She exhales through her nose.
“You don’t look surprised.”
“I’m not.”
“That hurts most people.”
“They never liked me anyway.”
She studies me for a long beat.
“Who extracted your partner from Spuel?”
“No one.”
“Who arranged her safe passage?”
“No one.”
“You really expect me to believe that?”
“No,” I say. “I expect you to keep asking.”
She straightens.
“Fine.”
She taps the console again.
Electricity blooms down my spine like a fist inside my nervous system, white and blinding, every muscle seizing at once. My teeth slam together hard enough that sparks dance in my vision.
I grunt, breath tearing out of me in a sound that isn’t human.
It cuts off.
I sag forward against the restraints, sweat already slicking my ribs.
“Try again,” she says calmly. “Who helped her?”
I swallow, jaw tight.
“No one.”
Another shock.
Longer this time.
My vision goes dark at the edges.
When it stops, my breathing is ragged and loud in the too-quiet room.
She crouches in front of me, eyes level with mine.
“You care about her,” she says softly. “That makes you predictable.”
I meet her gaze.
“Then predict this,” I rasp. “I’m not talking.”