Chapter 12 · The Flatline Gambit

"Put your chest on my sights again, Rex, and I swear I won't miss."

Vesper's pistol pressed against my sternum hard enough to bruise. The muzzle sat right over the golden glow leaking through my torn shirt, and the heat from her body crowded mine in the narrow service tunnel.

Behind her, six corporate hunters raised rifles.

I kept my hands spread. Not because I was scared. Because the moment I moved, Vesper's finger would tighten, and her pulse was already racing against the tether between us.

"You said the core was stable," she whispered.

"I said it wasn't eating me yet. Big difference."

Her eyes narrowed. "Your pulse dropped twice in the last minute."

"And you're still alive. You're welcome."

She shoved the pistol harder into my chest. "You don't get to joke while your illegal bio-core is trying to drag my nervous system down with it."

"Then stop standing so close."

"If I step back, the squad shoots you."

"And if you keep aiming at me, you shoot me."

"That's the point."

The tether snapped tight inside my skull. Her fear hit first. Sharp. Hot. Buried under layers of training and anger, but still there.