Chapter 16 · Apex Loop: Glitch Evolution - Chapter 16: Chaos Gate

"Move, or I'll let them peel your skin off while you're still awake," I spat, shoving Vivian toward the reinforced blast door.

She didn't stumble. She barely blinked. Even with the sirens screaming and the smell of ozone filling the hall, she looked like she was strolling through a gallery. She just tilted her head, those cold eyes scanning the corridor.

"You're trembling, Kane," she murmured. Her voice was a silk ribbon over a razor blade. "Is it fear, or are you just excited to play the hero?"

"I'm not playing anything," I growled. I grabbed her wrist, my grip tight enough to leave bruises. I could feel her pulse—steady, rhythmic, infuriatingly calm. "The mercs are five minutes out. If we don't hit the Chaos Gate now, we're both dead. And I'm not dying for a woman who tried to turn me into a lab rat."

Vivian leaned in, her breath warm against my ear, a sharp contrast to the freezing air of the facility. "Then it's a good thing you're so fiercely protective of your investment, isn't it?"

I shoved her away, the friction of her lab coat against my rough, mutated skin making my nerves itch. "Shut up.