Chapter 19 · The Price of the Signal

"Get your hands off me!" Dax slammed his back into the anchor core. The whole thing hummed like a live wire under him.

"I'm not even touching you!" I grabbed his wrist anyway. He was scorching. Fever-hot, vibrating right through my gloves.

"Don't—" His right arm locked. Rigid. Elbow at this ugly angle, fingers twitching toward his own trigger. His eyes weren't his anymore. The gold was gone. Just red numbers bleeding across his pupils, ticking down. 4:02. 4:01.

"Dax, look at me!" I dug my heels into the shaking floor. "You deleted the records! You're not their dog anymore!"

"I can't stop it!" He bared his teeth, grinding so loud I could hear it. He pitched forward and pinned me against the core. His breath hit my cheek — hot, sharp with ozone. "They didn't just write code, Mara. They built the lock into my blood. You betray them, the failsafe fires."

"Then fight it!"

"How?" His free hand shot up, clamped my shoulder, fingers digging through my jacket. He yanked me in till we were nose to nose. Numbers flickering faster. "I'm a radio, Mara. They're turning the dial.