Chapter 6 · The Whisper Chip

"Don't move, sweetheart. You'll make this messy."

His thumb is already on the back of my neck, hot against my skin, pinning me to the chair.

"Get your hands off me," I snap. I jerk forward and the restraints bite my wrists. Metal. Cold. Too tight. "You said one hunt, one code. I delivered."

"You did." Silas smiles like I just gave him a gift. His face is inches from mine, that calm, god-complex smile he wears when he owns the room. "And you were magnificent. Did you see how fast you cut that Ghost Code apart? Poetry."

"Then let me go. That was the deal."

"It was. And I'm keeping it." He doesn't let go. His other hand comes up, holding a little black case. Inside, a chip the size of a grain of rice, lit up gold. "I'm upgrading your leash. Consider it a reward."

I stare at the chip and my stomach drops. "No. No more hardware in my head."

"This one is different." He pops the case open with one thumb. Click. "The last one kept you alive. This one lets you hear better.