Chapter 12 · Price of Trust

"Put the chip on the table, Maya. Slowly."

Jax didn't even look at me. He was staring at the door, his hand resting on the grip of his pulse-pistol. His voice was flat, like a dead line.

I didn't move. I felt Pip vibrating against my chest, his plush fabric scratching my skin through the thin tank top. The little AI was practically humming with anxiety, a low-frequency buzz that only I could feel.

"What happened to the 'we're in this together' part?" I asked. I shifted my weight, my boots crunching on the glass shards covering the floor of the safehouse. "Five minutes ago, you were my ride out of here. Now you're talking like a debt collector."

Jax finally turned. His eyes were cold, scanning me like I was a piece of faulty hardware. "The price changed. The people hunting that chip aren't just corporate goons anymore. They're Bloom-infected. High-tier. If I keep you around, I'm just carrying a beacon for every monster in the sector."

"So you're just going to hand me over?" I stepped back, my heart hammering against my ribs.