Page 212 of Silver Elite

“Something’s not right.” Cross’s features sharpen.

“Of course something’s not right! You fucking prickhole. You just stood there and let them die. You should’ve let me try.”

“Would you have preferred to die, too? Is that it?”

As they face off, I register another sound. A gust. The faint roar of an engine. I tip my head, and I swear I see a shadowy blur in the sky.

I frown. “We need to get to the airfield.”

Cross arches a questioning brow.

“I think I just saw a plane.”

Without further discussion, we take off, hiking through the brush in the direction of the airfield. When we emerge from the trees, we stop in our tracks.

Of the two B-8s that brought us here, only one remains.

It was a trap.

The pieces of the puzzle click into place. They crashed their fighter on purpose. Their pilot was never inside the depot. He sprang the trap and then waited. Waited for us to go to the crash site, for Tyler’s team to investigate. They used the crash as a diversion, a smokescreen to cover their true objective, and while we were distracted by the chaos of the explosion, they stole one of our most advanced bomber jets.

Our?

Confusion fogs my brain. I realize I’m thinking of myself as part of the Command.

Their jet, I mean.

Mypeople stoletheirjet.

But the lines are blurring. God, they’re blurring.

“The planes are fitted with cameras,” I say. “There’ll be footage of it, right? Showing whoever took it?”

Cross responds with a cynical look. “They just lifted our bomber from right under our noses. You think they didn’t come up with a plan to disable the cameras?”

Beside him, Xavier has fallen silent. His gaze is unfocused, face drained of color. I’m confused for a second until the reminder slaps me in the face.

Tyler’s gone.

Jones.

Kaine.

A sob gets stuck in my throat.

“Check the perimeter,” Cross tells Xavier, who nods dully.

The second he’s out of earshot, Cross’s voice rumbles inside my head.

“Did you know about this?”

I gape at him.“What?”

“You’re working with them. Did you know what they were planning?”

A slice of hurt penetrates before I’m able to steel my expression.“I swear, I had no idea.”

“You expect me to believe you were just as blindsided as the rest of us?”

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