Chapter 45 · Stop hiding it

She did.

His eyes were dark and steady, even with the tunnel breaking around them. He didn't pull her behind him. He didn't tell her he could handle it. He simply held her hand and let the pact open.

Her fear rushed through the bond.

Not the sharp fear of the cutter. Not the fear of losing her brother's name.

The deeper one.

The one she never said out loud.

If she chose Kade, her brother paid.

If she chose her brother, Kade died in a room full of people who had already decided he wasn't a person.

Kade's thumb moved over her knuckles.

"Stop hiding it," he whispered.

"You'll use it against me."

"I already know where it hurts."

"That's not comforting."

"It wasn't meant to be."

The hunter lifted the debt-cutter. "Last chance, Vane. Choose the name."

Ayla turned toward him. "You said the company approved the transfer."

"It did."

"Then why are you carrying a debt-cutter?"

His smile slipped.

Ayla stepped sideways, keeping Kade's hand in hers. "If my brother's identity is already secured, you don't need leverage. Unless you lied."

"You're out of time."

"No. You're out of excuses."

Kade's gaze cut toward the broken ceiling.