Chapter 7 · Blackout Ledger - Chapter 7: The Man in Kael's Coat

"Tell me why my brother walked into Blackwall with you."

Kael didn't flinch. He stood three feet away, back to the cracked plaster wall, hands loose at his sides. The stolen wrist chip sat between us on the upturned crate, its cracked screen dark.

"I wasn't there," he said.

"Bullshit." I stepped closer. The gun I'd pulled off the dead runner two days ago felt heavier than it should. "The chip showed me. You were wearing that coat. Same cut. Same stupid collar."

"A lot of people wear coats."

"Not like that one." My voice came out rough. "Not with the reinforced shoulder seam and the pocket layout that screams hunter-issue."

His jaw tightened. Good. I wanted him uncomfortable.

"How long have you known?" I said.

"About your brother?"

"About me."

Silence. The kind that confirmed everything.

I raised the gun. Not pointing it at him yet. Just letting him see it in my hand. "You came looking for me because you knew who I was. Not because of the chip. Not because I'm some random debt runner who grabbed the wrong thing off the wrong body."

"Raina—"

"Don't." I took another step.