overed mere inches f

r of her chest, radiating outward like a crack splintering through ice. She knew this pain. She ha

herself to s

brick wall. He didn't budge. His muscles were granite beneath the expensive wool o

rists, pinning them above her head against the cold glass. The chill b

n the suit. Dominant hand is right.

ough to test his reaction. She catalogued the result: no flinch, no shift in weig

at her sides. He checked the seams of her oversized scrubs, his

arching. He's ma

confined glass box. It wasn't a plea. It was a demand, desi

ed past her waist, checking the

er. She could have screamed, thrashed, let the panic swallow her whole. For three seconds, she let herself feel every ou

othing

, for escape. But she had learned long ago, through years of managing a fa

llness, she mad

g for a spy. He's looking for a threat to Sterling. That

hrough the thin fabric of her scrubs. She co

ned her mouth, and sank her te

t down

the radial nerve runs closest to the surface. She had studied anatomy during her pre-med year b

t a sharp h

He looked down at his forearm. Dark red blood was already seeping through th

was lethal, furious, and-for the briefest flic

nding a dangerous rhythm against her ribs. But she did not look away. She did not curl up. She pulled

and. A smear of his blood came away on her

, his voice dangerously quiet. He pulled a dark silk handkerchie

mother in a facility your people are holding over my head. But you already knew that. You just wanted to see what I'd do w

ence stretche

dark corner of the room. He sat down in a heavy leather chair, blending into the shadows. He said nothi

him the satisfact

flicker of grim satisfaction. She catalogued his silence-not anger

ard. Her heart was still pounding too fast. She pressed two fingers to her wrist and counted

trol what yo

ss of the ventilator-in, out, in, out-the rhythm of a mach

on the bed made a

ng weakly against the pillow. It was the first movement she h

strug

rowed. She f

e. Another piec

her pulse finally slowing to a manageable rhythm. In

h. She was w