Chapter 14 · Blood Trade

"Don't you dare scan him!" Elara's palm slammed down on the console and the whole med-bay lights flickered.

The doc didn't even flinch. He just kept the scanner wand hovering over my chest, that red beam buzzing like a pissed-off wasp.

"You want him alive?" he snapped at her. "Then I scan. He's cooking from the inside out."

"And you want Corp drones up our ass?" Elara hissed. "You light that thing up and Hale will have a lock in thirty seconds. You know what that signal does."

I tried to sit up. Bad idea. My veins felt like they were full of hot wire.

"Guys," I choked out. "I'm right here. Still breathing. Kinda."

Elara's hand shot to my shoulder and shoved me back down. Hard. Her fingers were cold. Her face was right over mine.

"Stay down, Kyle. Don't move."

"Yeah, easy for you to say," I said. "You're not the one with chrome rot trying to eat its way out of my chest."

The doc — skinny guy, chrome jaw that clicked when he talked, name patch said FINCH — glared at both of us.

"Listen to me, princess," he said to Elara. "His temp's 104.