Chapter 26 · Nine Hours Left

"Two minutes." I pulled the gun from my waistband and aimed it at Cade's chest. "Talk."

He didn't flinch. Just looked at me like he'd been waiting for this.

"What do you want to know?"

"Everything." My hand didn't shake. Couldn't afford it. "You said I died seventeen times. You said I built this. Start there."

The countdown on the screen behind him ticked to 2:31. Red numbers, clinical and cold.

"Five years ago, you were lead engineer on Project Iris." Cade's voice stayed level even as blood seeped through his jacket. "Temporal anchor tech. You and four others. Helix wanted a way to undo industrial accidents. Rewind factory explosions. Save expensive prototypes."

"Bullshit. I fix drones."

"Now you do." He took a step forward. I didn't lower the gun. "Then you realized what they'd actually use it for. Assassinations. Market manipulation. Erasing witnesses."

"So I what, wiped my own memory and ran?"

"You tried to destroy the prototype." Another step. Close enough now that I could see the gray around his eyes, the way his jaw was tight against pain. "They caught you. Wiped you clean. Gave you a new life and a debt you'd never pay off. Insurance."