Page 73 of Silver Elite

She takes the source from me to investigate. The groove in her forehead deepens. “That’s odd. You didn’t receive one.”

I glance at the others. “Did you all get a leisure pass?”

They nod.

What the hell. Why are they allowed to leave the base on Sunday when—

Cross.

Of fucking course. There’s no way he’s letting me step foot outside this facility.

“I’ll be right back,” I mutter, scraping back my chair.

I find Hadley and Struck at a table in the corner. They’re not talking, each focused on their tablets, but their heads snap up at my approach.

“Why don’t I have a leisure pass for Sunday?” I demand.

Hadley spares me a look before lowering his gaze to his screen. “You haven’t been approved.”

“Everyone else is approved.”

Struck sounds amused. “Everyone else isn’t you, Darlington.”

I swear I’m going to splinter my enamel with the way I’m grinding my teeth. “I want to talk to the captain.”

“No,” Hadley says without lifting his head.

I turn to Struck. “Can you please take me to see the captain?”

“He’s a busy man, Darlington. He doesn’t have time to address every petty complaint from recruits.”

“He makes time for me whenever I break your little rules.” I glower at her unaffected expression. “Is that what it takes? Fine. Here you go.”

I snatch Hadley’s tray off the table and hurl it against the wall over Struck’s head.

Chunks of beef stew splatter the wall and drip down it like thick globs of mud. A few peas fall into the instructor’s dark hair.

The entire mess hall goes silent. She stares at me in disbelief.

Then a chuckle breaches the silence. Cross’s half brother.

I smile at her, all teeth. “May I see the captain now?”

She peels the peas off and flicks them onto the floor. “No.”

—

I’m still fuming later in bed. I find no solace in the sounds of the dormitory, the even breathing, the snores coming from Glin Cotter’s bunk. We’re all starting to resent the poor guy. A few more days of those guttural honks and I fear Anson will slit his throat in his sleep.

I lie on my bunk, staring at the ceiling. Glin’s arrhythmic snores fill the room, but my mind is restless. I twist my head toward Kaine’s bed. The gray blanket is pulled up to his neck and cocooned around his body. He sleeps like a mummy.

It’s late, so when I reach out to Wolf, I’m surprised that he links with me. Wolf tends to be early to sleep, early to rise.

“Why are you awake?”

“Stress.”

“Stress,”I echo, teasing.

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