Chapter 27 · Boxed In

"Move your hand or I'll take the whole arm off," Rook snapped, her voice shaking but sharp.

Kade didn't move. He couldn't. His fingers were locked around her wrist, his grip tightening as the Gene-Eater chip in his skull screamed for more. He could feel her pulse under his thumb—fast, frantic, and humming with that stabilizer frequency that made his glitching nerves go quiet. It was like a drug, and he was starving.

"I can't... let go," Kade gasped. He slammed his back against the rusted metal wall of the corridor, dragging her with him. The impact knocked the wind out of her, and for a second, they were chest-to-chest, her breath hot against his neck.

"You're glitching again," she whispered, her eyes searching his. She didn't pull away this time. She looked at the black veins creeping up his neck, the same dark ink that marked the places where his humanity was being traded for chrome. "Kade, look at me. Fight it. If you let it take over now, there's no coming back."

"What choice do I have?" he spat, his voice sounding like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together. "The kill-team is literally through that door.