Uninvited (Uninvited, #1)(60)

“Good food,” Tully remarks as he chomps on another slice of bacon. “I lived with my grandmother before this. She couldn’t even boil water. Most of my food came out of a vending machine. When they expelled me from school, I was stuck out in the country with her. Nearly starved.”

I eye his immense body, thinking there is little evidence to support that.

Tully suddenly waves his fork in the air. “Hey, Jackson! Over here!” He motions another boy to our table. My heart rate picks up at the arrival of the second boy. I can’t help myself. I should be used to the idea that carriers surround me at every side. I’m a carrier, too.

Still, I scan the room for Sean. That first glimpse of him intimidated me. Hopefully, he has the same effect on others.

“Hey.” Jackson lowers himself into the seat next to Tully. When his gaze lands on me, a wide smile stretches his lips. He’s handsome in a slick kind of way. Nothing about him screams killer except the imprint on his neck. “Trust old Tully here to make friends with two of the only girls around.” His gaze narrows on me. “One of the prettiest, too.”

I can’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. Do I look like someone to be sucked in by empty compliments?

He didn’t miss the eye-rolling. His smile slips. “Nice collar. Ink looks fresh. I’ve had mine three years. What’d you do to get that?” A hardness enters his voice and it’s like he opened a window for me to glimpse inside him and see what really lurks there.

“Nothing.”

Which is true. But I know he won’t believe me. He would never believe me guiltless of doing something violent and ugly. Because that’s what he is . . . what he does. I know it. See it in the dead eyes. He’s everything the world fears and rightly so.

“I’m sure,” he echoes.

“What would I do?” I shrug and force a teasing grin. “I’m just a girl.”

“That’s right.” Tully grins idiotically. “You’re here for us.”

My grin evaporates.

“That’s not true,” Gil cuts in.

Tully frowns at him. “You don’t think the girls are expected to be trained to be anything special. . . .”

I start to get annoyed. “Why not?”

“Dude,” Tully laughs. “We’re going to be superspies and assassins . . . like James Bond and crap. You girls are just here to keep us entertained.” He waggles his eyebrows at me and I want to slap him.

“You’re wrong,” I say quietly. “Each one of us was selected . . . although why you got picked is beyond me. You’re clearly not here for your IQ.”

Sabine inhales sharply.

Tully’s face flushes. “Aren’t you a lippy bitch?”

Gil tenses beside me, and it’s like we’re back in the Cage again with Nathan giving me a hard time. Gil’s going to get himself hit again if he doesn’t tread carefully. I place a hand on his arm under the table, cautioning him.

Jackson very deliberately clears his throat, drawing my attention. His fingers touch his neck. “Want to know what I did?”

“No.”

He smiles and continues anyway. “There was a little girl who lived on my street—”

“Stop,” I say, sensing where this story was going, but he keeps talking anyway.

“She was maybe nine, ten . . . she had this tabby cat. She loved that cat. It would actually let her push it around in this stupid doll stroller.”

Sabine starts scraping the inside of her yogurt cup faster like she’s desperate to do something with her hands—or just cover the sound of his voice.

“I caught that cat.” Jackson’s eyes hold mine. They’re dead, emotionless. His fingers toy with his fork, rotating it where it rests on his tray. “I cut it open.” His head cocks to the side. “Just to see what it looks like inside. I still wonder about the blood, the organs . . . how they compare to human blood. “

How they compare. As though it’s a certainty he will find this out for himself.

Jackson laughs then, low and deep, his gaze scanning the three of us. “Oh, you should see your faces.”

“Is that a joke?” I ask, suddenly not sure.

He stops laughing, but the amusement still lingers in his light-colored eyes. “I’m going to enjoy you.”

A chill skates my spine. Tully’s announcement that girls are only here for entertainment echoes through me. I won’t be entertainment for anyone here.

Gil clears his throat and, even though I warned him not to, I know he’s going to speak up, stick up for me like he did in the Cage. I can’t let him do that. This cage is bigger . . . with more predators in it.

“I doubt that,” I say before Gil finds his voice. I stare at Jackson, returning his snake-oil smile with one of my own. “I’m really not very likable.”

“No argument there.” Tully folds another slice of bacon into his mouth, evidently still smarting over my insult.

“But I like you so far.” Jackson sips from his glass of orange juice. “I think we’re going to be friends. It’s just a feeling.” His gaze skips to Sabine. “Maybe your quiet little friend here, too.”

Sabine lowers her yogurt cup to her tray, and I can’t help noticing how much her slender hand shakes. I hope Jackson doesn’t catch it. A guy like him will pounce on the first sign of weakness.