Chapter 30 · Blue Light

Calder's thumb hit the keypad three times before I got a full breath in.

"No." His voice cracked on that one word. First time I'd heard it do that.

Red light. Long buzz. The hatch didn't move an inch.

"Try it again," I said. "See if the code changes its mind for you."

He turned on me so fast I flinched before I even decided to. His hand closed over my collarbone and walked me back into the steel wall, close enough I got the full hit of him — leather, gun oil, sweat gone cold under his shirt. His breath landed hot against my jaw, and his fingers dug in just below my throat, hard enough that I knew there'd be four little bruises there by morning, shaped exactly like him.

"You locked us both in." Not a question.

"I locked *them* out." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "There's a difference, Calder."

"Not from where I'm standing."

"You're standing pretty close for a man who's mad at me."

Something moved behind his eyes, quick, gone before I could name it. His grip didn't loosen.