The safehouse door slammed behind them with a metallic clang, sealing out the city's noise but doing nothing to muffle the storm that had been unleashed inside. Lin leaned against the wall, sweat dripping down his temples. His chest heaved, the adrenaline still coursing through his veins like liquid fire. He had barely kept the tether stable when the suited figure whispered his true name—and that whisper still echoed in the marrow of his bones.
The silence that filled the dimly lit room was unbearable. Keller broke it first.
"What the hell was that back there?" His voice was sharp, biting. His hand hovered over his pistol, not because he meant to use it, but because it grounded him. "The way the tether reacted—Lin, it was like the whole damn city was about to split in two."
