Chapter 26 · The Traitor's Price

"Put the knife down, Mara." Kane caught her wrist before the blade reached the control panel. "If you cut that wire, the room kills Oren."

"Then let go." She twisted hard. "You do not get to touch me and give me orders at the same time."

His grip tightened. Not enough to hurt her. Enough to stop her.

Behind the glass wall, Oren hung inside a vertical restraint frame, his arms locked above his head. Black bands pressed across his chest and throat. Blue light crawled over his skin in quick, ugly pulses.

His eyes found Mara through the glass.

"Don't listen to him," Oren rasped. "He wants you scared."

Kane turned his head. "I want you alive. There's a difference."

"Funny," Oren said. "You say that right before you threaten to erase me."

Mara yanked again. Kane pulled her against him, her back hitting his chest. His coat scraped her arms. Heat pushed through the fabric, steady and sharp, but his heartbeat was not steady at all.

It skipped beneath her shoulder blade.

The contract answered with a flash of pain under her ribs.

Mara sucked in a breath. "Your heart is doing it again."

"I know.