Touch (Denazen #1)(18)

The door exploded inward, sending bits and pieces of wood rocketing in every direction. The Denazen flunkies stomped in, armed with tranq guns.

“Down,” Kale shouted, and everything slowed.

He wrapped his arm around my waist and spun me away from the front door. We took one step, and the room ahead exploded in a barrage of suits and chaos. Something flew at us. Kale’s hand moved up my back and trailed along my spine. His touch was anything but urgent. It skimmed, feather light, stopping between my shoulders. With a single push, he sent me forward, to the floor. I felt the object—another damn dart—disturb the air above my hair, but sail harmlessly by. It smacked against the wall and thumped to the floor with a tiny clink. The duffle slipped from my hand as I reached for the dart. As a last resort, maybe I could use it to help get us out of there.

They were at our front and back now, like at Curd’s house, only their numbers had increased. A lot. There were at least five in front of us, and I didn’t dare look behind. This was the kind of thing you saw in the movies. It didn’t happen in real life.

They held their ground, the ones wearing the protective leotards pushing to the front.

“We’re so screwed,” I whispered. To our right, the small living room opened up to the hallway we were standing in, and had a single closed door at the other end. I didn’t know where it led or if it was locked—or if we’d even make it there before they overtook us. We were trapped.

One of them came forward. Kale’s reaction was instant. His right hand snaked out, arcing with lightning speed and connecting with the man’s chest. With a strangled cough, he gasped for air and collapsed at our feet. Kale slammed his foot down with frightening force, stopping a fraction of an inch from his attacker’s jaw.

Eyes wide, he whispered, “Please…”

Kale made a low noise in the back of his throat. He turned away and snatched the bag from the floor. His hand found mine and, one step at a time, he backed us into the living room. He must have seen the door too, because we were edging our way toward it.

Before I could blink, Kale had the door open and with a sharp tug on my arm, pulled me through. In one quick swoop, he locked the door behind us and we were flying up a dark staircase. It bought us a few precious seconds, but I had no delusions a simple locked door would hamper these men for long.

I lost my footing for a second and reached out to grip the railing. The dart slipped from my grasp. It clattered to the floor and tumbled down the stairs, bouncing when it hit the landing. Crap. I made a move to retrieve it, but Kale pulled my arm and kept us moving forward.

We reached the top of the stairs and had a choice—a room on either side. Kale didn’t hesitate. He made a sharp right turn and swept us in. Without as much as a three-second pause, he went to the window, pried it open, and knocked out the screen.

A loud bang rose from the door downstairs. They’d broken through.

I made a beeline for the open window, but Kale stopped me. He pressed a finger to his lips and dragged me to the closet on the other side of the room. We tucked ourselves in and quietly closed the door as feet pounded up the stairwell, and within seconds, tromped across the floor.

“Get people outside, now!” one of them yelled. More rushing feet, then silence.

I didn’t dare make a move to open the door. My pulse thundered in my ears and a cool wave of panic washed over me. Still. We just needed to stay perfectly still. After a few minutes, I began to relax. Kale leaned forward, shifting my hair to the side, and rubbed his cheek against mine. Not the kind of nuzzle a guy would try when fishing for a kiss—different. Innocent. But that didn’t change my reaction to it. Forget the footsteps downstairs and the yelling outside. I was hyper-aware of Kale standing behind me, breath disturbing the tiny hairs on the back of my neck. I needed to explain personal boundaries to him.

After a few minutes, he slid around me and cracked open the closet door. All clear. We crept to the window and, one leg at a time, climbed out onto the roof of the attached garage. We dropped to our knees and crawled on all fours to the edge. Peeking over, I saw there were still a few men milling about, but the bulk of them seemed to have dissipated.

“Do you think you can make it to the hood of that van?” Kale asked, pointing to a rusting old white VW van beneath us.

I nodded.

“I’ll go first. I can catch you.”

I didn’t tell him I was in no need of catching.

Lowering himself down, he hit the top of the van with a soft but audible thud. Immediately, he dropped to his stomach and peered over the edge to make sure he hadn’t been spotted. Once satisfied the coast was clear, he waved to me.

I peaked over the edge. The van was doable, but like Kale, I’d make a sound when hitting it. He hadn’t noticed, but two Denazen men had rounded the corner right after he dropped down. Chances were, they weren’t within earshot, but it wasn’t a risk I was willing to take.

Kale waved again. I pointed to the front of the house where the two men stood, watching the street. His lips twisted into an annoyed frown. When he looked back at me, I motioned for him to stay put and disappeared over the edge. A quick scan through the window and into the room told me there was nothing I could use as a makeshift rope. There were no curtains on the window and the bed had been stripped. I’d have to drop down into the grass and hope for the best.

Back to the edge, I scanned the yard a final time and saw the men were still in the same position. I caught Kale’s attention and pointed to the grass behind the van. He nodded and slid off the van roof.