Chapter 10 · The Reset Lock

"Don't touch me."

Ivy yanked her hand back. Cade caught her wrist before she got one step away.

His fingers closed around her like iron.

Not painful. Worse.

Familiar.

"Let go."

"No."

"That wasn't a request."

"And you forgot how dangerous it is to make demands while three academy squads are searching this building for you."

Boots thundered across the upper market floor.

"Seal the east stairwell!" someone shouted. "She's with the Warden!"

Cade dragged Ivy behind a stack of broken memory cabinets. His shoulder slammed into the metal. Glass capsules rattled inside, each one holding somebody's stolen memory.

He kept her wrist locked in his grip and raised one finger to his lips.

Ivy glared at him. "Take your hand off me."

"Keep your voice down."

"You keep saying that like I work for you."

"You don't remember me. That makes you a liability, not an ally."

The words hit cold and clean.

Ivy's jaw tightened. "Funny. You still sound exactly like the kind of man I'd hate."

His gaze dropped to her mouth for half a second.

Then it snapped back to her eyes.

"Good," he murmured. "Hate keeps you alive."

A squad crossed the walkway above them.