Chapter 19 · Rift Protocol - Chapter 19: The Backup in Her Head

"Kess, get down!"

Dalen hit me hard enough to knock the breath out of my chest.

A shot cracked through the control room. The bullet punched into the wall where my head had been. Dust stung my cheek. Dalen rolled over me, one knee planted beside my hip, his pistol already aimed at the open doorway.

His eyes were wrong.

Not gray. Not cold. Empty.

"Dalen." I shoved at his shoulder. "Look at me."

The gun swung toward my face.

"Hands flat," he said.

His voice sounded like him. The words did not.

I froze with my palms against the floor. The metal grate cut into my skin. His muzzle hovered six inches from my forehead, steady as a machine.

Behind him, the tunnel lights blinked red. The emergency system had locked every door in the safe house. Somewhere below us, alarms kept barking in short, ugly bursts.

"You have three seconds to state your identity," Dalen said. "Failure will be treated as hostile confirmation."

"You know my name."

"State it."

"Go to hell."

His finger tightened.

A sharp pulse slammed behind my eyes.

The room vanished.

For half a second, I saw a white surgical mask.