Chapter 72 · The Execution Order

"Don't touch that switch again."

Lucas caught my hand before my finger hit the red command key.

His palm burned against mine. Blood had soaked through the side of his uniform, running in a dark line beneath his ribs, but he still had enough strength to yank me away from the tower console.

I shoved his chest. "Get your hand off me."

"Evelyn—"

"You already tried protecting me. Look where that got you."

Behind us, Nora kicked the deputy's gun across the metal floor. It slammed into the railing and spun into the shadows.

More boots thundered up the stairwell.

"We've got thirty seconds, maybe less," Nora snapped. "Pick one. Save the testimony or save Lucas's clearance. You don't get both."

Lucas tightened his grip. His thumb pressed over the thin scar on my wrist, the one left by our protection contract.

The mark flared hot.

"The file's corrupted," he said. "If you force it through the tower, it could wipe Mara's voice for good."

"And if I stop?"

"Command gets the archive back."

"And then they erase her anyway."

His jaw locked.

No answer.

I stepped closer until his breath brushed my cheek. "You know I'm right.