Touch (Denazen #1)(63)

“You’re the one locked up in hell and you’re asking if I’m okay?”

“You’re the one—”

It felt like there was an army of men with jackhammers digging through my skull and I could probably sleep for a month, but having Kale in front of me somehow made it okay. “Bleeding. Yeah, I know. I’m fine.”

His lip twitched and he frowned. “They know everything. She questioned me as soon as I got back. I didn’t answer, but that was enough of a confirmation for them. They asked me if you knew about your mother. I’m sorry.”

I shook my head. “It’s okay. There’s nothing you could have done. Believe it or not, Mercy’s on our side. She set it up. We switched places. She’s at my house waiting for us.”

“On our side?”

I nodded. Kale wasn’t convinced, but I could hardly blame him. The idea that someone at Denazen might want to help us had to be unreal to him after everything he’d been through at their hands.

“Okay, get up slowly, try to look sad or something, and let’s walk to the garden.”

We both stood and began to walk, each step bringing us closer to freedom. Everything was going great—until we rounded the corner and saw the two guards standing there, waiting.

“Afternoon, Mercy,” the taller of the two said. The other pulled out a tazer. In his other hand he held a large white blanket.

“Afternoon,” I said lightly, hoping they didn’t expect me to call them by name. Denazen didn’t believe in nametags. It was really inconvenient.

“I’m afraid we’ve been ordered to take 98 back inside.”

“We’ll be done in a few minutes.” I tried to sound casual but failed.

“It can’t wait,” the short one chimed in. “Move aside so we can subdue him.”

I turned to Kale, who backed away. The fence—and the forest—were only ten feet beyond the two guards. Ten feet. That’s all that separated Kale and freedom. Now that he’d had a taste of the outside, Kale wasn’t going to let a small thing like ten feet stand in his way.

No matter what.

I blinked, and Kale charged.





24


The tall guard, the outspoken one, proved himself a chicken by diving off the path and out of Kale’s way. Smart considering the alternative, but so damn spineless. The smaller one, not so much. He spread his legs apart and fired the tazer—thankfully with crappy aim. When that didn’t work, he threw the gun to the ground and charged to meet Kale.

I found it hard to believe these men were sent out to bring him inside without knowing the consequences of skin-to-skin contact. And yet, the obvious aside, this moron charged Kale like a bull would a toreador, arms outstretched and fingers reaching for his throat. They collided mid-way.

Arms up, the man delivered a well-executed high kick aimed for Kale’s head. Kale dodged it with ease, spinning around to the man’s back. If I’d blinked, I would have missed it. The man whirled and tried again, but this time, instead of dodging the blow, Kale caught the man’s foot inches before it collided with the side of his face. Out of what I could only guess was stupidity, the man’s hand shot out, clamping onto Kale’s neck. There was a single twitch of his fingers as he exhaled sharply, released his hold on Kale, and fell to his knees. His skin grayed and cracked, hair dulling and falling to the floor in dusty clumps. A scream died on his lips as, within a matter of moments, he became nothing more than a pile of dust scattering in the breeze.

Kale didn’t waste any time. He grabbed my wrist and we took off over the fence.

Free.

§

When we were sure they weren’t following anymore, I stopped to mimic back. It took longer than it had with Rick and was ten times more painful, but it felt good to be me again. It felt even better to be in my own clothing. That suit had been restricting, hideous, and itchy as hell.

“I can’t believe the risk you took,” Kale said as we made our way through the woods. “You could have been hurt.”

“Probably not.” I remembered what Mercy said right before she got in the car and tried to ignore it.

“Your father knows why you’re really here. He knows about you and 98.”

“I’m guessing Dad wanted a shot at using me like he had Kat Hans—the first one they sent in to dig up information on the Sixes. I don’t think he would have hurt me. At least not so early in the game.”

Kale stopped short and wrenched me along with him. I cringed at the sharp movement, doing my best not to cry out. “Do not think like that. Never underestimate them. The things they do… The things they could have done—” He swallowed. The slight protrusion of his Adam’s apple bobbed just a bit. “If it should happen in the future, you leave me there. Do not do that again.”

“It’s fine though. We’re out and everyone’s—” A lump formed in my throat and my blood went icy. “Alex. I left Alex in there.”

“Alex? What’s he doing at Denazen?”

“I convinced him to help me get you and my mom out,” I groaned. “I got you out and forgot about him. How could I have left him there! Now God knows what’s going to happen to him.”

“We’ll get him out. And Sue.”

Sue. Mom. “Did you see her? While you were there, did you see her?”