Chapter 23 · Don't Trust the Dead Voice

Dennis is standing in my doorway like a ghost I forgot to salt.

I don't move. Leah's gun is still on the floor between us. The monitor behind me is dark again, Mom's face gone, but her voice is stuck in my head. Bring Leah.

"You shouldn't be here," I say.

Dennis doesn't look at me. He's looking at Leah, slumped against the wall, blood still dripping from her shoulder. Her breathing's shallow. Her eyes are half-open, tracking him like a wounded animal that knows the next kick is coming.

"I know," he says. His voice is flat. "But you're about to do something stupid, and I can't let that happen again."

"Again?" I take a step forward. "What the hell does that mean?"

He finally looks at me. There's something in his face I've never seen before. Not the tired coffee-shop-boss look. Not the guy who used to slip me extra hours when rent was due. This is someone else. Someone older.

"I worked for Gray Protocol," he says. "Data analyst. I tracked signals, cross-referenced missing persons, flagged anomalies. I was good at it. Too good."

Leah makes a sound.