Touch (Denazen #1)(37)

Now, working my mojo here—essentially the equal of shooting up in a police station—I was taking an insane risk. Dad had locked Mom away because of what she could do. How would he react if he found out what I could do?

I swiped the card and said, “Fifth floor.”

I don’t know if somewhere in the back of my mind I’d expected it not to work, or maybe I thought sirens and flashing lights would go off, alerting the entire building, but when the doors closed and the elevator jerked to a start, I felt a tidal wave of relief.

I knew it was a long shot—there’s no way it’d be this easy—but the best place to start looking for the information I needed was Dad’s office. The new security card unlocked his door with no problem. I closed it behind me and dove for the filing cabinet.

After about twenty minutes of searching, I’d gone through all the files in the small cabinet next to his desk. Business expense receipts. A few personnel files—ones marked for a raise. But there was nothing saying how many Sixes they had at Denazen, much less who they all were. The only things left were his desk drawers. As I started forward, reaching for the top drawer, a voice snapped from the doorway.

“What the hell are you doing?”

My blood ran cold. I looked up into Dad’s furious face.





14


I climbed to my feet, brain working at warp speed to come up with some logical excuse.

For once, I had nothing.

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The snap of it made me jump. “Answer me. What are you doing? And how the hell did you get in here?” He stalked forward and for a second, I thought he might hit me.

“I—” I stumbled. It wasn’t for show either. I was coming up totally blank. A first. Usually, I could sell ice to Eskimos. “I wanted to see if I could find any information on that Dax guy.”

“How did you get through the security locks?”

I went to pull the badge from my pocket. It was there, the cool smooth plastic rubbed against the tips of my fingers. But I couldn’t hand it to him. He’d see his security badge—not mine. My mimics didn’t revert on their own and since I didn’t have a copy of my original badge, I couldn’t change it back. I gave him my best, sheepish smile. “Um, crap. I must have lost it.”

“You lost it,” he repeated.

Eyes down, I pretended to scan the floor. “I must have dropped it. Has to be in here somewhere.”

He was quiet while I played it up, walking the length of the room in search of the security badge. Once, from the corner of my eye, I could swear I saw him smiling. He let me search for a few minutes before clearing his throat.

“Let’s go. We’re leaving.”

§

In the car, the silence was more than eerie. It was heavy. Angry. I had to do something to diffuse the situation, otherwise I was never getting near that building again. Dad was still livid I’d been snooping. I’d never get Ginger the information she wanted unless I did some damage control. Fast. It had to be something drastic. World shattering. If I was going to weasel my way back into Denazen, I had to show the only card I had. My ace in the hole.

Unfortunately, it was the ace of spades.

“I want in,” I blurted into the silence. “I want to work for Denazen.”

Dad chuckled. “That’s not possible.”

“Why not?” I demanded. “Those people that took me, they’re animals. They’re planning to attack Denazen.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dad’s eyes widen. “What?”

“It was one of their threats. They’re going to rise up and take you down. They think they’re better than everyone else,” I said, laying it on thick. “I need to be a part of this, Dad. I need to help stop them.”

“Deznee, there’s hardly anything you can do to help.” Another Dad might have sounded sympathetic. Another Dad might have said the same thing, meaning it was too dangerous for his teenage daughter to get involved in. Not mine. His words were cold, harsh. They said there was nothing I could do to help because I was useless. Oh yeah? We’d see about that.

I inhaled and said a silent prayer, reaching for a pen from the console. Holding it tight, I grabbed the marker rolling on the floor at my feet. I’d dropped it two months ago when Dad had picked me up from school and never bothered to pick it back up. I pictured myself holding two markers, instead of one pen and a marker.

A few seconds later, Dad swore and jerked the wheel hard to the left. The car fishtailed, tires squealing, and for a moment I thought for sure we’d crash. Thankfully, after several nauseating moments, the car came to an abrupt stop.

Everything spun a little, and the throbbing in my head was starting to subside.

Dad stared at me not with shock or horror, but something else. Vindication? Barely contained excitement? Whatever it was, it was way creepy. He had to know it was a possibility, right? He’d screwed Mom and she was a Six. There’d be a fifty-fifty chance I’d be one, too.

“I think I could be useful in some way, Dad. Don’t you think?” I turned, looking him in the eyes. Balling my fists, I repeated what I’d told him yesterday. “I need to make them pay.”

§

Considering the shocking secret I’d confessed, I was surprised—but relieved—when Dad left me alone to go back to work. As soon as he’d made it down the street, I was out the door and headed through the woods into town.