Chapter 14 · Zero-Level Bounty

"Don't touch that door, Lex." Cael caught my wrist before my fingers reached the black access panel.

His grip locked around me. Warm palm. Hard fingers. The bond between us sparked under my skin, sharp enough to make my knees dip.

I looked at his hand, then at his face. "You want to keep holding me, or do you want to explain why every alarm in this block just started screaming?"

"Because the door is bait."

"Everything is bait with you."

"And you're still alive because I keep noticing it."

A red scanline cut across the corridor. Then another. The walls flashed with the same warning.

GHOST DETECTED.

ADJUDICATOR RESPONSE INBOUND.

Cael shoved me behind him. His coat brushed my shoulder as he drew his sidearm.

"How many?" I asked.

"Six squads. Maybe more."

"You said this sector was dead."

"It was. You woke it up."

"Cute."

"Move."

I pulled against his grip. "The key is behind that door."

"The key is probably what called them."

"Then we have the same problem."

His jaw tightened. "No. You have a problem. I have a death sentence attached to your pulse. If you crash, I crash.