Chapter 1

"You picked the wrong apartment!" I shouted.

"We picked the right killer," someone called from the street. "Your face is on every screen in the city."

The wall screen flashed red.

MARA VALE — PREDICTED MASS-CASUALTY OFFENDER.

Beneath it, a countdown ticked from eleven minutes.

I stared at my own face while the drone's targeting beam crawled toward my hand.

"That's not me," I said.

The drone fired.

The bullet tore through the table leg. I kicked the table sideways and sprinted for the door. Another round ripped through my sleeve. Heat kissed my arm.

I didn't slow down.

The apartment door exploded inward.

A man stood behind it with a black pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. Tall. Dark coat. Hard mouth. The kind of face that made people step aside before he said a word.

I knew him from every wanted screen in the city.

Eli Rook.

The city's favorite monster.

He caught me by the throat and drove me into the wall. Plaster cracked behind my skull. His forearm pinned me while the drone buzzed overhead.

"You're coming with me," he said.

His voice was low. Calm. Completely wrong for a man standing in the middle of a kill zone.

I shoved at his chest. "Get your arm off me."

"Not until you tell me where the mayor is."

"I deliver packages. I don't stalk politicians."

"You signed the contract."

"I sign delivery receipts."

His eyes dropped to my mouth for half a second before returning to mine.

I noticed.

That annoyed me more than the gun.

"Cute answer," he said. "Try again."

"Try asking someone who gives a damn."

The drone rotated toward us.

Eli glanced up. "Down."

"You first."

He shoved me flat against the wall just as the drone fired.

The shot blew a hole in the plaster beside my ear. Dust slapped my cheek. Eli covered me with his body, one hand braced beside my head, the other gripping his pistol near my hip.

His coat brushed my knees. Warm breath touched my cheek. He smelled like smoke, metal, and expensive soap.

I hated that I noticed that, too.

"You always argue when someone's trying to keep you alive?" he murmured.

"You always pin strangers to walls and call it rescue?"

"Only when they're about to get shot."

"Then improve your timing."

A second drone punched through the broken window.

Eli swore. Then he grabbed my wrist.

"Run."

"Where?"

"Away from the people shooting at you."

"That narrows it down to the whole city."

He dragged me toward the kitchen. I dug my heels into the floor, but he barely slowed. His fingers locked around my wrist with brutal control.

Not painful.

Just impossible to ignore.

"Let go," I snapped.

"No."

"I'm not going anywhere with a wanted murderer."

"You can stay here with the drones. They'll cut you open to confirm the prediction."

That stopped me.

He saw it. Of course he did.

"What prediction?" I demanded.

"The one saying you'll kill two hundred and forty people before midnight."

"That's insane."

"Tell the network that."

The kitchen window shattered. A security team rappelled past it, black armor flashing under the emergency lights. White city crests. Weapons raised.

"Target located!" someone yelled. "Mara Vale, put your hands on your head!"

I looked at Eli. "Your plan better be more than running."

"It is."

"I hate that answer."

"You'll hate the next part more."

He shoved open the service hatch beneath the counter and pushed me inside.

The metal tunnel was barely wide enough for one person. I crawled on my elbows while Eli followed close behind. Every time the passage narrowed, his knee brushed mine. Alarms screamed above us.

"You knew this was here," I whispered.

"I planned the route."

"You planned to break into my apartment?"

"I planned to remove you from it."

"That's a cute way to say kidnap."

"Call it whatever helps you crawl faster."

I twisted around and shoved my palm into his chest. There wasn't enough room to swing, but I made him stop.

His face was inches from mine.

The tunnel pressed our shoulders together. His hand landed beside my head to keep from crushing me. Heat gathered between us, trapped beneath the metal ceiling. His eyes stayed on mine, sharp and unreadable.

"Touch me again without warning," I said, "and I break your nose."

"You already tried."

"I can try harder."

"I know."

For one stupid second, neither of us moved.

Then the tunnel ceiling buckled.

Eli shoved me forward. "Move!"

We crawled faster. A rifle burst chewed through the metal behind him. He grabbed the back of my jacket and yanked me around a bend as bullets sparked against the wall.

"You're welcome," he said.

"I didn't thank you."

"You thought it loudly."

The tunnel opened into a maintenance shaft beneath the building. Eli dropped first, landing on a narrow platform. Then he reached up for me.

I ignored his hand and jumped.

My boots hit the platform. My ankle twisted. I pitched forward, and Eli caught me around the waist before I went over the edge.

His arm locked around me.

"Careful," he said near my ear.

"Don't enjoy this."

"You're the one falling into my arms."

I elbowed him.

He grunted and let me go. "That was rude."

"You kidnapped me."

"Not yet."

Above us, armored boots hammered across my apartment floor.

Eli pulled a small black device from his pocket and pressed it against the shaft door. Green numbers lit up.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A door opener."

"It has a countdown."

"So does everything worth stealing."

The device beeped.

The shaft door blew outward. Eli grabbed my shoulders and turned me behind him. Hot air slapped my face. His back took most of the blast.

He staggered.

"You hit?" I asked.

"Keep moving."

"That wasn't an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting."

He climbed down the ladder. I followed, but the metal shook beneath my boots. Halfway down, my shoe slipped.

Eli's hand closed around my calf.

"Got you."

"Let go."

"You want to fall?"

"I want you to stop grabbing me."

"Then stop making it necessary."

He hauled me onto the lower platform. His palm stayed at my waist for one beat too long before he pulled it away.

I noticed.

He noticed me noticing.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing."

"You're a terrible liar."

"And you're a terrible kidnapper. We both have flaws."

A compact black car waited inside the underground loading bay. Its engine was already running.

Eli opened the passenger door.

I stayed where I was. "I'm not getting in."

"Yes, you are."

"You don't get to order me around."

He stepped closer. The gun disappeared beneath his coat, but the threat didn't. He planted one hand on the car roof beside my head and leaned in.

"Mara, listen carefully. The city has marked you for execution. Every camera is tracking your face. Every patrol unit has permission to use lethal force. If you stay here, you die in under three minutes."

"And if I go with you?"

"You might die in five."

"That's your sales pitch?"

"It's honest."

"Why do you care whether I die?"

His jaw tightened.

There. A crack.

"I don't care," he said.

"You took the blast for me."

"Bad positioning."

"You shielded me with your body."

"Also bad positioning."

"You keep grabbing me."

"That one was intentional."

His gaze dropped again. This time, it lingered long enough to make my pulse jump.

I lifted my chin. "Move."

"Get in."

"Make me."

The softness left his face.

He caught my wrist, turned me, and pressed my back against the car. His body blocked the exit. His fingers closed around both my hands and held them above my head.

Cold metal touched my spine. He was close enough for me to feel every breath against my cheek.

"You really want to test that?" he asked.

"I want to know what happens when I say no."

"You lose the choice."

"That's supposed to scare me?"

"No. It's supposed to keep you alive."

I drove my knee upward.

He shifted just in time. My knee struck his thigh. He barely reacted. Instead, he tightened his grip and leaned closer, his mouth near my ear.

"Try that again," he whispered, "and I'll carry you into the car."

"You wouldn't."

"You keep daring me like you want proof."

The words hit harder than they should've.

His thumb moved once over the inside of my wrist. Maybe accidental. Maybe not.

My pulse kicked beneath his touch.

I hated the traitor in my own body.

A siren wailed above us.

Eli released one hand and pulled his pistol. He aimed it beneath my chin.

The cold muzzle touched my skin.

"Now," he said. "Get in the car."

I stared down the barrel. "There he is. The famous killer."

"You've got ten seconds."

"You're not going to shoot me."

"You don't know that."

"I know you need me alive."

His eyes sharpened. "Why would I need you?"

"Because you haven't killed me yet."

For the first time, his control slipped. His mouth tightened, and something dangerous moved behind his eyes.

"Nine," he said.

"You're bluffing."

"Eight."

"You're sweating."

"Seven."

"You're scared."

The pistol pressed harder beneath my chin.

"Six."

I smiled before I could stop myself. "Got you."

He suddenly pulled me against him and turned us toward the loading bay entrance.

A red targeting dot appeared on my chest.

Eli saw it before I did.

He shoved me down.

A drone blast tore through the air where my head had been. Eli spun and took the hit across his shoulder. The impact knocked him into the car.

"Eli!"

He dropped to one knee, one hand clamped over his shoulder. Blood seeped between his fingers.

I grabbed the pistol from his hand.

He looked up at me. "Give me the gun."

"No."

"You don't know how to use it."

"I know which end points at you."

"Mara—"

"Shut up."

The drone dipped lower, its camera lens glowing blue.

I fired.

The bullet struck the central lens. The drone spun into the concrete and died in a shower of sparks.

Eli stared at me.

"You said you didn't know how to use it," he said.

"I lied."

"Badly."

"You're bleeding. Complain later."

I grabbed his good arm and pulled. He rose, though his face tightened with pain.

"Can you drive?" I asked.

"Can you stop stealing my weapons?"

"No."

"Then yes."

We got into the car. Eli slammed the door and locked it before I could reach the handle.

"Seriously?"

"Forced proximity keeps you from jumping out."

"That's not a real safety feature."

"It is in my car."

The engine screamed as he punched the accelerator. The loading gate crashed open, and we shot into the service lanes beneath the city.

I kept the pistol aimed at his ribs.

He drove one-handed, blood darkening his coat.

"You need a medic," I said.

"I need distance."

"You'll pass out before we get any."

"Then don't let me pass out."

"How?"

"Keep talking."

"You want conversation? Fine. Why was my face on that screen?"

"The prediction network tagged you."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the answer you get until I know whether you're still yourself."

I turned toward him. "What the hell does that mean?"

His hands tightened around the wheel.

"You've been reset before."

The words landed wrong. Too specific. Too impossible.

"Reset?"

"Twelve minutes. Every time you die, you jump back twelve minutes."

I laughed once. It came out sharp. "You're insane."

"Check your left pocket."

I kept the gun trained on him and reached into my jacket. My fingers closed around a small metal key I didn't remember putting there.

The key was warm.

A thin blue line pulsed across its surface.

"What is this?"

"The neural key that brought me to you."

"I don't remember seeing it."

"You wouldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because you've already lost one memory tonight."

The car swerved around a concrete divider. The key pulsed brighter in my palm.

Eli's eyes snapped to it.

"Don't look at the light," he said.

"Why?"

His hand left the wheel and closed over mine. Heat pressed through my fingers. His face went pale.

"Because the last time you did, you—"