Chapter 8 · Cade Already Died Once

"You took the kill order." I don't ask it. I say it flat, watching his face.

Cade doesn't move. The phone's between us on the cracked pavement, screen flickering his name like a death warrant. Voss is already gone, boots hammering down the alley, but I don't care about him anymore.

I care about the man standing three feet away who just became the anchor.

"Yeah," Cade says. "I did."

No excuse. No spin. Just that.

I should walk. I should grab the phone and let the next nine minutes eat him alive. He's the one who started this. He's the reason I've been dying in this alley for however many loops I've lost count of.

But I don't move either.

"When?" My voice comes out too steady. I want it to crack. I want to sound like I care less.

"Six months ago." He's still looking at me, not the phone. "Your brother sold partial code to a freelance buyer. The buyer sold it to someone else. That someone wanted the trail erased. You were on it because you shared a workspace lease."

"So you said yes."

"I said yes."

The air between us is too thin.