Chapter 28 · Lucas Pulls the Pin

"I'm the tracker."

Lucas says it from the back seat and Mark's hands lock on the wheel.

"I'm the one who's been reporting back. Every meeting. Every person who showed up. I sent it all through."

Amy twists around. "What?"

"The nurse who got attacked at work? I called that in. I told them you were asking too many questions about burn patterns." Lucas's voice is flat. Dead. "I'm the reason she almost died."

Mark takes the turn onto Steinway harder than he means to. Gray sky, late traffic, normal people heading home. None of them know there's doors opening under their feet.

"Why are you telling us this?" Mark keeps his eyes forward.

"Because my sister's dead. Because they lied. Because I've got nothing left to lose." Lucas leans forward and his hands are shaking. "And because this thing does more than report. It can widen doors."

That gets everyone's attention.

He pulls something out of his jacket. Small. Silver. Looks like a phone but the screen's too smooth. No buttons. Just a black mirror surface that ripples when he touches it.

"The doors start small," Lucas says. "Person-sized. Unstable. This is what anchors them. Makes them permanent.