Touch (Denazen #1)(25)

“Tell me why you don’t like him.”

“It’s in the past.” I shrugged and wanted to smack myself for the constricting feeling gnawing at my insides.

Kale stared. It was like he was looking through me. Peeking past my bullshit and seeing right into my head. Into my heart.

He started to stand, but I stopped him. “We used to date. He cheated on me.”

“Date,” he repeated. “The hand thing, right? He made you feel special?”

It was times like this that I found it hard to look at Kale as someone dangerous and capable of murder. He was—I could see it sometimes when I looked in his eyes, but he was so much more. Something innocent. “At one time, yeah, he made me feel special. Then, one day, he didn’t anymore.”

Kale looked confused. “So then why did you stop me from touching him? He did something wrong, didn’t he? He hurt you?”

I was the last person who should be explaining right and wrong to someone. “He did hurt me, but people sometimes hurt each other. It’s part of life.”

Kale nodded in confirmation. “And when they do bad things, they must be punished.”

I groaned. “What they taught you at Denazen was wrong, Kale. There are different levels of wrong in the world. So many different levels.”

“Why?”

“Why? Why what?”

“Why make it so confusing? There is right and there is wrong. Why does there need to be different…levels?”

My head was starting to spin. “Because that’s the way it is! You don’t treat a murderer and a shoplifter the same. You wouldn’t condemn a cheater to the same punishment as, say, a rapist. Some wrongs are worse than others.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” he hissed, fists clenched. “Wrong is wrong. You obey the rules or you get punished. Why does it need to be so confusing?”

“Because it’s more complicated.”

“That word again. Complicated. You use it too often.”

I looked him in the eye. “It’s wrong to go killing people. It’s not for you—or Denazen—to decide who lives and who dies.”

“Who decides then?”

I shrugged. “The government and lawmakers, but the point is, it’s rare to punish crimes with death.”

He seemed surprised. “So then how do they get punished?”

“Criminals go to trial, and a judge and jury hear the case. If guilty, they incarcerate them.”

“Incarcerate?”

“You know. Locked up.”

Understanding slipped across his face, followed by something else—something almost sad. “Now I understand.”

I got the feeling he still didn’t get it, but didn’t have time to question him because Alex had arrived. From across the field, he swaggered closer, arms swinging casually at his sides. His eyes jumped from Kale to me, lips twisting into an angry sneer. “Am I interrupting something?”

I ignored the jealousy act and got to my feet. “Where are these people?”

“They aren’t coming to us, we have to go to them.”

“Where?”

Alex shrugged. “The location changes every day for safety reasons. Tonight, they’re over in the old abandoned warehouse outside of town. We can take my car.” Without waiting for a response, he turned and started off.

I hurried to catch up, Kale at my side. “Wait, the location of what exactly?”

He slowed his pace but didn’t stop. Grinning at me from over his shoulder, he winked and said, “The party, of course.”

§

From the outside, the warehouse looked empty. No crowds gathering out front. No flashing lights or pulse-pounding beats. Only eerie silence. When questioned about whether or not he had the right place, Alex only waved us forward and jumped from the car.

We made our way to the back, where we found two burly guys standing in front of a single metal door. Alex turned to me as we approached them. He was smiling like a guy who’d just stolen the last cookie. “Here’s the catch.” He inclined his head to the two men standing guard. “The guy on the right can tell if you’re a Six or not. No genetic abnormality, no entry.”

My mouth fell open and a chill raced down my spine. “You’re telling me they’ll only let me in if I have an ability?” This was an unexpected and potentially disastrous turn of events.

Alex relaxed and cracked his knuckles. Leaning in, he bared his teeth. “I know this is a totally foreign concept to you, but you don’t have a choice.” Without waiting for a response, he turned to the two men. “Howdy, boys.”

The bouncers turned. “Shit,” I whispered. Attempting to cover up the terror I knew was creeping across my face, I shoved past Alex. I had to get control of the situation before it was too late. If I didn’t, there’d be some serious explaining to do. Standing between the two men, I smiled sweetly and placed my hands on my hips. This did two things. It accentuated my slim waist, and it also allowed me to hook my thumbs into the material of my T-shirt, stretching it just a bit tighter. I had to make this look good so no one would be suspicious. “So do they make you stand out here all alone all night?”

The older of the two pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, but the younger guard smiled back at me. Bingo. He leaned across the doorway, stretching out his arm and subtly flexing his muscle. “We get an hour break halfway through the night.”