Chapter 16 · No Room Is Safe

"Breathe slower," I said. "Right now."

Reina's hands were shaking. The comm device Shadow left behind was still warm in her palm. "My family's dead. Three years. He showed me—"

"I don't care what he showed you." I stepped closer, kept my voice flat. "Your heart rate spikes, twenty-seven kids die. That's the deal he rigged."

Danny was still on the floor, burn marks across his chest where I'd torn the sigil out. He looked up at Reina like she'd just pulled a gun. "Wait. You're the bomb now?"

"Shut up, Locke." I didn't take my eyes off Reina. "Reina. Look at me."

She did. Her pupils were blown wide, her breathing ragged. The kind of panic that came right before someone did something stupid. "He lied. He said if I finished the mission, they'd let them go. But they were already—"

"I know." I took another step. Slow. Like approaching a live grenade. "And he's counting on you losing it. That's the game. You break, the dorm goes up, and he gets his body count either way."

Her jaw clenched. "So what, I just—what? Pretend I'm fine?"

"No. You get angry later.