The Dawn Key Protocol

Acid rain burns through Eve Marr’s coat as she rips a talking black box from a collapsed train—and hears it announce her forbidden designation: “Dawn Key.” Before she can run, every warlord, corporate hunter, and mutant pack in the city is given one order: bring her back alive. Her only chance is Cain Rook, a disgraced former city officer who knows the sealed undercity routes—and has every reason to hate her. He offers her a ruthless bargain: help him cross the dead zone, and he’ll erase her warrant; but the closer they get to the city’s dying power core, the harder it becomes to tell whether his guarded touches are protection or possession. Then the black box reveals the truth: Eve can restart the core, but her awakening will sacrifice tens of thousands. To save the city, must Cain deliver the woman he’s falling for to her death—or let the entire world go dark?