Chapter 11 · Blood Scan and Broken Memories

"Get your hand off me!"

I slammed my shoulder into Calder, shoving him hard against the cold metal railing. My heart hammered against my ribs. The holographic list from Mira's mask was still burned into my retinas: *Lena Voss. Death: 23:47.*

Calder didn't budge. He snatched my wrist, his grip like a vice, and hauled me back. His eyes were dark, clouded with the residue of that extracted memory. He didn't look at me like a partner. He looked at me like a crime scene.

"You pushed me," he hissed. His voice sounded raw. "On that bridge. I felt the air leave my lungs because you decided I was in the way. Now tell me—why is your name on a death list for a train we're both boarding?"

"I didn't push you!" I yelled, twisting my arm. "I wasn't even there! Mira's fragments are glitchy, you idiot. You're trusting a corrupted file over the person currently chained to your soul!"

"The file doesn't lie, Lena. People do."

He leaned in. His chest nearly brushed mine. I could smell ozone and stale coffee—the scent of a man who hadn't slept in three lifetimes.