Chapter 3

A man screamed outside.

"Get off me," I snapped.

"You want to die standing?"

"I want you off my back."

"Keep arguing and I’ll give you both wishes."

He dragged me behind the thick support column. His coat scraped my cheek. The smell of gun oil and blood hit me at once.

Not his blood. Not yet.

The tower shook again. A second shell slammed into the outer wall. Metal screamed. Somewhere below, alarms began to howl.

Gabriel grabbed my wrist and pulled me toward the stairwell.

I dug my heels into the floor. "The attackers want the chip."

His eyes cut to me. Cold. Focused. Too close.

"They want more than that."

"Then stop dragging me around like luggage and tell me what the hell is happening."

"Move."

"No."

His fingers tightened around my wrist. Heat spread under his glove. The collar around my throat burned in answer, a sharp pulse that made my knees twitch.

Gabriel noticed.

Of course he did.

"Your collar is reacting to the breach," he said. "If the override is triggered, it’ll shut down your heart before they can remove it."

I stared at him. "You put a kill switch around my neck?"

"Your father put the design in the debt contract."

"You bought the contract."

"I bought the debt. There’s a difference."

"Tell that to my throat."

Another burst of gunfire tore through the tower. Gabriel shoved me lower and fired twice over the edge of the broken stone.

A body dropped outside.

He reached for me again.

I slapped his hand away. "Don’t touch me."

His jaw flexed. "You’re bleeding."

"I’m aware."

The blast had cut my palm on a strip of metal. Blood ran between my fingers. The tiny identity chip was still hidden under the bandage wrapped around my other hand. Gabriel didn’t know I had it.

That was the only reason I was still standing.

He leaned closer, his mouth near my ear so I could hear him over the alarms. "The chip is useless without your blood."

"Funny. You seemed very interested in it five minutes ago."

"I’m still interested."

"You mean you’re desperate."

His eyes held mine for one hard second. "Yes."

The answer landed wrong. Too clean. Too honest.

Then the stairwell doors blew inward.

Three armed men rushed through the smoke.

Gabriel fired first. One attacker dropped. The second swung his rifle toward me.

I grabbed Gabriel’s sidearm from his belt.

He caught my wrist before I could aim. "No."

"Let go."

"You’ll hit the wall."

"Then move your wall."

The attacker fired.

Gabriel pulled me into his chest. The bullet struck the stone beside my head.

His mouth brushed my temple. His breath was hot against my skin.

"You’re welcome," he muttered.

"I didn’t ask you to play hero."

"Good. I’m not one."

He released me and drove his elbow into the attacker’s throat. The man stumbled. I twisted free, raised the sidearm, and shot him in the knee.

He collapsed with a wet cry.

Gabriel looked at me.

"What?" I said. "You said don’t shoot the wall."

"I said nothing about the man."

"You should’ve been clearer."

The third attacker vanished through the smoke.

Gabriel swore and shoved me toward the inner passage.

"We need the east control room," he said.

"Why?"

"Because your father’s minefield just woke up."

My stomach tightened. "The fortress has a minefield inside the walls?"

"Outside the walls. The breach opened a path through it."

"And the men who came through?"

"They’re using your identity chip to shut it down."

"They don’t have it."

His gaze dropped to my bandaged hand.

The world seemed to narrow between us.

"No," he said. "They don’t."

"Stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you’re deciding whether to cut my hand open."

His voice went flat. "If I wanted to cut you open, Elena, you’d already be on the table."

"That’s supposed to make me feel better?"

"It’s supposed to make you move."

He pushed through the smoke. I followed because the collar was still burning, because armed men were hunting us, and because I didn’t trust him enough to let him out of my sight.

The passage tilted under another impact. I caught the wall. Gabriel caught my waist.

His palm spread over my side, firm and warm through my torn dress. My body reacted before my mind did.

I drove my elbow into his ribs.

He grunted but didn’t let go. "You keep hitting me, and I’m going to start taking it personally."

"You keep grabbing me, and I’ll start aiming higher."

"You’ve got a filthy mouth for a woman who was sold at her own engagement party."

"And you’ve got a lot to say for the man who bought me."

His hand slipped away.

For half a second, neither of us moved.

Then he said, "I didn’t buy you."

"You signed the transfer."

"I signed for the debt."

"Julian stood beside you while you did it. He smiled when they locked the collar around my neck."

"Julian wasn’t smiling at me."

"He was smiling at the room. At the guests. At me. He handed me over like a shipment of ore."

Gabriel’s stare sharpened. "He knew the attackers would come tonight."

I stopped. "What did you say?"

He turned toward the control room door. "We’re out of time."

"No. You don’t get to drop that and walk away. How did he know?"

"Because he gave them the access route."

"And you knew?"

"I suspected."

"You suspected my fiancé planned an assault on your fortress, and you still dragged me here?"

"I dragged you here because the attack was aimed at you."

"That makes no sense."

"It will when you see who they’re protecting."

Before I could demand more, the control room door opened from the inside.

A man in a gray tactical coat aimed a rifle at us.

Gabriel moved in front of me.

I pushed around his shoulder and fired.

The shot struck the attacker’s weapon. It flew from his hands. Gabriel crossed the distance in two steps and slammed the man against the console.

"Who sent you?" Gabriel asked.

The attacker laughed through broken teeth. "You know who."

Gabriel drove a knife into the console beside his head.

"Say it."

"The Stone heir."

My fingers went cold. "Julian?"

The man looked at me. "He said you’d open the gate for us. He said Vance would be too busy protecting his new property."

Gabriel’s knife pressed deeper into the console.

"What else did he say?"

The attacker’s smile widened. "He said your mother’s blood would finish what your father started."

My breath caught.

Gabriel’s head snapped toward me.

I shot the attacker in the shoulder before he could say another word.

"You don’t get to use her name," I said.

The man slumped, still breathing.

Gabriel reached for my weapon.

I pointed it at him instead.

"Try it."

His hand stopped inches from mine.

The control room lights flashed red. A map of the fortress appeared across the main screen. Tiny white marks blinked around the eastern ridge.

Then the marks turned black.

A warning began counting down in the corner.

Gabriel glanced at the screen. "They’re inside the minefield."

"You said the minefield was outside."

"It is. They crossed it."

"How?"

His eyes dropped to the strip of military code I had torn from his coat. I still held it in my fist.

"That code opened the safe route," he said.

"Your code."

"Yes."

"Your authorization was on the mine record the night my father died."

He didn’t answer.

The silence told me enough.

I stepped closer and pressed the sidearm against his chest.

"Did you open the mine for them?"

"No."

"Did you give Julian your code?"

"No."

"Then why was it there?"

"Because someone copied it."

"Convenient."

"You want convenient? Shoot me and let the people outside tear you apart for the chip."

"Maybe I’d rather die than belong to you."

His gaze dropped to my mouth. It was quick, but I caught it.

"You keep saying that," he murmured. "But you’re still standing beside me."

"I’m standing close enough to kill you. Don’t mistake that for trust."

"I don’t."

The alarm changed pitch.

Gabriel turned toward the screen. "They’ve reached the inner markers."

"What happens if they shut them down?"

"The collar override goes live."

"Mine?"

"Both cuffs. Yours and mine."

I looked at the black metal band around his wrist. I’d seen it before, but I’d never seen him touch it.

"You wear one too?"

"I told you. The system was built for shared access."

"You told me nothing."

"I’m telling you now."

"Why?"

He stepped toward me. "Because you’re the only person in this fortress who can stop it."

The control room door slammed shut behind us.

A red seal appeared on the lock.

Gabriel stared at my bandaged hand. "The chip is keyed to your bloodline. The cuffs need a living Stone access point."

"So you need me."

"Yes."

"Say it again."

His jaw tightened. "I need you."

The words should have felt like a victory. Instead, they crawled under my skin.

He was close enough now that the heat from his body reached me. His shirt was torn near his collar. Dust marked his throat. A thin line of sweat slid down the side of his neck.

I hated noticing.

I hated that he noticed me noticing.

"You want the chip?" I asked.

"I want you alive."

"That wasn’t my question."

"The chip first. Your blood second."

"And after that?"

His eyes held mine. "You stay under my protection until I know who ordered the attack."

I laughed once. "Protection. That’s what you call the collar?"

"I call it the reason you’re still breathing."

"You call everything yours a favor."

"And you call every warning a threat."

"Because they usually are."

The screen flashed.

The minefield counter hit five seconds.

Gabriel grabbed my shoulder. "Give me your hand."

"No."

"Elena."

"Don’t use my name like you own it."

"Then stop acting like you want me to beg."

I shoved him back. "You don’t get to beg. You get to explain why my father died under your code."

"Not here."

"Here is perfect. We may both be dead in five seconds."

His eyes hardened. "Your father was betrayed before I reached the mine. I went there to pull him out."

My grip tightened around the gun.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"No. I expect you to survive long enough to learn the truth."

The counter hit three.

Gabriel pulled a combat knife from his boot.

I raised the gun higher. "Put it down."

"If I do this, you’ll have access."

"Do what?"

He dragged the blade across his palm.

Blood welled fast, dark against his skin.

My pulse kicked hard.

"Gabriel."

"The blood seal only works if you touch it."

"I’m not touching you."

"Then we both die when the cuffs lock."

The counter hit two.

The collar around my throat flashed white-hot. Gabriel’s cuff answered with the same light.

He stepped closer, his bleeding hand open between us.

"You planned this," I said.

"I planned to keep you alive."

"By forcing me into another contract?"

"By giving you a choice."

"A choice between your blood and a death switch? That’s not a choice."

"It’s more choice than Julian gave you."

The counter hit one.

The room shook. The lights died. For one violent second, the only light came from the collar and the cuff.

Then the minefield went silent.

Three seconds.

That was all the system gave us.

I saw the path on the screen. Three safe markers blinking along the eastern ridge. If I could reach the main console, I could shut down the field. But the control room sat behind a sealed access lock, and the attackers were already coming through the corridor.

Gabriel grabbed the military code strip from my fist.

I caught his wrist. "Give it back."

"You need to use it."

"I can use it without you."

"No, you can’t."

He pressed the strip against the console. The screen rejected it.

"It needs a live command," he said.

"From you?"

"From both of us."

Gunfire exploded outside the door.

The lock began to crack.

Gabriel shoved the rifle into my hands. "Take the left corridor when the door opens."

"And you?"

"I’ll hold them."

"You’ll get killed."

His mouth pulled tight. "Worried about me?"

"I’m worried about the chip."

"Liar."

I put the rifle against his chest. "Don’t call me that."

He didn’t move away. His blood dripped from his palm onto the floor between our boots.

"You need my access," he said quietly. "You need my code. You need my protection."

"I need you alive long enough to answer for the mine."

"That’s almost sweet."

"Don’t push me."

"You’re the one holding a rifle to my heart."

The door buckled.

Gabriel leaned into the barrel. The muzzle pressed against his shirt, right over his heartbeat.

I felt it through the metal.

Steady. Hard. Annoyingly alive.

"Move," I ordered.

"Make me."

"You think I won’t?"

"I think you’ve had three chances to shoot me, and every time you aim somewhere else."

"You’ve been standing in the way."

"No. I’ve been standing in front of you."

The words hit deeper than they should have.

The door split down the center.

Gabriel’s eyes stayed on mine. His injured hand hung between us, blood sliding over his fingers.

"The chip is in your bandage," he whispered.

My breath stopped.

"How did you—"

"I felt the edge when I wrapped your hand."

"You knew?"

"I knew you’d hide it."

"And you let me keep it?"

"I needed you to choose me before I gave you the access."

The door burst open.

Two attackers fired.

Gabriel slammed into me and twisted us behind the console. Bullets ripped through the screen. Glass sprayed across his back.

He grunted.

Then he went still.

I felt the impact before I saw the blood.

A round had gone through his side.

"Gabriel."

"Stay down."

"You’ve been shot."

"I noticed."

He pushed himself upright and fired over the console. One attacker dropped. The second ran for the access panel.

I grabbed the rifle and fired.

The man fell before he reached it.

The room went quiet except for the alarms and Gabriel’s rough breathing.

He braced one hand against the console. Blood spread across his shirt.

I moved toward him.

He lifted his weapon. "Don’t."

"You’re bleeding all over the floor."

"The floor can handle it."

"You can’t."

"That concern again."

"Shut up."

I caught his arm and pulled him down behind the console.

His body dropped heavily against mine. His thigh pressed between my knees. His breath struck my cheek, hot and uneven.

"Take your hand off me," I said.

"Then stop holding me up."

"You’re heavy."

"You’re small."

"I’m going to shoot you after I save you."

"That’s fair."

I tore open his shirt near the wound. The bullet had entered below his ribs. Blood soaked my fingers when I pressed fabric against it.

Gabriel’s entire body tightened.

"You’re hurting me," he said.

"Good. Stay awake."

"You always this gentle?"

"Only with men who sell me."

His hand closed around the back of my neck.

Not hard enough to hurt. Hard enough to stop me from looking away.

"I didn’t sell you," he said.

"You keep saying that like the collar came with a different name."

"The collar is yours to break."

I froze. "What?"

"Your blood can override it."

"You said it would kill me."

"If you use the wrong access."

"And the right one?"

His thumb brushed the side of my neck, close to the burning metal.

"The right one binds us both."

The words made my hand stop over his wound.

"No."

"You asked for the truth."

"You’re lying."

"I’m not."

"Why would my father build a collar that binds the wearer to you?"

"He didn’t. The original design binds the Stone heir to the person carrying the command code."

I looked at the strip in his hand.

"You."

"Me."

"So the second I use my blood, I become yours."

"No."

"That’s exactly what you just said."

"You become tied to my access. Not my property."

"You own the contract."

"The contract says you’re collateral. The blood seal changes that."

"Into what?"

He stared at my mouth again.

"An equal signatory."

Outside, boots pounded through the corridor.

More attackers.

Gabriel pushed the code strip toward me. "Choose now."

I looked at his bleeding hand. Then at the rifle. Then at the collar cutting into my throat.

"If I seal this, can I remove the collar?"

"Eventually."

"That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only one I have."

"Can you break the contract?"

His expression changed, just enough to make my blood run cold.

"Gabriel."

"Not yet."

"Why not?"

He caught my wrist and pressed my palm against his open wound.

Warm blood flooded between our hands.

The collar lit up.

I jerked back, but he held me there.

"Let go!"

"Pull the trigger, or put your hand in my blood."

The rifle lay beside my knee.

His heartbeat hammered beneath my palm. His face was inches from mine. Blood ran over my fingers, under my nails, into the thin cuts on my skin.

The console screamed.

A circle of red light formed around our joined hands.

Gabriel’s voice dropped to a whisper. "Choose, Elena."

I looked at the rifle.

Then at him.

I didn’t fire.

My fingers spread against his wound.

The red seal snapped shut around our hands.

Both cuffs flashed.

A number appeared on each one.

00:59.

Gabriel sucked in a sharp breath.

The collar tightened against my throat.

The countdown began to fall.

00:58.

"What did you do?" I demanded, trying to pull free as the seal burned brighter. "Gabriel, what the hell did you—"