Chapter 24 · The Name Beneath the Ash

"Keep your hands off the wheel, Mara." Julian's gun pressed against the back of my seat.

The armored truck coughed. I grabbed the wheel before we kissed the tunnel wall.

"If I let go, we die."

"If you keep driving, we die faster."

"Great. You're bleeding and still annoying."

"You're welcome."

The engine gave one last grind and quit. The truck rolled toward three black tunnel mouths, tires whispering over the concrete.

Julian leaned closer. Warm breath brushed my neck. It came shallow and uneven.

"Left," he said.

"You sure?"

"No."

"That's not the answer I wanted."

"Then stop asking stupid questions."

I yanked the wheel left. Sparks flashed across the windshield as the truck scraped the wall. Julian's hand shot forward and locked around my shoulder.

"Mara."

"What?"

"You're taking us to the vault."

"That was the plan."

"My father sealed that place."

"Your father also helped Celeste turn half the city against me. I'm not taking advice from his ghost."

His grip tightened. "You don't know what's under there."

"Neither do you. That's why you're coming with me."

For a second, his face appeared in the rearview mirror. Blood had dried at his temple.