As he stands before me bare-chested, my attention is once again drawn to the colorful patchwork of bruises marring his flesh.
“I can’t believe they beat you. Why didn’t you fight back?”
His biceps flex as he grabs his discarded shirt. “I needed to let them feel like they were punishing me.”
“And that’s all it took? Chain you up for a week and now you’re back in the trust circle?”
“Not quite.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m not running Elite anymore.”
The admission hangs between us as I stand there agape. Cross, meanwhile, is unruffled, slipping his shirt over his head as if he hadn’t just revealed he’d been stripped of his command.
“Who’s in charge then?” I demand.
“Radek,” he says, referring to Silver Block’s administrative captain.
“Why the hell didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“I tried.” He gives me a pointed look. “Every time I’ve tried linking with you these last few days, you haven’t been able to talk.”
Guilt pricks at my stomach. He’s right. Hehasreached out. But I’ve become so ensconced in life at the Dagger that I haven’t been as present for him. I feel like a fucking asshole.
“I’m sorry,” I say softly. “If I’d known how important it was, I would’ve been there—”
“It’s not important,” he interjects.
“Cross.” I stare at him. “Silver Elite isyourunit. Losing it can’t feel good.”
“Nothing about the current state of the world feels good,” is his gruff response.
I bridge the distance and loop my arms around his shoulders, running my fingers through his cropped hair. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened after your brothers let you out. What are they planning?”
“Travis is taking his new role as General seriously. Total power trip. And Roe’s really milking this lieutenant rank. Travis is letting him assemble his own unit in Silver Block. Roe calls it his hunting party.”
My back stiffens. “Hunting what?”
“What else? Mods and Faithfuls.”
His flippant tone bothers me. “And you’re just…okay with that?”
“Of course not. But I doubt it’ll amount to anything. Roe’s not a leader. Nobody’s gonna follow him.”
“Then why give him his own unit?”
“I think Travis just wants the kid out of his hair, so he’s giving him a distraction. Like handing a toddler a toy to distract him from the other thing he really wants. In Roe’s case, that’s total control over the wards and the systematic killing of anyone who opposes the Company.”
“And what does Travis want?”
“At the moment, to crush the Aberrant Uprising.”
“Aberrant?” I echo, frowning at him.
“Mods. Silverbloods. You know what I mean, Wren.” He sounds tired now. “Travis isn’t quite at Roe’s level of bloodlust yet when it comes to Mods, but I fear he might get there eventually. I’ve been hammering the point that we need them for labor.”
I shake my head bitterly. “Slave labor.”
