Page 32 of Silver Elite

I growl out loud. “Then why did you make it seem like labor was an option?”

One corner of his mouth ticks up. I swear I glimpse a glint of humor in his blue eyes. “The illusion of choice can be comforting to some people.”

“You’re such a prick.” I take a calming breath.

He ignores that, too. “You’ll spend the night here in the stockade. Rations will be provided shortly. Tomorrow morning someone will come and take you to shower and dress before orientation.”

“Orientation?”

“Impeccable timing, isn’t it?” He’s mocking me again. “You falling into our hands the day before the new session starts. Almost like it was meant to be.”

“No.” The thought of becoming a pawn in the General’s war machine against Mods fills me with a sickening dread.

“What’s the matter? Think you won’t be able to cut it?”

“I can cut it just fine,Cross.I’m simply not interested in taking orders from the people who murdered my uncle.”

Just like that, his broad shoulders snap into a straight line. He fixes me with a deadly look and takes a step toward me. I instinctively step back, then curse myself for ceding that ground.

“Your uncle was a deserter of the Command and a traitor to the Company. Which means you either know more than you’re telling us, or you were too stupid to figure out the truth about your guardian.”

He moves closer. This time, I hold my ground. Inches separate our bodies now.

Cross bends until his mouth is close to my ear. “And I suspect that you,Dove,are not stupid.”

His nearness raises the tiny hairs at the nape of my neck. Heart pounding, I force myself to meet his gaze.

“In case you’ve forgotten, Jayde Valence was inside my head. Isn’t she some powerful mind reader? If I’d known what my uncle was, she would’ve seen it in my thoughts.”

The reminder does nothing to erase the suspicion in his eyes.

“If you think I’m a liar, then why are you sending me to the Program?” I grumble.

“Because I don’t trust you. Not one damn bit.” He shrugs. “Lieutenant Colonel Valence believes you’re not a threat. I’ve yet to determine whether I agree with her assessment. So until I do, I’m keeping you under close watch.”

“Don’t I feel special.”

“You should,” he says frankly. “Not many citizens get the opportunity to train for Silver Block. It’s a highly competitive program, and ninety percent of applicants are rejected. I suggest you don’t fuck this up. A post with Silver comes with its perks.”

I tip my chin in defiance. “What is this, then—a punishment or an opportunity?”

“Also yet to be determined.”

He turns to the door, and I call out before he can leave. I don’t want him to go. He might be a prick, but I don’t want to be left alone in this cell again. Time moves too slowly within these cramped walls, each second stretching into eternity, and I can’t feel that pervasive sense of isolation again. I’m not meant for confinement. Some people can stomach it. I’m not one of them.

“If ninety percent of applicants get rejected, what makes you think I belong to the ten percent? You’re placing a lot of faith in these alleged skills you think I possess.”

He glances at me in amusement. “Do you really want to play this game?”

I frown. “What game?”

“The one where we pretend I didn’t see you put a bullet in a white coyote’s eye from two hundred yards away.”

Shit.

He notes my expression and smirks. “Did you truly believe I wouldn’t follow you after you left the inn that night?”

Of course he did.

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