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The blue glow from Code's monitors snuck in under the door of my bedroom. I checked my phone. One in the morning. He'd been at this for fourteen hours straight, ever since he'd set up his equipment.

Enough.

I threw back the covers and padded barefoot across the cold floor. He sat hunched over his keyboard, fingers flying with mechanical precision. Three empty coffee cups formed a fortress around his workspace. An empty coffee pot sat beside him, the glass stained brown from too many brewed pots.

I crossed to the middle of the room and folded my arms. "This is ridiculous."

His fingers paused mid-keystroke, but he didn't look up.

"You're not going to be any good to anyone if you collapse."

"I know my capabilities." His voice came out rough, worn thin by exhaustion.

I moved closer, standing over him until he had no choice but to acknowledge my presence. His eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with dark circles that spoke of too many sleepless nights chasing digital ghosts.

"I know what exhaustion looks like, Code. I've been on sets where we filmed for twenty hours straight. I've watched people push themselves until they made mistakes that cost productions tens of thousands of dollars." I leaned against the table. "I still have fourteen days before I have to drop out of the movie. You've already made good progress. You need sleep."

His jaw tightened. Those light green eyes held mine with an intensity that made my breath catch.

"Katherine, I appreciate the concern, but I can't stop. Not when we're this close."

"Close to what? Burning yourself out?" My face burned. Who did he think he was, some kind of machine that didn't need rest? "What happens when you're too exhausted to see the pattern? When you miss something crucial because your brain is running on fumes?"

Code pushed back from the table. The chair scraped against the floor. He stood, and suddenly the space between us felt charged with electricity.

"You think I don't know when to stop?"

"I think you're stubborn and protective and you've convinced yourself that sleep is optional." My hands went to my hips. "But it's not. Even superheroes need to rest."

Something flickered across his face. His lips twitched.

"Superheroes? Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "This from the woman who played Natasha Blade? Didn't you jump off a twelve-story building in that movie?"

"That was a stunt double."

"And the scene where you took out six armed guards with nothing but a fire extinguisher?"

"Also a stunt double."

"The motorcycle chase through downtown Tokyo?"

"Okay, that one was me." I couldn't help the grin. "But I had a helmet."

"So what you're telling me is that Natasha Blade, defender of the innocent, scourge of international criminals, is actually a fraud who lets other people do the dangerous stuff?"

"I'm telling you that even Natasha Blade had the sense to know she can't do everything." I poked his chest. "Unlike some stubborn cyber warriors I could mention."

Code caught my finger. Held it. We stood there, breathing hard from the argument, neither willing to back down first.

The teasing light in his eyes shifted to something else. Something warmer that made my pulse hammer in my throat.

"Maybe I just need to step away from work for a while." His voice dropped lower. "Focus on something else."

My heart stuttered. "Something else?"

"Yeah." He tugged me closer by the finger he still held captive. "Something that doesn't involve staring at screens."