He crosses his arms over his lean chest. Proud of himself. “First lieutenant.”
I don’t acknowledge that, and I know it rips him apart inside.
Roe moves closer but keeps a safe distance. Kid’s not stupid. He knows if he gets close enough to me, I could easily get my legs around him and snap his scrawny neck in half. I don’t need my hands to do damage.
“Everyone sees you for who you are now. The invincible, infallible Captain Cross, knocked down to size. You let a woman do that to you. Not just any woman, either, but a godfucking silverblood.”
I don’t voice a denial. I’d already decided before they detained me that I’m going to own up to some things. Denying wrongdoing altogether will only annoy my older brother. Travis needs to feel like he’s won, at least partially.
“Darlington fooled me,” I concede. “Happens to everyone.”
“Never happened to me,” Roe brags, dispelling any notions that he’s matured in any way since yesterday.
“Wow. Someone should promote you.”
His eyes flash.
I can’t stop another chuckle. “What is it you want from me, Roe? To name you the greatest soldier in the world? Declare you some sort of super silverblood detector?”
Because your detection skills are shit,I want to say, fighting another laugh. I’ve possessed the power of telepathy since I was eight years old. Granted, it helps that my veins don’t expose me—other Mods can’t use their gifts without their veins appearing to surge with liquid silver—but Roe has never even suspected I might be one of them. Nobody has.
“You’re un-fucking-believable, Cross.” He shakes his head in disbelief, because someone whose will is as weak as Roe’s can’t fathom how someone in my position would not be begging for mercy. “Even now, you think you’re in control. Think you’re calling the shots. But you’re not. Travis is the General now. The Company is underhiscontrol, and he’s not going to bend to you the way Dad did. Dad allowed you to be too lenient on the Aberrant. You dropped your guard and let the enemy join our ranks.” He grumbles angrily under his breath. “You gave her a slot in Silver Elite.”
Ah, so that’s what the bug up his ass is about.
A smirk lifts the corners of my mouth.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” he mutters.
“Hate to break it to you, but even if Darlington weren’t in the Program, that Elite slot still wouldn’t have gone to you. You were never even on my list.”
He flinches as if I’ve struck him, his entire body vibrating with rage. That’s the problem with Roe. His perceived inadequacies always cloud his judgment, cause him to lash out and make mistakes in his eternal quest to prove himself.
I roll my shoulders to stretch them out, ignoring the resulting jolt of discomfort. I’ve been hanging from these chains for almost a full day now.
“You’re completely out of your depth here, Roe,” I say roughly. “Travis can promote you all the way to colonel for all I care, but that won’t change the fact that you don’t have the training or the experience to run ops in the wards.”
His answering tone is dismissive. “Doesn’t take much experience to round up all the Aberrant and throw their asses in a labor camp.” He pauses for a second. “Although that’s where our brother and I disagree. I don’t give a shit if they’re slaves or loyalists—the only course of action is to line them up in front of the firing squad.” Roe gives me a snide smile. “Starting with your girlfriend.”
I shrug, and another twinge of pain ripples through my shoulders. “She’s not my girlfriend.”
She’s just my reason for being.
No big deal.
“She isn’t, huh?” His smile widens. “Then why did you help her escape?”
I keep my face blank. Wren’s escape is the reason for my detainment, though I know Travis isn’t entirely convinced that I betrayed the Company. Roe, on the other hand, was quick to make the accusation. Relished it, in fact.
“I had nothing to do with that,” I say. “Xavier went rogue.”
“We both know Ford can’t even jerk his own dick without asking your permission. He wouldn’t have deserted for that bitch. Not unless you asked him to.”
I meet my brother’s gaze, hiding my irritation. “How long does Travis intend to keep me in here?”
Roe has never looked happier as he says, “For as long as we deem necessary.”
We.I try not to laugh, mostly because I’m starting to feel bad for the kid and don’t want to keep laughing at him. But fuck off. Travis isn’t an imbecile. He’s not letting Roe make any decisions. Consequential ones, anyway.
