Chapter 20 · The Sister She Deleted

"Take your hand off the ring, Evelyn." Cade caught my wrist before I could pull the obsidian band free.

His grip locked around me, hot and hard. The ring pulsed under my finger, throwing red light across the buried clock vault. Somewhere behind the iron door, Nora's brother screamed.

"Let go." I drove my elbow toward his ribs.

Cade turned with the hit and shoved me against the nearest stone pillar. His badge struck my chest. The metal edge bit through my coat.

"You touch that ring again, and it takes the memory." His face was inches from mine. His breath brushed my cheek. "Not a memory you can spare. The last one."

"You don't get to decide what I can spare."

"Apparently, I do." His thumb pressed over my pulse. "Because you're about to trade your sister for a man you barely know."

The scream came again.

"Nora knows where the door is," I said. "Her brother is behind it. If I don't use the ring, he dies."

"And if you do, Mira dies again.