dangerous smile that didn't reach his eyes. He raised one ha

d," he

his overwhelming, suffocating presence entirely, fo

room. She turned on the water, scrubbing her hands and forearms with har

She reached into the titanium case and picked up the first micro-nano neu

. He took a sudden, desperate step forward, reaching o

speak. He simply s

lead bodyguard moved with terrifying spe

ard. Preston stumbled, his dress shoes slipping on the tile floor. The bodyguard stood

wed, entering a state of hyper-focus. She pinpointed

blurred, Isabel inserted the first ne

arp, erratic shriek. The glowing green line jumped wildly

ce with both hands, convinced she wa

as slow and steady. Her fingers darted back to the

s deep into specific vertebrae along Matilda's spine, hit

pine bowed upward, a violent physical reaction to the intens

r knuckles turning white. She was terrified, but she forced h

to the erratic monitors. She was calculating the ex

. Two

ainst the center of Matilda's sternum. She locked her elb

shrieking of the heart m

, there was dead silence

ly steady beep filled the ward. Beep.

o fade rapidly. A healthy, warm flush of pink bl

she took her first deep, unassi

. His jaw hung open. His eyes bulged in utter disbe

bbed loudly, her shoulders shaking as the crushi

Slowly, painfully, she opened her eyes, blinking

toward the sound of crying. Her

len

p of her hand, she extracted all six needles from the s

o the titanium slots, clicked t

d Axel S

he didn't speak, but her cold eyes silently deman

ished, replaced by a burning mix of profound shock and dan

p in his chest. He took a deliberate step

y, his eyes never leaving h