Chapter 28 · Emma Already Died Once

"She's hit," Lyla said, dragging Emma behind the sedan. "Mark, she's—"

"I'm fine." Emma shoved Lyla's hand off her shoulder. Blood soaked through her jacket, two dark patches spreading fast. "He missed the vest."

Mark dropped next to her, hands already pressing down on the wounds. Her blood was hot against his palms, hotter than it should be. "We need to move. Now."

"No." Emma caught his wrist. Her grip was tight, fingers cold. "Listen to me first."

"You're bleeding out."

"I already died once." She said it flat, like she was talking about traffic. "Three months ago. Kyle shot me in a hotel stairwell. I woke up seventy-two hours earlier with a hole in my memory and his voice on my phone."

Lyla went still. "What?"

"He's been hunting me across loops." Emma's breath hitched, but her eyes stayed level. "My husband found the archive. Kyle killed him. Then he came for me. I ran. He reset. I ran again. This is my fourth try, Mark. You're my first variable he didn't predict."

Mark's hands didn't stop pressing, but his brain was catching up too slow. "Why didn't you—"

"Because you wouldn't have believed me.