Chapter 10 · Glitchy Sync

"Move your foot, you idiot, or we both end up as grease stains on the floor," Elise hissed, her voice a sharp needle in the dark.

Jax didn't move. He couldn't. He was currently pinned against the corrugated metal wall of a ventilation shaft, his chest heaving, and Elise was practically draped over him to keep them both out of the line of sight of the patrol drones. The space was barely three feet wide. Every time he took a breath, his ribs brushed against her leather gear.

"I'm trying," Jax gasped, his voice sounding like he'd swallowed a handful of gravel. "My legs are still shaking from that... whatever the hell Kaelen did with those rings."

"Then stop shaking," she snapped. She shifted her weight, her thigh pressing firmly against his, and for a second, Jax forgot how to breathe for a reason that had nothing to do with the cramped space. He could smell the sharp scent of ozone and something like winter rain clinging to her. "If the drones pick up our heat signatures, we aren't getting a second chance. We're out of time, Renner.