Chapter 17 · The Price of Truth

"Drop the weapon, Kane." Commander Selena pressed the pistol harder against his forehead. "Now."

Kane kept one hand clamped over the tear in his side and the other raised. Blood slipped between his fingers. The hallway behind them shook as the hounds slammed into the security doors.

"You first," he said.

Her eyes narrowed. "You think you’re in a position to bargain?"

"No. I think you’re scared." He glanced at the locked blast door behind her. "That’s different."

The hounds hit again.

Metal screamed. Red warning lights flashed across Selena’s face, turning her cheekbones sharp and her expression even colder. She didn’t move the pistol.

"You led them here," she said.

"I led them away from the command deck. There’s a difference."

"Three guards are dead."

"Two guards. The third one was already dead when Victor sent him into the corridor."

The pistol shifted a fraction.

Kane saw it. Selena saw him see it.

"Careful," she said.

"About what? The truth? You keep pointing a gun at it, but it keeps talking."

Her free hand caught his jacket and shoved him against the wall. His wounded side struck the metal panel. Pain flared hot enough to blur the warning lights.