Daniel lets out a breath.
Not shaken.
Not panicked.
Almost… annoyed.
“I told you,” he says, voice tight from the hold Jase has him in. “You’re running out of time.”
“Yeah?” I fire back. “Funny way of helping.”
His eyes find mine.
Even like this—pinned, controlled—
He doesn’t look beaten.
“You think I was trying to steal it?” he says.
I tighten my grip on the device.
“Weren’t you?”
A beat.
Then—
“No.”
I don’t buy it.
Not for a second.
“Then what the hell was that?” Jase demands.
Daniel exhales slowly.
Like we’re the problem.
Not him.
“Containment,” he says.
That word hits wrong.
Every instinct I’ve got screams at it.
Ethan’s voice drops.
“Explain.”
Daniel shifts slightly, testing Jace’s hold.
Jase tightens it just enough to remind him—
Not happening.
So Daniel stills again.
