Chapter 23 · Weight of Betrayal

"You have ten seconds to decide who lives, Mara."

The voice on the burner phone isn't Kane's. It's flat. Corporate. Like someone reading a grocery list.

Kane's hand is already locked around my wrist. Hard. Not letting me answer.

"Don't," he says, low, right against my ear. "Don't you dare say yes."

Rain hammers the roof of the safe house. It's leaking through the bullet hole in the east wall. Cold water hits my shoulder and runs down my back and I can't even flinch.

The voice keeps going. "Your brother Oren Pike. Cell block three. Vitals are dropping. You give us Kane Rusk, we stabilize him. You don't, he codes in four minutes. Ten. Nine."

"Turn it off," Kane snaps at me. His chest is pressed to my back, his heart doing that sick, uneven thump against my spine. The contract. It's going crazy. "Hang up, Mara."

"Eight. Seven."

"Let go of me," I hiss. I try to yank my arm free. He doesn't let go. His fingers just slide up and grab tighter, skin hot even through the rain-cold.

"You think they'll save him?" Kane's mouth is at my temple now. His breath is hot. Angry.