Page 37 of Echo: Burn
"I see it. A woman who killed to survive. Who saved a dog when she should have walked away. Who stitched up the man who tried to kill her because that's who she is at her core. Someone I'm not strong enough to walk away from, no matter how smart that would be."
I’m near enough to feel the heat radiating off her. Her breath mingles with mine, her eyes dark with want that mirrors what I'm feeling.
Walking away from her now feels like tearing free of something vital, and the echo of her touch trails me down the hallway. As I move through the corridors toward the interrogation, all I can think about is Willa's fingers on my scars—the way she looked at me like I was something worth keeping instead of something broken beyond repair.
Maybe when this is over. Maybe if we survive Protocol Seven and the Committee and whatever comes next.
The rest can wait.
9
WILLA
Ican't sleep after Kane leaves.
The room feels too quiet without him, too empty despite being filled with his things. His scent lingers on the blankets—something purely male that makes me want things I shouldn't want.
The chronometer reads 2314. Kane's been gone for twenty-seven minutes. Long enough to reach the med bay. Long enough to start interrogating Cray. Long enough for me to realize that lying here alone is pointless.
I pull on my boots and head into the corridor.
Echo Base feels different at night. The emergency lights cast shadows that shift and move, making the carved rock walls seem alive. Somewhere deeper in the mountain, water drips with steady rhythm. My footsteps echo too loud in the silence.
I'm not sure where I'm going until I find myself outside the med bay.
Through the small window in the door, I see Kane standing over Cray's unconscious form. He's not interrogating him yet—just watching, hands braced on the edge of the gurney, head bowed. The weight of command sits heavy on his shoulders, visible even through the reinforced glass.
I should leave. Give him space. Let him do what needs doing without the complication of me watching.
Instead, I open the door.
Kane's head snaps up, hand moving toward his sidearm before recognition hits. "You should be resting."
"So should you." I move closer, keeping my voice low. Khalid's in the corner, watching Cray's vitals. The boy glances at me, then at Kane, then quietly slips out of the room. Smart kid. "How long until he wakes up?"
"Tommy says at least two hours." Kane's jaw tightens. "Plenty of time to plan what I'm going to ask him. What methods I'll use if he doesn't want to talk."
"Methods?"
His eyes meet mine. "Torture, Willa. Let's call it what it is. He tried to kill you. The Committee sent him to erase you like you never existed. I'm going to make him tell me everything he knows, and I'm not going to be subtle about it."
The cold certainty in his voice should frighten me. Should make me back away from this man who's discussing torture like it's a tactical decision.
It doesn't.
"Good," I hear myself say. "He doesn't deserve subtle or gentle."
Something shifts in Kane's expression. "Most people would be horrified."
"Most people didn't have his gun pressed to their head." I move closer until I'm standing beside him at the gurney. "Most people haven't killed as many men as I have in as short a time. I think we're past the point where I get to be horrified by what survival requires."
"You keep surprising me." His hand finds mine, fingers threading together. "Standing here like this is your new normal.Like you've always been someone who could watch me work and not look away."
"Is that a problem?"
"No." His thumb traces my knuckles. "It's just... I keep waiting for you to realize what we're becoming. What I'm pulling you into."
"I'm not most people." I squeeze his hand. "And neither are you. That's what makes this work."
