Chapter 23 · Put Her on Every Screen

"Don't touch that wire, Mara."

Julian's hand closed around my wrist before my fingers reached the red cable.

The blood grid hummed beneath our boots. Thin red lines covered the floor, walls, and ceiling above Nia's head. Every line pulsed toward her like the whole room had found one target.

Nia was trapped inside the center circle, one knee down, her laptop clutched to her chest. A red mark burned across her palm.

"Let go," I said.

Julian pulled me back against him. His chest hit my shoulder blades. Heat pressed through my jacket, along with the hard edge of the blade strapped beneath his coat.

"That grid isn't a door lock," he said. "It's a trigger."

"I know what it is."

"Then stop reaching for it."

"Your security team built half this system. You should've warned me before we stepped into it."

His grip tightened. "I didn't know it was here."

"You always know everything. That's your favorite trick."

"And your favorite trick is pretending you're not about to get someone killed."

Nia glanced between us.