Chapter 15 · Job Six: Open the Black Ledger

"You can't have it." The voice was mine. Same flat tone I used on debtors who thought begging would work.

I looked up from the vault door. Three of me stood in the hallway. Same jacket. Same scar on the knuckles. The one in front held a crowbar.

"Which loop are you from?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" The one with the crowbar stepped closer. "You die. We stay. That's how it works."

Iris moved up beside me. "Cade, we don't have time for this."

"Yeah, well, they're me. So we've got a problem."

The second copy tilted its head. "She's using you. You know that, right?"

"Shut up," I said.

"You die, you wake up, she tells you what to do. And you do it." The copy smiled. It wasn't a good smile. "How many times has she lied to you?"

Iris's hand went to her pocket. "Cade, move."

"How many times have you asked her why she picked you?" The third copy spoke now. Quieter. "And she never answers."

I looked at Iris. Her jaw was tight. Her fingers were wrapped around something in her pocket.

"Is he right?" I asked.

She didn't look at me.