Chapter 60 · Shaky Truce

"Don't move," Mira said, pressing the edge of her pistol under my jaw. "One twitch, and the drones turn your spine into a power cable."

"You always greet people like this?" I asked.

"Only the ones who just punched through my strike team."

Her pistol was warm against my skin. So was her hand. She had one knee planted beside my ribs, keeping me pinned against the concrete while the last of the tech-soldiers dragged themselves through the ruined loading bay behind us.

Three armored bodies. Six broken rifles. One jammer humming on a crate near the exit.

And Mira Quinn between me and all of them.

The smart move was to break her wrist, take the gun, and run.

The problem was the blue light under her collar. Corporate enforcers wore trackers there. If I touched it, her company would know exactly where I was. If I killed her, every cape in Ashport would come looking for my head before sunrise.

She knew that. Her mouth tightened when my eyes dropped to the tracker.

"Thinking about it?" she asked.

"Thinking about how much you talk for someone holding a gun."

"You like breathing. I can tell.