Chapter 18 · One Life Left

The apartment door was already open when I got there.

Ava sat at her kitchen table, laptop closed, hands folded like she'd been waiting. No coffee. No phone. Just her and the yellow overhead light that made her look tired in a way I'd never seen before.

I kicked the door shut behind me.

"You tagged me," I said.

She didn't blink. "You're still breathing."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one that matters."

I pulled the Glock from my jacket and set it on the table between us. Didn't point it. Didn't need to. The weight of it said enough.

Ava glanced at the gun, then back at me. Her face didn't change. "You look like shit, by the way."

"Gas leak at a black site. Saved someone. Used my last filter." I pulled out the chair across from her and sat. My lungs still felt like I'd swallowed glass. "And now I'm down to one."

Her eyes narrowed. "One what?"

I pushed up my sleeve and showed her my wrist. The counter glowed faint blue in the dim kitchen: 01.

"One life," I said. "That's it. Next time I die, I'm done."

She stared at the number.