Zero Trilogy (Book 2): Day One by Summer Lane Page B

teeth into Jay’s arm. Jay cried out in agonizing pain. Elle struggled to her feet, coughing, dizzy. She drew her Smith and Wesson out of her jacket and held it directly in front of her, pointing the muzzle of the gun at Jay’s head.
    Her hands shook.
    “Bravo,” Elle said. Her voice was low but firm. Bravo released Jay’s arm and circled him, growling and flashing his teeth. Tears of pain ran down Jay’s face. Blood ran down his arm, pooling in the dirt. “Take off the backpack,” Elle commanded. “Now.”
    Jay slowly slid his arms out of the straps and kicked the backpack toward Elle. She knelt down and slung one strap over her shoulder, still aching with pain and burning with adrenaline and anger.
    “Let’s get one thing straight, city boy,” Elle said. “I’m in charge. I make the rules, and I decide how we ration the food. You lost the right to vote in this little democracy when you tried to break my arm about five seconds ago.” She took a step closer. “And if you try anything again, I’ll kill you.” She glanced at Bravo. “And if I don’t kill you, the
dog
will.”
    She looked at Georgia.
    “I don’t think Jay was thinking straight—” the girl started to say.
    “None of us are thinking straight,” Elle replied. “It’s no excuse.”
    Georgia hung her head.
    “Do you understand what I’m saying, tough guy?” Elle demanded.
    Jay nodded weakly, blood dribbling down his chin.
    “It’s hard to believe you survived on the streets with fighting skills like
that
,” Elle muttered.
    “I’ve killed before,” Jay said.
    “We’ve all killed someone since Day Zero,” Elle replied.
    “No. I killed
before
.” Tears slipped down his cheeks. “The reason why I was in juvie, Elle. It’s because I killed
two
people.”
    Elle tightened the grip on the gun.
    “You were in jail because you were a murderer?” Elle said, swallowing. “You never said anything about that.”
    “I didn’t tell you because I knew you would make a judgment.” Jay buried his face in his trembling hands. “Everyone assumes that I killed people because I was a bad person. Because I was on the streets. Because I
looked
like a killer.”
    “
Were
you a killer, Jay?” Elle asked, lowering her voice.
    “I didn’t mean to be,” he whispered.
    Elle didn’t move. She kept the gun where it was. She kept her eye on Georgia and Flash. Bravocontinued to growl just enough to remind everyone that he was willing to take out a chunk of anyone’s arm if they made a move.
    “There were three guys,” Jay said. “My parents…they owned a liquor shop. One night, three punks came in and tried to rob the cash box under the counter. I was working the late-night shift. They had guns. I didn’t.” He shook his head. “We fought. I got my hands on one gun. I killed two of them with it. The third guy got away.”
    Elle said nothing.
    Jay exhaled. “I didn’t mean to kill them,” he said. “But they were trying to kill
me
. They were trying to take my family’s
money
. It was all we had. It was everything.”
    The wind kicked up again, whistling across the plain, blowing Elle’s hair back.
    “You’re not a murderer, Jay,” Elle replied. “You did what you had to do to keep your family safe.” She lowered the muzzle of the gun. “You’ve got to do the same thing now. We can’t survive and we can’t protect each other if we’re fighting like this. We’ve got to stick together. And you’ve
got
to do what I say.” She slipped the gun into her jacket. “Do you understand?”
    Nothing.
    Then:
    “Yeah. I get it.” Jay looked up at Elle, his face tear-stained. “I’m sorry.”
    Elle shook her head.
    “Get up and clean that bite,” she commanded. “Georgia? You take care of that. We’re wasting time.”
    She turned away, aware of the heavy ache in her bones and the taste of blood in her mouth. She locked eyes with Georgia. The blond girl’s air of drama and sarcasm was gone. She looked very small; very