Chapter 23 · Loop Zero's Gun

The memory hit Cole like a flashbang. Loop Zero. Ivy standing in the snow with Watcher's badge pinned to her tactical vest. His rifle scope centered on her chest.

He blinked. Present day. Ivy two feet away, her hand still bloody from digging that round out of his shoulder. Her eyes locked on him, waiting.

"Talk," she said. "Now."

Cole's hand went to his sidearm. Muscle memory. Eighty-three loops of keeping threats at arm's length. Her gaze dropped to his hand, then back to his face. She didn't move.

"You think I'm the enemy," she said. Flat. Not a question.

"I don't know what you are." His voice came out rough. The shoulder still burned where she'd pulled the bullet. "Loop Zero. You were wearing Watcher's badge."

Something shifted in her expression. Not surprise. Recognition.

"Loop Zero," she repeated. "That what you call it? The first time?"

Cole's grip tightened on the pistol. "How do you know about Loop Zero?"

"Same way you know I die on day four at dusk." She took a step closer. He should've backed up. Didn't.