The Host_ A Novel - Stephenie Meyer [65]
“Jodi is dead,” Kyle hissed, blood spraying off his lips. He glared at me with much the same expression Jared had just used.
“Well, if her body wandered in here, it would still be up to you. Would you want it any other way?”
“The majority -“
“My house, my rules,” Jeb interrupted harshly. “No more discussion on this. No more votes. No more execution attempts. You three spread the word-this is how it works from now on. New rule.”
“Another one?” Ian muttered under his breath.
Jeb ignored him. “If, unlikely as it may be, somehow this ever happens again, whoever the body belongs to makes the call.” Jeb poked the barrel of the gun toward Kyle, then jerked it a few inches toward the hall behind him. “Get out of here. I don’t want to see you anywhere around this place again. You let everyone know that this corridor is off-limits. No one’s got any reason for being here except Jared, and if I catch someone skulking around, I’m asking questions second. You got that? Move. Now.” He jabbed the gun at Kyle again.
I was amazed that the three assassins immediately stalked back up the hallway, not even pausing to give me or Jeb a parting grimace.
I deeply wanted to believe that the gun in Jeb’s hands was a bluff.
From the first time I’d seen him, Jeb had shown every outward appearance of kindness. He had not touched me once in violence; he had not even looked at me with recognizable hostility. Now it seemed that he was one of only two people here who meant me no harm. Jared might have fought to keep me alive, but it was plain that he was intensely conflicted about that decision. I sensed that he could change his mind at any time. From his expression, it was clear that part of him wanted this over with-especially now that Jeb had put the decision on his shoulders. While I made this analysis, Jared glowered at me with disgust in every line of his expression.
However, as much as I wanted to believe that Jeb was bluffing, while I watched the three men disappear into the darkness away from me, it was obvious there was no way he could be. Under the front he presented, Jeb must have been just as deadly and cruel as the rest of them. If he hadn’t used that gun in the past-used it to kill, not just to threaten-no one would have obeyed him this way.
Desperate times, Melanie whispered. We can’t afford to be kind in the world you’ve created. We’re fugitives, an endangered species. Every choice is life-or-death.
Shh. I don’t have time for a debate. I need to focus.
Jared was facing Jeb now, one hand held out in front of him, palm up, fingers curled limply. Now that the others were gone, their bodies slumped into a looser stance. Jeb was even grinning under his thick beard, as though he’d enjoyed the standoff at gunpoint. Strange human.
“Please don’t put this on me, Jeb,” Jared said. “Kyle is right about one thing-I can’t make a rational decision.”
“No one said you had to decide this second. She’s not going anywhere.” Jeb glanced down at me, still grinning. The eye closest to me-the one Jared couldn’t see-closed quickly and opened again. A wink. “Not after all the trouble she took to get here. You’ve got plenty of time to think it through.”
“There’s nothing to think through. Melanie is dead. But I can’t-I can’t-Jeb, I can’t just…” Jared couldn’t seem to finish the sentence.
Tell him.
I’m not ready to die right this second.
“Don’t think about it, then,” Jeb told him. “Maybe you’ll figure something out later. Give it some time.”
“What are we going to do with it? We can’t keep watch on it round the clock.”
Jeb shook his head. “That’s exactly what we’re going to have to do for a while. Things will calm down. Even Kyle can’t preserve a murderous rage for more than a few weeks.”
“A few weeks? We can’t afford to play guard down here for a few weeks. We have other things -“
“I know, I know.