Chapter 28 · Your brother's code

We dragged it toward the rear bulkhead. My spine pressed against his. His body heat pushed through my coat. Every time he shifted, his shoulder brushed mine.

I hated how steady he felt behind me.

I hated more that I needed him there.

"Your brother's code," he said. "Use it."

My fingers found the small panel beneath the lid. No keypad. Just a narrow strip of glass and a metal groove shaped like a fingerprint.

"He never gave me a code."

"You told me he did."

"I told you he left me a way in. That's different."

"Mara."

"He used numbers when he was scared. Old inspection marks. Car numbers. Rail miles. He said I was the only person who'd know which ones mattered."

"And you do?"

"I know enough to try."

I pressed my thumb to the glass.

The panel flashed white.

A line appeared.

ENTER THE WITNESS'S LAST SAFE MILE.

"That's not a code," Dorian said.

"It's a question."

"The case doesn't ask questions."

"You don't know that."

I typed the rail mile where my brother had been arrested.

ACCESS DENIED.

The train jumped. My shoulder slammed into Dorian's back.

He caught my hand before I fell.