Chapter 16 · Traceless - Chapter 16: The Other Baby

Cole's hands were still shaking when they broke through the surface grate three blocks north of the collapse. He didn't let go of Layla's wrist until they were both on solid concrete, and even then his fingers lingered a second too long.

Evan came up last, coughing dust. "We need to move. If someone triggered that collapse, they're watching the exits."

"Let them watch." Cole pulled the stolen file from inside his jacket. The edges were singed but the seal held. He didn't look at Layla when he said, "You saw it."

"I saw two babies." Her voice came out flat. "One was me. The other—"

"Had my eyes." He finally met her gaze. "Before the modifications. Before they taught me how to track."

Evan stepped between them, and Cole noticed the way the kid's shoulder angled to block Layla from view. Protective. Stupid. "So you're both Nulls. That's why HQ's been—"

"I'm not a Null." Cole's jaw tightened. "I register on every scanner. I have a scent marker. I can sense other people's emotions from fifty feet out."

"Because they fixed you," Layla said quietly.