Chapter 25 · Eighty-Three Guns

Cole's got eighty-two guns pointed at Ivy.

He can see himself in every stance. The way his left shoulder drops when he's committing to the shot. The micro-adjustment of his trigger finger. The dead calm that settles over his face right before he pulls.

Eighty-two versions of Cole Ash, and every single one of them has decided Ivy Chen needs to die.

Ivy's still standing next to him—the real him, loop eighty-three—and her hand's wrapped around the barrel of his rifle. Her palm's bleeding where the metal bit into her skin during the last firefight. She hasn't let go.

"Cole." Her voice is steady. "Which one are you?"

He doesn't answer. Can't. Because the oldest version of himself—the one standing at the far end of the warehouse with a sniper rifle and dead eyes—just tilted his head. Listening. Waiting.

That's loop sixty-four Cole. The one who figured out the loop doesn't end when Ivy dies. It ends when she *chooses* to die.

And loop sixty-four Cole decided that was unacceptable.

"Ivy." Cole keeps his rifle low, but his other hand moves to his sidearm. "When I say run, you run. Don't look back. Don't stop."

"No."

"Ivy—"

"I said no."