Chapter 16 · The Thirteenth Time

"Tell me what happened on the thirteenth death, or I pull the trigger."

Mara kept the pistol jammed beneath Eli Rook’s jaw. Her hand didn’t shake.

His did.

Blood had soaked through the bandage on his shoulder and dripped onto the subway tiles. He glanced at the gun, then back at her.

"You already know what happened."

"I know you died thirteen times. I know you kept choosing me. I know one of those versions wore my face and killed three hundred people." Her thumb pressed harder against the grip. "What I don’t know is why you’re still breathing."

Eli’s mouth tightened. "Because you pulled out the key."

"That saved you. It didn’t explain you."

The dead tunnel screens flashed white.

For half a second, a woman who looked exactly like Mara appeared in the static. Her face broke apart in blue lines.

DON’T TRUST HIM.

Then the screens went black.

Eli moved.

Not toward the gun. Toward her.

His good hand clamped around Mara’s wrist and shoved the pistol aside. The shot cracked through the tunnel. Concrete burst from the wall beside his head.

Mara drove her knee into his injured leg.

Eli grunted and dropped to one hand.