Chapter 12 · Then don't look at me like you're about to save me

"Then don't look at me like you're about to save me."

Ayla stepped closer. "I am not saving you."

"No?"

"I'm protecting my escape route. If they take you, they'll use whatever is in your chest to track me."

"There she is."

"What does that mean?"

"The woman who turns every decent choice into a business decision."

She grabbed his collar. "You want honesty? Fine. I need my brother back. I need the company to stop hunting me. I need to walk out of this city alive. You are a problem attached to all three."

"And yet you haven't cut me loose."

"Maybe I haven't found a sharp enough knife."

"Maybe you don't want to."

The train bucked. Kade's back hit the door. Ayla's hand was still twisted in his collar, keeping him there. His body was warm through the fabric between them. Close enough that she could feel the uneven beat of his heart beneath the core's rhythm.

One beat was his.

One beat belonged to something else.

His eyes dropped to her mouth for less than a second.

Ayla saw it.

So did he.

"Don't," she whispered.

"I didn't do anything."

"You were thinking about it.