Chapter 37 · The Human Price

"Don't you dare touch that lever, Kade." Rook's voice was a jagged blade, slicing through the hum of the med-bay. She had her arm thrown across the console, her fingers digging into the metal, blocking my path to the override switch.

"Get out of the way, Rook." I didn't look at her. I couldn't. If I looked at her, I'd see the way her chest was heaving, the way her eyes were wide with a mix of terror and something that looked way too much like pity. "My sister is flatlining. The chip is eating her alive because I can't stabilize the feed. I'm fixing it."

"You're not fixing shit," she spat, her body shifting, pressing against mine as she tried to shove me back. "You know what that override does. It doesn't just dump the stabilization load. It burns the bridge. You'll lock her in, but you'll be the one paying the toll. You'll lose the last of it."

"The last of what?" I snarled, grabbing her wrist. Her skin was burning hot, a side effect of the gene-sync we'd been forced into.