Chapter 6 · The Thirteenth Reset

"Drop the gun, Mara." Eli caught my wrist before I could shove the barrel harder under his chin.

His hand was warm. Too warm for a man who'd just shot the mayor.

"You first."

"Not happening."

"You killed him."

"I shot him. There's a difference."

"He dropped after you pulled the trigger. That difference can wait until I decide whether your throat stays attached."

Eli twisted my wrist away from his neck. He didn't take the gun. He only forced the barrel toward the concrete floor and stepped between me and the doorway.

Steel pressed into my back.

The stolen neural key buzzed inside my coat pocket, hot against my ribs.

Ten feet away, the mayor lay beside two fallen security officers. Red emergency lights flashed across the archive room, slicing Eli's face into hard pieces.

He looked calm.

That made me want to shoot him even more.

"You said the bullet would stop him," I snapped. "You said it was a scare shot."

"I said it would stop him from reaching the console."

"You knew it had a kill charge."

"Yes."

The answer hit harder than his grip.

I slammed my free hand into his chest. "You liar.