Page 72 of Bound

Carlos laughs quietly. “And you always did what you were told, didn’t you?”

She flinches. But stays upright. Isobel lifts her chin. “Not anymore.”

The line hisses.

Gregory’s fingers fly.

Rafe’s gaze sharpens. “There.”

“What?” Lucian asks.

“He reacted,” Rafe says. “The relay shifted when he answered her. He stopped bouncing through the false loop for two seconds.”

Gregory’s voice rises. “I have a direction.”

Rafe says, “Gate two on standby.”

Lucian turns to me. This is the moment. The plan is working.

Meaning it is becoming more dangerous.

I can see the no in his eyes. I can see him swallowing it like glass.

He steps close. His voice is low. Only mine. “Color.”

My pulse stutters. The world narrows.

Gate. Snow. Carlos. Fire. Lucian.

My body answers before the fear can. “Green.”

His face tightens. He hates it.

He turns back to Rafe. “Gate two,” he says. “Six inches only. No full entry.”

Rafe nods. “Mark.”

The second gate wakes. Not the one in front of us. A service gate beyond the first road.

Gregory starts counting. “One.” The cameras shift. “Two.”

A light in the east row flickers on.

“Three,” says Gregory. The ground beneath us hums. “Four.”

Rafe’s screen fills with moving code as he says, “Five.”

Carlos is silent now. Blaze whispers, “I hate quiet psychos.”

“Six.”

“Seven.”

Isobel’s breathing grows audible.

“Eight.”

Mack shifts closer to her.