Chapter 22 · Bleed-Out Clock

"Keep moving, Vance, or I put you down myself." Valerie’s hand clamped around the back of my coat and shoved me through the tunnel door before the metal finished opening.

I hit the service platform hard. My bad shoulder smacked concrete, and the Wraith Deck flashed red across my vision.

[RESONANCE FAILURE: 18%] [HOST DAMAGE: RISING] [TARGET CORE: 00:09:42]

"You said the safehouse was two blocks away," I snapped.

"It was. Then the cleaners sealed the street." Valerie stepped over me, pistol already out. "Get up."

"My sister’s got nine minutes."

"Your sister’s got nine minutes because you spent the last one trying to run into a kill box." She turned and jammed the muzzle against my chest. "Move smart, or move dead. Pick one."

I slapped the barrel aside and forced myself upright. My knee buckled. Heat crawled from my hip down to my boot, then vanished under a layer of cold static.

Valerie caught my elbow before I hit the wall.

Her glove pressed against my ribs. Her body was close enough that I felt the warmth through both our coats.