Chapter 22 · You could’ve waited

He pushed open a security door. A Crown drone fired through the gap. Kade yanked me against his chest and took the impact on his shoulder plate.

The drone reloaded.

I shoved Kade aside, pulled the emergency lever, and dropped the blast door. The drone vanished beneath six hundred pounds of steel.

Kade stared at me. "You could’ve waited."

"You could’ve moved."

"You keep saving me."

"Don’t get sentimental. I need you alive."

"For your brother?"

I stepped closer and pressed one finger under his chin, forcing his face toward mine. "For the bond. Don’t make it into something it isn’t."

His throat moved beneath my fingertip.

"What if it already is?"

The question landed harder than the gunfire.

I pulled my hand back.

Kade caught my wrist before I could turn away. His thumb brushed the inside of it, right over my racing pulse.

"You don’t get to ask me that," I said.

"Why?"

"Because you’re still dangerous."

"So are you."

"I know."

His eyes dropped to my lips again. This time, he didn’t hide it fast enough.

The corridor narrowed around us. His chest rose against mine when he breathed.