Page 43 of Silver Elite

Before I can jump out of bed, a sharp voice slices through the silence.

“Darlington! Sutler! On your damn feet.”

Hadley. He looms over us, disapproval digging harsh lines into his features.

I scramble up. Kaine, who’s still half asleep, lopes off the mattress like a fawn taking its first steps. He shoves a hand through his messy blond hair and gives me a drowsy grin.

“You were all over me in your sleep,” he says.

“Shut up,” Hadley orders.

His eyes travel down the row of beds. A murmur of confusion ripples through the room at the commanding officer’s sudden presence. Recruits start sitting up or getting to their feet.

Hadley shifts his gaze between me and my bedmate. “Was Soldier Struck not clear last night when she explained the rules to you? One to a bed. No exceptions.”

Kaine and I remain silent.

He scrutinizes me for far too long, but not in a way most males would look at a woman in her sleepwear and no bra. Then he gives a deep frown.

“Get dressed and come with me.”

Kaine takes a step.

“Not you,” snaps Hadley. “Just her.”

Apprehension prickles my belly. Why does he want me alone?

What does he know?

My pulse quickens as another question surfaces.

Does he recognize me?

His face reveals absolutely nothing.

“I said get dressed,” he commands, sharper this time. “Or I’ll do it for you.”

I hear some chuckles from the other end of the room. Kess and Anson. Lyddie gives me a worried look.

“Do I have time to freshen up before we embark on our morning adventure?” I ask Hadley.

His jaw tightens. “You have three minutes.”

“Thank you.Sir.” I turn my face away before he can see the derision on it.

Precisely three minutes later, Hadley collects me from the lavatories and makes a terse gesture for me to follow. I didn’t have time to brush my hair, so I finger-comb it as I walk.

“Where are we going?”

He doesn’t answer.

I sneak him a sidelong look. He would probably be attractive if it weren’t for the way he presses his lips into a thin line, devoid of any trace of a smile or even a frown. There’s an air of detachment about him. Something clinical and cold. His face betrays not even a hint of emotion.

I wonder if he felt anything when he reported Morlee. I wonder if he feels anything now when he thinks about her hands, which areprobably raw and brittle after shoveling salt from dawn till dusk for the last eight years.

We walk down the corridors of the maze that makes up the base. Hadley scans his thumb at a pair of large doors that slide open to allow us entrance, and then it’s steel door after steel door, each one numbered rather than offering any distinguishing clues like a name or department. At least until we turn the corner into a shorter hall and arrive at a door with a silver plate on it.

Captain of Operations.

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