Chapter 24 · The Price of Mercy

"Please," the tracker said. "I have a family."

Lucas kept the blade under his throat. The man knelt against the wet tile, blood tracing a thin line beneath his jaw. He'd followed Amy for three days. Lucas had watched him watch her.

"So do I," Lucas said. "Who sent you?"

"I was told to retrieve the nurse. That's all."

Lucas pressed the blade harder. "Try again."

"I don't know anything about you. They gave me the hospital, her route, and a picture. They said she has something they need."

"That's not what I asked."

The tracker swallowed against steel. "I don't know why they sent me. I swear."

Lucas believed him.

That was worse than a lie.

If they'd sent someone to check on him, it meant they still needed him. A random tracker meant they'd stopped trusting him—or stopped caring whether he came back alive. He hadn't received a picture of his mother or Mia in six days.

His grip tightened. "Did they send you because I'm late, or because I'm finished?"

"I don't know!"

The air behind Lucas split with a sharp, tearing sound.

He spun, blade raised.

A black opening hung in the service tunnel.