Chapter 28 · The Mark Picks Her

"Don't touch the door."

Kade's hand closed around Ayla's wrist before her fingers reached the iron latch.

His grip was hot. Not warm. Hot enough to sting through her sleeve.

Ayla looked down at his fingers, then up at him. "You want to keep that hand?"

"I want to keep both of ours attached."

"Then let go."

"Not until you tell me why the mark is pointing at the wall."

Behind him, the black lines under his collar pulsed once. The same ugly symbol had appeared across the inside of Ayla's wrist three minutes ago. It had crawled there like ink under skin, then turned toward the sealed archive room.

Toward the old company records.

Toward the only exit that wasn't already surrounded by company hunters.

Ayla twisted hard. Kade caught the movement, stepped in, and pinned her wrist against the door. His shoulder blocked her escape. His breath brushed her cheek, warm and sharp with metal.

She drove her knee up.

He turned just enough to take the hit on his thigh. His jaw tightened.

"That was rude," he said.

"You grabbed me."

"You were about to open a door that can call every company hound in the city."