“Set up the shelter,” Colton instructed. “The earlier we leave tomorrow, the better.”
Gemma’s nostrils flared. “You set it up.”
He snorted, raising an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.” She glared at him. “I’m done being your prisoner, and I’m done being everyone’s puppet they think they can boss about. If you want to sleep in a shelter, you set it up yourself.”
That wicked smirk spread across his face again, and a chill ran down Gemma’s spine.
“Well, I would hate to inconvenience you.” Colton rose to his feet and erected his own shelter.
Afraid his retaliation for her disobedience would be swift and brutal, Gemma never let her eyes stray from him. But he just set the small cube on the ground, pounded it with his fist, and stepped back as it expanded. And for some reason, that made her stomach twist even more.
“If you don’t mind, though,” he said, his eyes full of villainy when he looked at her, “Idothink I’d prefer to sleep alone tonight.”
Gemma swallowed. “That’s fine. I have my own.”
He grinned. “No, you don’t. You didn’t notice how surprisingly light your pack was this morning?”
Gemma’s stomach hit the sand beneath her seat. She leapt up and tore open her backsack. Except for a few basic supplies, it was empty.No.
“You didn’t think I’d take extra precautions against you running off while I slept?” Colton mocked.
She glared at him. “You really are a horrible person.”
He shrugged. “I can live with it. Have fun with the ghouls.”
Ghouls?What were ghouls?
A growl carried from the shadows a short distance away, and it dawned on Gemma exactly what he meant by ghouls.
They were the red-eyed demonic creatures they’d faced their first night outside Zion.
Gemma shot a gaze over her shoulder. The sunlight was minutes away from being gone.
And Colton had never lit a fire.
“Wait!” Gemma’s heart was in her throat as she rushed into the opening of his shelter. “One of those gray block things—I need to start a fire.”
A pistol was pointed at her face the moment she stepped inside.
“I thought I told you I wanted to sleep alone,” Colton snarked. “Get out.”
“Please, I need—”
Colton shrugged. “I don’t care. You’re not amarionette, remember? Take care of yourself.”
Gemma would’ve throttled him if her legs weren’t so wobbly. He was actually going to leave her out here. In the dark. By herself. And he knew what would come for her.
Tears burning her eyes, she stepped out of the shelter’s opening and smashed on her vest’s torchlight. At least she’d have something to protect her, even if it didn’t provide protection behind or to either side of her.
She furiously wiped away a tear that betrayed her. “You promised Christian you wouldn’t hurt me!”
“I’m not. I’m in here, remember?” There was laughter in his voice.
A soft whimper slipped through her lips. If she didn’t die tonight, she woulddefinitelykill him in the morning.
Gemma paced in front of the shelter as the last traces of sunlight disappeared. Her heart rammed against her ribs, causing an ache on the left side of her chest. What would happen when those red eyes appeared from the darkness? When the growls surrounded her on all sides?
