Chapter 14 · You scared, hacker?

My heart is hammering so loud I'm sure the drone can hear it. Or maybe it's his heart. We're pressed so tight I can't tell whose is whose. His jacket smells like cheap coffee and copper wires.

"You scared, hacker?" I whisper.

"Terrified," he whispers back. "You?"

"Never."

"Liar."

The red light washes over his back. My mod screams. I bite my lip so hard I taste blood to keep from making a sound. Jax's fingers dig into my hip, holding me still.

Then the light passes. The drone moves on.

He doesn't move right away. His forehead drops to mine for half a second. Just a breath. His eyes are closed.

"Okay," he says, voice rough. "Okay, we go. Now."

He yanks the rusted service door open and pulls me into the dark. The tunnel is tight, damp, pipes hissing overhead. Barely wide enough for two people.

"We can run here," he says, letting go of me. "The walls are shielded. No signal gets out."

I suck in air. My head is clearing. The pain fades to a dull throb.

"You could have left me back there," I say. "In the clinic. When the hounds came."

"Yeah.