Page 203 of Silver Elite

It can’t be.

There’s no way Cross Redden is Wolf.

There’s no conceivable way that could be possible.

He’s not Modified.

But his mother is.

I’m almost certain she is, but that doesn’t mean anything. A Mod parent is not guaranteed to produce a Mod child. Hell, two Primes aren’t even guaranteed to produce aPrimechild. The mutation caused by the biotoxin lies dormant in some people. Anyone could be born like me, like her.

Like him?

No. There’s no way.

But that painting is…uncanny. It’s—

A coincidence. The world is full of coincidences. Like the fact, for example, that one of the Command officers who came to my ranch to watch me shoot just happened to know Jim from fifteen years prior and just happened to recognize him. That was a coincidence. A random twist of fate.

But this…Believing that Cross could be my oldest friend, theperson I love most in this world after Uncle Jim, is so preposterous, it makes me want to laugh.

Yet it eats at me for days following our visit to the General’s estate.

Cross leaves the base on an assignment, which comes as a relief because I don’t know what to do with these suspicions floating around inside me. I move on autopilot. I share a morning meal with Lyddie. I run a recon mission with Kaine. I share an evening meal with Kaine, Ivy, and Lash, which ought to be uncomfortable, but I’m so preoccupied I don’t even care I’m eating with Cross’s ex-girlfriend.

I think about his mother hidden away in that concrete prison and wonder if Ivy ever met her. Seems unlikely. If anyone outside the family knew that Cross’s mother was schizophrenic, it would’ve come out eventually.

Does Roe know? I ran into him in the mess hall last night and almost blurted out the question. But I suspect he’s in the dark about it. I remember his bitter voice in the railcar, griping about how Vinessa Redden never came down when he visited. If he knew she was ill, I think it would’ve given him perverse satisfaction.Hismommy was better than Cross’s mommy. He would’ve shouted it from the rooftops.

I search for Vinessa on Nexus. Pull up pictures of her when her sons were younger. She made some appearances with the General, but even back then they were scarce. He was always strict about his family’s security, so I suppose it wasn’t unusual when she dropped out of the public eye entirely. Now she’s hidden away in his concrete mansion, catatonic and vacantly staring at a scene that Wolf has described to me.

There’s no way.

I have to find out if it’s true.

But how can I possibly do that without revealing myself? I can’t just come out and say,Hey, are you my telepathic friend?without alerting him to the fact I have fucking telepathy. And that’s not information I should be providing without confirmation thathehas it, too.

By the time he’s back on the base, seeking me out in the mess hall, I’m no closer to a solution. A plan.

All I know is that my heart swells at the sight of him stridingtoward me. He’s tailed by Xavier, who nods in greeting as he passes me. Cross stops.

“You’re back,” I say.

For a moment, I think he’s going to kiss me, but then his demeanor becomes professional. “We just got in. There’ll be a briefing tomorrow in the war room.”

I nod.

“Come to my quarters tonight?” His voice is low. Husky.

It’s rare that he invites me into his personal space. But we haven’t been alone since I found out the truth about his mother, so maybe he’s hoping for more privacy in case I bring it up.

I nod again. “I’ll comm you before I leave.”

I leave him to join Kaine, who’s once again eating with Lash and Ivy. Before this week, I felt like I hadn’t seen Lash in ages.

Halfway through the meal, I realize Lash is only eating with one hand. His other one is resting under the table on Ivy’s knee.

I try to keep my eyebrows from soaring. Is that a thing? Because I’m not entirely against it. I like Lash. I think he’s a good man, aside from the fact he’d strangle me with his bare hands if he knew I was Modified.

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