he gaps in the ICU blinds, hit

hem. Exactly

progres

tly closed her eyes. She altered her breathing pattern, making it shallow and

utching a thick stack of CT scans. His eyes were

g loudly. "I'm telling you, her bone regeneration is

e reached out to press his fingers ag

ambled backward, pressing her spine against the headboard. She pull

d back. He looked down at the

l lobe," he said, tapping the plastic film. "I can't reso

at shadow was the ORACLE hardware core. Their primitive MRI machines couldn

of leather shoes on marbl

deep, aggressive v

ive bodyguards stepped inside, physica

walked int

He carried the scent of cedar, expensive tobacco, and absolute arrogance. His

is face turning red. "This is the I

m his jacket, clicked a pen, and handed a piece of paper

d at the number. H

is voice was low, smooth, a

cally ran out of the room.

ddled under the thin hospital blanket. His eyes swept over her like he was eva

a hideous, grotesque African fertility statue.

ast pocket. He didn't light it, j

bert said. His tone was dripping with malice. "Consider

nds curled into tight fists. He

gna

rne. The mistress. The woman who framed her. Colten had stolen her money, thrown her in a

bling. Through the curtain of her messy

tension indicated he was ready for a physical altercation at a

. His smirk faded into

the cigar back into his pocket. "This piece is useless. S

xpensive leather shoe too

ugh cut through

. He slowly t

raight up. The trembling had vanished. Her eyes locked onto h

eeling the weight. Her eyes subtly scanned the object. The ORACLE System flashed a material co

the plastic trash can. It hit

RACLE System had analyzed the host's memory fragments, perfectly reconstructing the spe

ed. He hadn't expected a brain-damaged ex-con

Erica said, staring dead into his eyes, "

his face red with anger. "How

p a hand. St

nd a prey that could bite back. He walked slowly back to the be

d, his voice dark and thrilling, "do you

forward, closing the distance un

at, her words sharp as broken glass

nto the nurse call button. She looked

igar and get the h

the hall. The nurse

hers. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a thick black business card, a

ared at

rn

ion. Targets Colten Fischer and Ivy Thorne a

The real war was walking