pull her into a tight embrace, and the moment my arms wrap around her, she starts to shudder. Uncontrollably. Her breaths escape in unsteady wheezes.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s going to be okay.” The assurance feels hollow against the weight of the truth.

“I waited until he was…until he was…distracted. It was the only time he let down his guard…”

She’s mumbling. Panting. Trembling in my arms, and the rage cracks through me like a whip.

I can scarcely breathe. I’m so angry. He put his hands on her. He…

I twist away from the sight of Anson. I knew he was dangerous from the moment our eyes locked on orientation day, and I’m glad he’s dead. I just wish someone had killed him before he hurt my best friend.

“I grabbed his gun.” Her tears soak into the front of my shirt. “I shot him in the face.”

I stroke my hand through her dark hair. “It’s okay. We’re going to handle this.”

How?my brain is screaming.

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