Chapter 31 · Mirror Match

"Stop moving," Sloane snapped, her boot slamming into my chest to pin me against the cold metal wall. "I don't know who the hell you are, but if you don't start talking, I'm putting a round through your skull."

I couldn't even breathe, let alone talk. My lungs felt like they were filled with crushed glass. I looked up, and it was like staring into a cursed mirror. The man—the *thing*—standing in front of us had my eyes, my jawline, the same jagged scar running through my left eyebrow. But his eyes weren't confused. They were empty. Flat. Like a hard drive that had been wiped and rewritten by a machine.

"Sloane, right?" the clone asked. His voice was a perfect echo of mine, but without the tremor. It was a cold, processed sound. "The Enforcer with a bleeding heart. You're late."

Sloane didn't lower her gun. The muzzle was shaking, just a fraction, but I could feel it through the sync. Her heart was hammering against her ribs, a frantic rhythm that matched mine. We were tethered, our genes screaming for the proximity of the other, but this new presence was like a glitch in the system.