Chapter 29 · She swallowed carefully. “There you are.” “Be quiet.”

She swallowed carefully. “There you are.”

“Be quiet.”

“That sounded like you.”

“Be quiet, Lila.”

Her name landed between them.

The knife stopped.

Lila’s breath caught. “Say it again.”

His stare sharpened. “Lila.”

“Good. Keep doing that.”

The comm hissed louder. “Cain, she is manipulating you.”

Cain flinched.

Lila turned her head toward the device. “Who the hell are you?”

“You don’t need to know.”

“Then stop talking to my partner.”

Cain’s eyes cut back to her. “Partner?”

“Don’t get excited. It’s a temporary title.”

The man on the comm gave a low laugh. “She’s using your bond. Break her hand and the feedback will stop.”

Cain’s grip shifted around Lila’s wrist.

His thumb pressed against the inside of her pulse.

Lila felt his heartbeat through the contact. Fast. Uneven. Not machine-fast. Human-fast.

“Cain,” she whispered.

“Break the hand,” the voice ordered.

His thumb pushed harder.

Lila’s fingers went numb.

“Cain, listen to me.”

“Break the hand.”

“You’re not a weapon.”

“Break—”

“You’re Cain.”

His eyes flickered.

“You’re Cain,” she repeated. “You hate canned food. You sleep with one eye open. You pretend you don’t care when my boots fall apart, then you leave yours outside my door.”

“False memories.”