Chapter 15 · Target One

My own arm is trying to kill him.

Not me. The rune. It's crawling past my elbow already, black lines spidering under my skin, and every nerve in my hand is screaming to pull the trigger.

"Ivy!" Ash grabs my shoulder. "We need to go. Now."

"Working on it—" My voice comes out through clenched teeth.

Zero steps back, the blue light in his chest guttering. "You heard her. Marcus is coming. He's not letting either of us walk out of here."

My gun arm jerks up on its own. Not me. Never me.

"Ivy?" Ash's voice cracks.

I slam my left hand over my right wrist, nails digging in hard enough to draw blood. The rune flares hotter, furious, hungry. It wants Zero dead. It wants to finish what it started three years ago.

"I'm fine." Lie. The barrel keeps climbing, locking onto Zero's chest, and I throw myself sideways into the pillar. Concrete versus bone. Bone loses.

The gun drops half an inch.

Zero doesn't run. He just watches, those flat dead eyes tracking every twitch. "Combat reflex. Once it locks a target, it doesn't let go. Feels good, doesn't it? Right up until it isn't you anymore."