"You picked the wrong man to rob." Kade Mercer caught Evelyn Sable by the wrist and slammed her into the metal wall.
The stolen core burned between them.
Not in her pocket. Not hidden under her coat. In her bare hand, bright blue light pulsing through the thin skin of her palm.
Kade stared at it, then at her.
"Give it back."
"You first."
His grip tightened. His thumb pressed against the inside of her wrist, right over her racing pulse.
"You don't get to make demands," he said.
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing."
A burst of Crown gunfire punched through the door behind him. Metal screamed. Evelyn flinched. Kade didn't. He turned his shoulder and took the impact of the first round on the black armor under his coat.
The second shot struck the wall beside her head.
"Move," he ordered.
"You're holding me here."
"Then stop fighting me."
"Let go and I might consider it."
His eyes dropped to her hand again. The core flickered between her fingers. It was no bigger than a coin, but the room shook every time it pulsed.
Kade's jaw locked.
"You have no idea what you're carrying."
"I know what it sells for."
"The Crown will cut your brother's throat before sunrise if they find out you took it."
That landed. He saw it land, and Evelyn hated him for noticing.
Another blast hit the door. The hinges bent inward.
Kade leaned close, his breath warm against the side of her face. He smelled like smoke, cold steel, and the sharp electric bite coming off the core.
"Listen carefully," he said. "If that door opens, you won't make it ten feet. They want the core. They don't care if they bring you back alive."
"And you do?"
His gaze held hers.
"I need it inside my chest."
Evelyn looked down at the glowing device in her hand. "That sounds like a personal problem."
The door exploded inward.
Kade moved before the sparks hit the floor. He dragged her down and covered her with his body as three Crown soldiers stormed the room.
"Target located!" one of them shouted. "Mercer is compromised!"
"He's not compromised," another voice barked from the hall. "He's empty. Put him down and retrieve the core."
Kade's arm locked around Evelyn's waist.
"You heard them," she whispered. "Your own people are here to kill you."
"I heard."
"Still want your property back?"
"More than ever."
He rolled them behind a stack of fuel cases. Bullets chewed through the crates. A hot spray of metal fragments cut across Evelyn's cheek.
She hissed and touched the blood.
Kade glanced at it.
"Stay down."
"Stop telling me what to do."
"Then start making better choices."
"I made one excellent choice tonight. I stole your core."
His hand shot out and caught her chin. Not hard enough to hurt. Hard enough to stop her from turning away.
"You broke into a Crown vault, cut through a biometric seal, and ripped the life-support core out of the most dangerous enforcer in the city."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"You made yourself my only chance of staying alive."
"No. I made myself rich. You staying alive is extra."
A soldier shouted from the other side of the cases. "Mercer! Step away from the smuggler! Kneel and place your hands where we can see them!"
Kade's fingers slid from Evelyn's chin to the back of her neck. His touch was steady. His breathing wasn't.
"You have five seconds," the soldier called.
"What happens at five?" Evelyn asked.
"They shoot us," Kade said.
"You sound very calm about that."
"I'm deciding whether to throw you at them first."
"Try it and I'll shove this thing down your throat."
His mouth twitched. It wasn't a smile. It was close enough to make her pulse jump for a reason she refused to examine.
"You won't."
"Want to bet?"
"Yes."
The soldiers opened fire.
Kade grabbed the core hand and shoved it against the floor.
Blue light burst across the room.
Every bullet stopped in midair.
Evelyn stared at the copper-jacketed rounds hanging inches from her face.
"What the hell?"
Kade stood, one hand raised. The air around him bent in thin, glassy lines. The bullets trembled, then dropped harmlessly to the floor.
The soldiers froze.
"That is impossible," one of them said.
Kade looked at his own hand as if it belonged to someone else.
"I know."
A pulse rolled out from him.
The soldiers flew backward into the hall. Their armor cracked against the walls. One dropped his rifle. Another didn't move.
Evelyn pushed herself up behind the cases.
"You could do that the whole time?"
"Apparently not."
"You just stopped a full magazine with your hand."
"I noticed."
"And you were going to let me sell you for scrap?"
"I was trying not to kill you."
"That was your plan?"
"It was a bad plan."
The corridor alarm started screaming.
Red lights flashed over the broken doorway. A voice crackled through the ceiling speakers.
"All units, seal Dock Seven. Crown enforcer Kade Mercer has gone rogue. Smuggler Evelyn Sable is armed and considered hostile. Lethal force authorized."
Evelyn went still.
"They know my name."
Kade turned toward her. "They know mine too."
"You said they wouldn't know I was involved."
"I said they wouldn't know if you stayed quiet."
"I have been quiet. You were the one who threw people through walls."
"You stole my core."
"You keep bringing that up."
He crossed the room in three quick steps and pinned her against the side of the fuel case. His body blocked the flashing red light. One hand braced beside her head. The other closed around her wrist again.
The contact sent a hard jolt through her.
Not fear. Not only fear.
His face was inches from hers. The heat of him pressed through her coat. Their breaths tangled in the narrow gap between them.
"Give me the core," he said quietly.
"No."
"Evelyn."
She had never heard her name in his voice before. It came out rough, almost familiar.
That was worse than the gunfire.
"How do you know my name?" she asked.
His eyes narrowed.
"The Crown brief."
"You read my file?"
"I read every file before I hunt someone."
"Then you know I don't give back stolen goods."
"I know you owe six hundred thousand credits to a debt collector who sells people when they miss payments."
"Seven hundred and twelve thousand. The interest climbed while I was busy stealing from you."
"You took the job to pay him."
"No. I took the job to buy my brother out of Crown custody. The debt is just the part that gets me killed first."
Something changed in his expression. A small pause. A tighter line around his mouth.
"Your brother is in custody?"
"Don't pretend you care."