Chapter 45 · The Command He Burned

"If you shoot me, Lucas, your sister's last words die with me."

I kept the pistol jammed under his ribs. My hand shook from the memory chip burning against my skin, but the muzzle didn't move.

Lucas looked down at my fingers. His other hand stayed locked around my wrist, warm and steady, keeping me upright while pretending he wasn't the only reason I was still standing.

"You're barely on your feet," he said.

"And you're one bad answer away from bleeding on your boots. Don't test me."

His jaw tightened.

The memory flashed between us in broken pieces. His sister's voice. The private name she'd used for their father. A warning cut short before the truth could come out.

Nora was alive.

That was all I had. Nora, a gun, and Lucas Vale trapped against my body with nowhere left to lie.

"We get Nora out first," Lucas said. "Then we reach the emergency tower."

"You mean we walk into a nest of men who think they're following your orders."

"I know what I mean."

"Do you? Your family used your name to clean up bodies, erase witnesses, and lock down half the city.