Chapter 6 · Back Room Deal

"You think holding his hand is gonna keep you both alive?"

Iris's fingers clamped around my wrist before I could pull Kade any closer. Her nails dug in—cold, hard—and she yanked me away from him, slamming me back against the metal table.

"Let go of me!" I snapped.

"No. You let go of him. That's the deal," she said. Her voice was flat. Dead. She didn't need to yell. Two guards stood by the door with rifles leveled, and the back room had no windows. No way out. "You walk, he stays. You get your mother's voice. He gets a cell. Everyone wins except the liar."

Kade stepped in. Shoulder to shoulder. I could feel the heat radiating off him, smell the sweat and gun oil on his jacket. He was too close.

"Don't touch her again," he warned.

Iris laughed. A short, sharp sound with zero humor. "Oh, look. He remembers how to play hero. Where was that energy when Sparrow was bleeding out, Kade?"

My stomach dropped. "Stop saying that name!" I yelled, my voice cracking. I hated how weak I sounded. "You don't get to say it like you knew her."

"I was there," Iris said.