I swallow at the pulse of his dick deep inside me as I slowly push his shoulders back until he lifts his head and rests tilted against the wall. His eyes are half-lidded and stare right through me, broken and maimed, yet he has the weakest smile.
“I’ll be the ruination of you. I’m going to steal the last glimmers of light you have left inside of you.” Something hardens in his gaze. The resolve of a stone-hearted man. “You’ve brought me nothing but despair.”
I furiously blink away the tears before they can fall as I move to stand. His hands come down hard on my hips, keeping me in place.
Our eyes lock.The fucking audacity.
I lean closer to make my point clear. “I don’t like you,Mori. You’re a real piece of shit.”
He grins, but there’s a flash of hurt there. Cam taps my sternum with two fingers. “Get the fuck off of me.”
My lower jaw trembles and I force the walls in my heart to close once more. I feel so stupid for letting him in. I knew he was cruel and vile. I knew he was too broken to be repaired…so why? Why does it still hurt so bad?
21
CAMERON
I’ve never craveddeath like I do in this moment. Those eyes. The way she looked at me like I really was a monster… It makes me want to die.
The pill bottle rattles as I shake five of them out and chew them so they hit me faster.
I want to feel nothing. Ever since meeting her, I’ve been plagued with emotions I don’t want.
Fuck…What am I doing?
22
EMERY
The first strokeof luck I’ve had in years finally falls into my lap. Bree and Damian waited for me to return to the barracks and asked to form a squad with me and Cameron. I agreed, grateful that the two I thought would be my enemies for the remainder of the trials ended up becoming acquaintances.
Of course, I had to tell them about the secret Cameron shared regarding the vests and weapons. I’m relieved when we enter the weapons room that he’s not still in here.
“Are you sure we can do this?” Bree asks hesitantly. Her eyes home in on a black matte pistol.
I nod. “I was able to wear the vest out without a siren going off, and I tested it with a handgun as well. We’ll have to keep our selections to the smaller options so we don’t tip everyone else off.” Damian’s smile is wide as he eagerly straps on one of the white vests and grabs a handgun and ankle dagger. His eyes linger around the sniper rifle. Too bad it’s too big to bring with us.
“You’re trained in sniping?” I ask incredulously, focusing on not looking at the knife table that I was just fucked on top of.
Damian lifts his chin proudly. “Those of us who’ve been in the boot camp for six months have a lot more training than you,newbie,” he chides. Bree shakes her head with a smile, testing out the black pistol in her hands to get a feel for it.
“What was it like when you first arrived?” I ask as I trace my finger along a white and gray speckled KA-BAR. It should blend well with the snow, and it’s the only white one on the table, so I swap it with the one I already have.
“Well, there were more than a hundred of us when we first arrived…likewaymore. The first few weeks were the worst since they made us fight for food, beds, anything really,” Bree says and winces at the memory. My eyes widen and she nods. “Yeah. That was the first way they weeded out the weaklings among us. Then things started becoming more like what I would imagine is a normal military training experience. Though I don’t have anything to compare it to since I’ve never been in the forces.”
Damian adds: “Guess who down here actually does have military experience.” His tone is sarcastic and I immediately know off the top of my head.
“Arnold and Wraith.” Their names taste sour on my tongue.
“Bingo.” He gives me finger guns.
I roll my eyes and smile. I wonder how old Damian and Bree are. They look around my age, but they could be younger. “How old are you two? I guess we never really exchanged formalities or anything.” I rub the back of my head. It’s probably not as awkward as I’m making it, but I’m not used to having conversations with people. I’ve been stuck with Reed for half my life, and that’s pretty much it besides the occasional flings.
Bree wraps her hand around Damian’s arm and lets her head rest on his shoulder. “Well, if you didn’t already know we’re sort of together.” I nod. It was pretty obvious. “We’re actually both from Boston. I’m twenty and he’s twenty-two.” She grins up at him. The way his eyes soften when he looks at her is how every girl wants to be cherished.
“You were both brought in at the same time?” I query. What are the chances of that?
They share a look before Damian replies, “Yeah, we were a duo up there too. Don’t ask what we did, you know we can’t tell you.”
