Chapter 7 · The Dirty Deal

"You’re shaking," I whispered, my breath hot against her ear. "Is it the shock, or are you finally realizing your boss is the one holding the leash?"

Vala didn’t move. She couldn’t. I could feel her heart hammering against my chest, a frantic, trapped rhythm that told me I’d hit the mark. My arm was still locked around her waist, pinning her against the freezing metal of the cooling pipe. The air between us was thick with the smell of ozone and her expensive, sterile perfume.

"Shut up," she hissed, but there was no bite in it. Her voice sounded thin, brittle. "You’re lying. My brother was a hero. He died in the sector wars."

I let out a sharp, jagged laugh. I shifted my grip, my fingers brushing the small of her back, feeling the tension in her spine. "Hero? Is that what they told you? He didn't die in a blaze of glory, Vala. He was a glitch. A liability. Soran didn't mourn him—he erased him. And now he’s doing the same to you. You're not the hunter here. You're the cleanup crew. Once I'm dead, you're the only witness left with a neural link to the Void.