Chapter 28 · Living Key

"Get away from the console, Vera." Kane's hand locked around my wrist before I could touch the red control strip. "That is not a request."

"Then stop making requests." I twisted hard, drove my elbow into his ribs, and reached with my free hand.

He caught that one too.

His body slammed mine against the console. The metal edge bit into my lower back. His chest pressed to mine, solid and hot through both our jackets, while the neural link flashed a warning across my vision.

LINK STABILITY: 31%. CORE OUTPUT: 118%. HOST FAILURE: IMMINENT.

Kane looked past my face at the numbers. His jaw tightened.

"You have six minutes before the core cooks your nervous system."

"Five minutes, forty-two seconds," I said. "The system corrected you."

"You think that makes this funny?"

"No. I think it makes you bad at math."

His grip tightened. Not enough to break bone. Enough to remind me he could.

That was Kane's favorite language. Pressure. Distance. One hand on the door. One boot between me and the exit.