Chapter 4 · I breathe

He taps the contract pad. The terms scroll. Then a face appears. A holo-portrait I know better than my own.

Director Rhys. My handler. The man who trained me. Who sent me on the mission where I got burned.

"No," I breathe.

"Yes," Kael says. "Target One. High-ranking traitor from your old agency. He sold you out. He sold your team out. He's also been selling my family's gene-tech to our rivals for three years."

"Rhys wouldn't—" I stop. My throat closes. "He raised me."

"He buried you," Kael says. "Check the bounty authorization."

He swipes. The signature at the bottom of my kill order glows red.

R. RHYS. AUTHORIZED.

The room tilts. Rage and nausea slam into me at once. My knees actually buckle.

Kael catches me before I hit the floor. One arm around my waist, hauling me up against him. Tight. Too tight.

"Hey," he snaps, shaking me a little. "Eyes on me. Don't you pass out on me now."

"I'm not—" My voice cracks. I'm shaking so hard my teeth clatter. "I'm gonna kill him. I'm gonna rip his fucking heart out."

"Good," he whispers, his mouth right by my ear. His hand is splayed across my back, holding me steady, his heat bleeding into me. "Use it. But you need to be stable to do it. Sign. Now."

He pushes the contract pad into my hands. And the vial.

"What's the catch?" I force out. "There's always a catch with you."

"The catch is the link is permanent until I release it," he says, eyes locked on mine. "You run, I find you. You betray me, I shut your heart down with a word. And you feel everything I feel. No filters."

"And you feel everything I feel?"

"Yes."

"So if I hate you—"

"I'll know," he says, and his lips twitch, just barely. "Trust me, Vesper. I already know."

I stare at him. At the vial. At Rhys's face still floating in the air, smiling that calm, fatherly smile that now makes me want to vomit.

The sirens wail louder. The drones are getting closer. I can hear boots on the street above.

I have nowhere to go. No one to call. The only person not trying to kill me is the bastard holding me up.

"Fine," I snarl, and grab the vial. "But if you ever call me your hound again, I'll cut your tongue out."

"Noted," he says. "Drink."

I pop the cap with my teeth and down it in one burning gulp. It tastes like copper and ozone and fire.

Kael presses his thumb to the contract pad, then forces my thumb down next to his. The pad flares white-hot.

A shock rips through my spine. I gasp and arch, my forehead slamming against his shoulder. His arm tightens around me, holding me upright as my whole nervous system lights up like a circuit board.

"Breathe," he orders, his voice rough now, right against my temple. "Breathe through it, Vesper. I've got you."

His other hand comes up, fingers tangling in my hair, holding my head against him. Not gentle. Possessive. Anchoring.

The pain peaks, then snaps. Silence. Then—

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Two heartbeats. Mine and his. Syncing. Beating as one in my skull.

I jerk back, eyes wide, staring at him. He looks just as wrecked for a second, his pupils blown, his breathing hard.

"What—" I whisper.

"We're linked," he says, voice hoarse. "Protocol complete."

The bunker AI chimes, cheerful and horrible.

"Forbidden Protocol bound. Hosts synced. Welcome, Vesper."

And then the main screen flashes. Not the bounty. Something new.

A countdown. And a target list.

TARGET 01: DIRECTOR RHYS - STATUS: ACTIVE - LOCATION: BLACK SPIRE - TIME LIMIT: 72:00:00

The numbers start ticking down.

Kael's hand is still in my hair. His eyes are on the screen. On Rhys.

"You wanted a name," he says, his thumb brushing just behind my ear, and I shiver despite myself. "There's your name. So tell me, assassin—"

The bunker door above us bangs as someone tries to force it open, and the AI screams, "Breach attempt detected—"

"Are you ready to hunt your own father, or do I need to—"