Chapter 9 · Target: Mara

His eyes were chrome. Not the brown she'd learned to read in the last two days. Chrome, flat, and locked on her face.

Mara didn't think. She rolled off the cot and hit the floor as Kade lunged. His hand slammed into the wall where her head had been, and the plaster cracked. She scrambled back, her hip slamming into the supply cart. Syringes and gel packs scattered across the concrete.

"Kade."

He didn't answer. He turned, slow and smooth, and his hand dropped to his belt. The knife she'd seen him use to pry open a ration can three hours ago. Now it was in his hand, and the chrome in his eyes didn't blink.

She grabbed the nearest thing. A scalpel. Her hand was shaking.

"Kade, it's me."

He moved. Fast. Too fast. She barely got the cart between them before he was on her, and the knife punched through the thin metal like it was paper. She shoved it into him and ran for the door. Her fingers hit the lock pad, but the clinic door was on a timer. Five seconds. She didn't have five seconds.

He caught her by the shoulder and yanked her back.