Bryce purses his lips with confusion before reluctantly following her and Damian.
Great, that leaves me with the asshole. I cross my arms and lean back in my chair. We don’t talk. The silence is welcome. I use every second to try and study the other squads, working out who is more of a liability than the others and who would be good to track.
My leg bounces as I gnaw on my thumbnail. Cameron’s hand comes down hard over my thigh and causes me to jolt.
I shoot him a nasty glare. “What?” I snip at him.
His expression is blank as he finally looks at me. “Don’t show them you’re nervous.” He smacks my hand away from my mouth.
“Yeah? Well, guess what, Iamnervous.”
“This trial is fucking ugly.” He grins, but his eyes are hollow. “You should be nervous, but it’s another issue to show it.” Cameron’s grip around my thigh tightens, and I have to swallow my pride to save face. Literally everyone in the cafeteria is eyeing us. He’s right, even though I hate to admit it.
“Remove your hand before I make a scene,” I threaten with a tight smile.God, give me the strength to push through the rest of this shitshow.
Cameron chuckles darkly. “I’d like to see it, actually.” His hand flexes defiantly.
“Suit yourself.” I grab his hand and shove it off before standing abruptly and making to leave. His hand clasps aroundmy wrist and he pulls me back down to the chair. More eyes flash our way and my cheeks burn at his audacity.
“Was that all?” he taunts, a small glimmer dancing across his eyes. “I expected more from a brat like you.”
“Wouldn’t you just be bored to tears if it was?” I slap him across the face. The sound rolls through the room like gunfire, and the voices around us die out.
Cameron’s eyes remain impassive as he smirks, a smudge of blood clinging to the edge of his lips. His tongue swipes over it and he savors the taste.
“Was. That. All?” He gives me a wide smile this time, and it pulls the pin to the grenade in my soul.
I tackle him off his chair and punch him twice across the face before he hooks my leg and twists, throwing me to the floor and quickly pinning me. My heart hammers a hundred beats a second as fury escapes me in the form of a feral scream inches from his face.
Cameron doesn’t even flinch as he holds my arms down. Blood drips from his lips and burns my skin as it dribbles across my cheek.
“Quite the scene, love. You’re certifiably insane.” His deep voice makes me twist with one more attempt to free myself from him to no avail.
“Get the fuck off of me!” I scream and thrash. His eyes narrow with triumph and he lets me go. I scoot out from beneath him and take a few steadying breaths as I take in all the faces staring at me. Bree, Damian, and Bryce are among them, their expressions grim.Goddamn it, what am I doing?I grit my teeth and stand, brushing the dirt off my tactical pants.
Let’s just fucking get this over with before I make more of an ass of myself.
23
EMERY
Just as promised,we’re grouped up outside and listening to the drill sergeant give his spiel. He directs us to five transport trucks and has us enter them with little to no explanation of where we’re headed. I figure we’re being moved to a different location for this trial so that we’re unfamiliar with the area.
My ass hurts from the hour drive on bumpy back roads. Bree’s shoulder is pressed against mine, while Bryce is on my other side. Cameron is seated against the back gate of the truck, his eyes flicking gruffly to mine every few minutes. I only catch it from the corner of my eyes, because I refuse to look at him right now.
Bryce shuffles uncomfortably. “I’ve put together that Mori is being punished for his bad behavior on his squad, but why is he tied to you?” he whispers, breath pluming in the cold air. The truck beds are only covered with thin tarps that do nothing except keep the frigid air off us.
“Want the long version or the short version?” I say unenthusiastically.
He grins and readjusts his glasses. “Short, please.”
“He has a problem with killing his partners in the field. This is his last chance to prove to General Nolan that he canbehave.”
Bryce grimaces. “Shit, and you’re the guinea pig?”
“It’s not all bad. I also get to be on the same squad as him if he decides not to kill me.” I shoot Bryce a fake smile and he chuckles. The sound draws Cameron’s eyes. I try to ignore the way his gaze burrows into my skin and makes my heart rate rise.
“I could always take care of him quietly for you.” Bryce reaches into his pocket and reveals enough of a small vial for me to see before shoving it back down.Okay, Bryce is next level scary,I note. The way he just casually talks about poisoning people is disturbing.
