Page 40 of Above All Else

Fire prickled up my spine, and I snarled, my vision blurring. “You’ll never learn, will you?”

“From what?” He coughed, and a mixture of saliva and blood slid down his cheek. “I have my needs, Carter, and you were here to fulfill them.”

My hand shook in contrast to my surgeon-like control.

He’ll never stop.

They’ll never stop.

It will always be like this: us against them.

The elite ruled without laws or consequences.

I gripped the knife handle tighter and sliced across his throat. Blood spurted in time with his rapid heart rate, sending it shooting across his face and my hand. He gasped, his hands gripping the front of his throat, both arteries severed.

It’s no use.

The human body bled out in minutes when the throat was cut, but he’d lose consciousness...

Paul’s eyelids fluttered, and his hands fell away.

...in seconds.

A smile formed on my lips as I stood, his blood pooling beneath him.

The crowd gave a round of applause.

“Bravo.”

“Well done.”

“That was spectacular.”

“Impressive.”

Shit.

I bent over and wiped my knife on Paul’s shirt, then tucked it back into the sideways sheath. “Here’s your sacrifice from me.” I climbed into the car. “Now, all of you can go to hell.” Slamming the door, I put the car in drive and sped away, his blood sticking to my hands and June frozen like a statue beside me.

Chapter 11

June

“I’m sorry you had to see that.”

I gripped the door as he sped down the lengthy driveway, through the black metal gate, and onto the dirt road. “What the hell was that?”

“He had to die.”

“Just like Ethan?”

“No, Ethan was a casualty of lies. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t deserve it.” His fingers clutched the steering wheel, his white knuckles poking through the drying blood.

“This is all so messed up, Carter.” I sankmy head into my hands, my chest tightening. “Oh God. I can’t breathe.”

His hand fell to my back and rubbed soothing circles on my skin. “You can breathe. In one, two, three...”

My body followed his direction like a puppet on a string.