Chapter 7 · Locked In

"Feel that?"

Adrian's voice cuts through the hum of the engine. We're on the highway. Rachel's passed out in the back seat, still shaking in her sleep. My hands won't stop either.

I press my palm against my chest. Something's pulling. Hard. Like a fist closing around my ribs.

"Yeah," I say. "What is it?"

"Day seven." He takes the next exit too fast. "Bond escalates every seven days."

"Escalates how?"

He doesn't answer. Just pulls onto a dark side road and slams the brakes.

We stop. Middle of nowhere. Trees on both sides.

"Adrian?"

His hands are locked on the wheel. Knuckles white. He's breathing too fast. Eyes wide, pupils blown.

"Adrian."

Nothing.

Then I feel it.

The pull becomes a yank. The thing in my chest—the bond, the bite, whatever the hell it is—snaps taut. My body moves on its own. I reach for him.

My hand touches his arm.

The world goes white.

—

I'm not in the car.

I'm standing in a warehouse. Watching through someone else's eyes. There's blood on the floor. A body.

I know that jacket.

Dad's jacket. Brown leather. Torn shoulder.

Oh god.

The hands—my hands, but not mine—step closer.