Chapter 27 · Kill Switch Talking

The gun didn't waver. Kade's hand was steady, finger resting along the frame, not the trigger. That should've been comforting. It wasn't.

"Put it down," I said. My voice came out flat. Behind me, Lia made a wet sound that might've been a laugh or a cough.

"Can't." Kade's eyes were wrong. Not the cold, dead stare from the warehouse. Worse. He looked aware. Trapped. "Signal's live. It's asking for confirmation."

"Confirmation of what?"

"Target acquisition." His jaw worked. "You. Lia. Everyone in a three-block radius once I confirm."

I didn't move. The maintenance room was maybe twelve feet across, packed with old server racks and cable bundles thick as my arm. The emergency rig blinked its amber standby light behind Kade. Lia's breathing rattled through the cables still hooked into her chest.

"So don't confirm," I said.

Kade's mouth twitched. Not a smile. "It's not a request, Mara. It's a countdown. Forty seconds. If I don't respond, the protocol assumes I'm compromised and triggers anyway."

"Triggers what?"

"Everything in the grid that can kill." He shifted his weight. The gun barrel dropped half an inch, then snapped back up. "Gas lines. Traffic grid.