Touch (Denazen #1)(38)

My first stop, Roudey’s, was a bust. Alex hadn’t been seen since he’d left last night to meet Kale and me. Thankfully, though, Roudey gave me his new address. Which was good since I hadn’t realized he’d moved. But then again, that can happen when you avoid someone for over a year. After a short chat with Roudey and a promise to not be a stranger, I was on my way.

I headed down to the pizza place on Fourth. It was one of the only phones in the area I knew of outside. The rest were next to bathrooms and in lobbies. Way too easy to be overheard. Hello, paranoia.

Picking up the receiver, careful to avoid the wad of dried, pink gum stuck to the side, I dialed Brandt. “Hey.” I said when he picked up. “It’s me.”

“Jesus, Dez. About frigging time,” Brandt snapped. “I’ve been freaking!”

“I know, I know. Sorry. I’m back at the house. I mean, not this second, but Dad came and got me yesterday.”

“Came and got you?”

“Long story,” I said, leaning my head against the edge of the phone booth. There was still a slight hum in my head and my neck ached a little. “Did you find anything?”

On the other end of the line, something creaked—he was sitting on his bed. Brandt gave a heavy sigh. “Dez, this is some serious shit. They call them Sixes because their funky abilities? They come from an abnormality in the sixth chromosome. Some of these people? Seriously dangerous.”

“Yeah, that information is old news. What about Denazen? Did you find out anything about the organization?”

“Oh, yeah, they’ve got their hooks into everything.”

I swallowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, I did some digging. I found connections to Denazen everywhere.”

“Connections?”

“Does the name Martin Bondale sound familiar?”

“Yeah, kinda. Why? Who is he?”

“Remember that guy who was up for DA last year? The one who had that woman come forward claiming he’d banged her the entire summer? Everyone went nuts when she turned up dead?”

“Oh yeah,” I said. “I remember. Everyone thought he did it, but he got elected anyway!”

“Uh-huh,” Brandt said.

“Wait. You’re saying Denazen had something to do with it?” As the son of a hardcore investigative reporter, Brandt always had a conspiracy theory or three ready to go. As much as I wanted this to be one of them, I knew better.

“He’s just one on a list of city, town, and government officials who have links to these people.”

“Are you crazy?” I whispered. Glancing over my shoulder, I made sure I was still alone. “When I said see what you could find out, I didn’t mean dig like you’re looking for China. These people are dangerous. They—”

“Dez, trust me when I tell you, I understand what kind of dangerous they are.” A pause. Then, a second later, a metallic rattle. He was spinning the wheels on his skateboard.

“Okay, I gotta find Kale. Make sure he’s okay.”

“Whatever. Let me know if you need anything else. And be careful,” Brandt urged. “Without me there to watch your back, you’re just a helpless girl.”

“Sure. And without me to watch your back, you’re just a big, clueless guy.” I smiled and went to hang up but stopped. Bringing the phone back to my ear, I said, “And no more digging!”

Alex’s apartment was in the seedier part of town, unaffectionately dubbed The Fix. Even though The Fix was where most of the local drug deals went down, the cops tended to avoid the area altogether. They had no problem busting the dealers the moment they stepped onto school property or at the mall, but The Fix seemed to have a government all its own. It had its own rules and its own enforcers. Ones you didn’t cross.

As I climbed the narrow steps leading to the third floor—the elevator didn’t work—I tried to hold my nose. The hallway smelled like urine and unwashed bodies. I made a left at the top of the stairs and counted the doors. The apartment numbers were mostly missing, but when I came to Alex’s, the numbers 342 had been filled in with black magic marker.

I raised my hand to knock as the door swung open.

“Dez?” Alex stumbled back. Obviously I hadn’t been expected. “What the hell are you doing?” He reached out and dragged me into the apartment. “You shouldn’t be here!”

“Please tell me you’ve seen Kale?” He’d been gone when I woke this morning—which made sense—but I didn’t know where he went or how to find him.

“I’m here,” came his voice from behind Alex. He stood in the hall, wearing a pair of Alex’s black jeans and one of Brandt’s long sleeved green T-shirts. He smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back as the panic drained away.

“You left. I didn’t know where you’d gone.”

He stepped past Alex, stopping only when his shoulder brushed mine. “I left when I heard your father get up.”

From the corner of my eye, I could see Alex watching us, eyes narrow. “What is he talking about?”

Kale, apparently feeling helpful, answered for me. “I stayed with Dez last night. We took off our shirts.”

I didn’t have to see my face to know it turned a bright shade of red. Kale and I were going to discuss the appropriate level of sharing. Soon.