Chapter 12 · The Dead Zone Deal

"Touch him again and I will shoot you where you stand."

Sila didn't shout it. She just said it. Flat. Cold. And the whole hangar went quiet.

Jax had his fist twisted in my collar. His knuckles were white. My back was against the hull of the crawler and his forearm was pressed hard into my throat.

"He's gonna get us killed, Sila," Jax spat. He didn't let go. "You saw what he did. That light? That's Capital tech. That's Viktor's leash. You want to drag that thing into the Dead Zone?"

"I said let go," Sila said.

Her pistol was already up. Not pointed at me. At him.

Jax laughed, but it was thin. "You're kidding, right? You're picking scrap over your own lieutenant?"

"I'm picking my call," she said. "Let go of him. Now."

I couldn't breathe right. Jax's arm was crushing my windpipe. My hands were up, not fighting, just trying to get air. Sila's eyes flicked to mine for half a second. Just a flash.

"Jax," she said, softer this time. More dangerous. "That's an order."

"He's not one of us!" Jax yelled. He shoved me harder against the metal. The back of my head clanged.