Chapter 26 · Double Pulse

"Move your hand, Evelyn!" Nolan slammed her wrist against the injector housing before the metal jaws could close.

The control room shook. A cyber-hound crashed through the glass partition, showering them with sharp chips. Its steel legs skidded across the floor, claws biting sparks from the deck.

Evelyn twisted under Nolan's grip. "Get off me!"

"If you pull away, the feed dies."

"Then find another way!"

"There isn't one."

He had her pinned between his chest and the core console, one hand locked around her wrist, the other braced beside her head. Heat pressed through his torn jacket. His breath hit the side of her face, fast and rough from the climb down.

The injector waited between them, its needle hovering over the open blood port.

Evelyn looked at the silver line running from the port to the reactor relay. It was already glowing gold. The system had accepted Nolan's blood. It just needed a steady feed.

And apparently, it needed both of them touching the control.

A second hound tore through the doorway.

Nolan glanced over his shoulder. "Three seconds."

"You said that ten seconds ago."

"I was busy saving you.