Chapter 22 · The Midnight Line

"We're getting off this train."

Iris didn't look up from the file. "Not until I make the choice."

"There's no choice." Cade pulled his hand free, ignoring the way the fire surged back up his ribs the second she let go. "You're not killing Voss. And you're sure as hell not killing me."

"Those are the only two options the contract gave us." She flipped the page. Her finger traced a line of text he couldn't read from this angle. "Seventy-two hours until the original execution window. Or we flip it. Tomorrow morning, nine sharp, I put a bullet in your boss."

"Or you rip up the file and we walk."

Now she looked at him. Her eyes were slate in the dim train light, and he couldn't tell if it was exhaustion or something harder underneath. "That's not how blood debt works. You don't just walk away from Morrow."

"Then we make him let you."

"With what leverage?" She set the file down on the narrow fold-out table between them. The photo of Cade's face stared up from the top page, stapled next to a timestamp and a price. "He owns the contract. He owns the curse.