Chapter 7 · The Due Date

"You smell like someone who's about to get me killed."

Mara's standing three feet from the door, gun already in her hand. Not pointed at me. Not yet.

"Nice to see you too," I say.

"Where's the page?"

"Safe."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting until you tell me why half the city wants it bad enough to burn down Ephraim's office."

She moves closer. The air between us tightens. I can see the edge of a bruise under her collar, fresh enough that the skin's still angry.

"You don't trust me," she says.

"No."

"Good. I don't trust you either." She lowers the gun, but her hand stays near the grip. "But you need me, and I need that page. So let's skip the part where we pretend this is anything other than leverage."

I pull the folded paper from my jacket. Don't hand it over. Just let her see the corner.

"This what you burned your reputation for?"

"My reputation's fine," she says. "It's my life I'm worried about."

"Then we're even."

She reaches for it. I step back.

"Not so fast. You want it, you tell me what's on it first.