Chapter 22 · Dancing in the Dead Zone

"Don't move." Kael's hand locked around my wrist before my boot touched the broken tile.

A red targeting dot slid across my chest.

I twisted hard. His grip tightened, dragging me back against him. His coat brushed my shoulder, and his breath touched the side of my neck.

"Get your hand off me."

"You want the sniper to finish the job? Keep fighting me."

The dot stopped over my heart.

I went still—not because he told me to. Because the laser was steady. Whoever held the rifle wasn't guessing.

Kael pulled me behind the cracked support column. His body stayed between mine and the open street, one arm braced beside my head, the other still clamped around my wrist.

"You brought me into a kill zone," I whispered.

"You walked into it."

"You said the signal came from the north tunnel."

"It did."

"Then why are we being shot at from the east?"

His jaw flexed. "Because someone moved the beacon."

Another round punched through the column. Concrete dust peppered my cheek.

Kael leaned closer. Not enough to touch.