He scrambles back and drags me with him. Because we have to move together. When he pulls, my chest yanks forward like I'm on a leash.
"What is this?" I choke out. My throat is dry. "What did that thing do to us?"
"It's a link," he says. His voice is wrecked. For the first time he looks scared. Actually scared. "It's a riftbound contract. It's not supposed to trigger without a— shit. You forced it."
"I forced it? You jumped me!"
"You stole a live key! You think this is jewelry? This thing chains lives together!" He's breathing hard, staring at the cord of light now fading under our skin, leaving a thin black line around both our wrists like a bracelet we can't take off. "If we get too far apart, we both die."
"That's not — you're lying." I yank my hand again. The tug hits my heart like a fist. I gasp. He winces at the exact same second. "Stop! Don't do that!"
"Then stop pulling!" he snaps. But he doesn't let go either. He can't.
We sit there on the vault floor, tied together, breathing in sync whether we want to or not. His knee is pressed against mine. His hand is still locked around my wrist. The heat between us is insane — not romantic, not sweet. Terrifying. Like standing too close to a live wire.
"Okay," I say, trying to sound tough and failing. "Okay, so we — we find someone to cut it. My fixer, Talia, she can—"
"No one can cut a riftbound mark," he says flatly. "I hunt these things. I know."
"Well, you hunted me, asshole, look where that got us!"
He glares. I glare back. We're nose to nose and I can feel every inhale he takes like it's my own.
"You think I wanted this?" he says, low and furious. "You think I want to be chained to a street rat with a cheap light trick and a mouth that won't quit?"
"You think I want to be chained to a corporate attack dog who points guns at girls for a paycheck?"
"I don't get a choice!" He slams his free hand against the floor. The sound cracks through the vault. "They own me. And now this thing owns us both."
My stomach drops. "What do you mean they own you?"
He doesn't answer. His jaw locks. He looks away, and for a second the big scary hunter just looks... tired. Trapped.
The vault lights flicker. Red. An alarm I didn't trip starts to wail.
We both snap our heads up.
"They know we're here," he whispers.
"No shit," I whisper back. "You think?"
Heavy boots hit the corridor outside. Multiple. Coming fast.
He moves instantly. He hauls me up with him — and I feel the pull in my ribs as he stands, like my heart is on a string. He shoves his gun back into the holster and grabs my arm instead.
"We have to run," he says.
"I'm not going anywhere with you!"
"You don't have a choice!" He yanks me toward the service vent, and my body follows whether I want it to or not. Our wrists burn where the link sits. "You go left, I go left. You die if I die. You get that?"
"Don't touch me!"
"Then keep up!" His fingers tighten around my wrist. Hot, rough, not letting go. His face is an inch from mine, eyes blazing. "You want to see your brother again? You stay with me. You hear me, Mara?"
How does he know about my brother?
Before I can ask, the vault door blows inward.
Light floods us. Silhouettes fill the doorway, rifles up.
And the guy in front — not corp security. Something else. Taller. His skin marked with the same black light as our wrists, but crawling up his neck like veins.
He smiles when he sees us linked.
"Well," he says, and his voice is wrong, doubled. "Two for one."
Rhys shoves me behind him. One hard move, his back to my chest, his hand still locked on mine behind his back. I can feel his heart slamming against my palm through his jacket.
Or is it my heart slamming against his?
I can't tell anymore.
"Who the hell is that?" I breathe against his shoulder.
"Worse than corp," Rhys mutters. He doesn't look back at me. He just squeezes my hand once, tight. Warning. Or promise. "Don't let go. Whatever you do—"
The thing in the doorway raises its hand. The black veins flare.
"You feel that too, right?" I whisper, my fingers digging into his. Our pulse hammers as one, too fast, too loud. "Rhys, what do we—"
He cuts me off, yanking me hard against his side as the air in front of us rips open and—