Touch (Denazen #1)(72)

He smiled. “I want to see all the places I’ve read about. I want to sail on ships and feel sand between my toes.” The smile got wider. “I want to sleep under the stars and swim in the ocean.”

“Good goals,” I said quietly.

He nodded. “Goals, I like that. I have goals now. It feels nice! What about you? What are yours?”

I laughed. “Mine? I don’t think I’ve ever really had any. Other than pissing off my dad, I’m pretty unmotivated.”

“So you can make some. When this is over, we can travel to all these places and you can come up with your own list.”

The look on his face could have lit the corners of the darkest spaces on earth. It made my words taste bitter. “Kale, I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave when this is over. Someday, yeah, but I’m not sure how soon. You might have to go without me.”

Kale stopped, grabbing my arm. “All these places I want to go don’t exist without you. All my goals come from one place. You. You are my biggest goal. That’s not wrong, is it?”

“No.” I hesitated. “But you can’t stop living your life for me. I don’t know what’s going to happen with my mom. I got cheated out of seventeen years. I want to get to know her… That won’t happen if we manage to free her and I run off.”

A few moments of silence ticked by, and the leather shop came into site. Thankfully, the lights inside were still on.

“But we can still be together, right? Even if we stay here?”

“Of course. I’ll be here as long as you want me, Kale. And when possible, I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth if that’s where you want to go. I just need to square things up first.”

“As long as I know this”—he lifted our joined hands—“is mine to hold, I’ll wait for you forever.”

I hoped so.

The clerk hadn’t been happy about staying late. She glared daggers at us until I slapped down the three hundred and forty-two dollars cash I’d mimicked from several pieces of toilet paper back at the hotel. She’d closed the day with a nice sale, and we left with a gorgeous black motorcycle jacket.

Now, all the parts of our costumes collected, we needed a place to get ready. Kale wasn’t thrilled with the idea of trekking all the way back to the hotel, but we didn’t have another choice. The same woman sat behind the desk when we walked in, this time her smile slightly more genuine than before. Slightly.

“I hate to be a pain, but could we go back up to the room and get ready?”

She held out a set of keys. “Go to room 309 instead. There’s someone up there waiting for you.”

No one knew we were here, much less coming back again tonight. I was instantly suspicious. “Someone waiting for me?”

It must have been obvious, because the woman said, “Not to worry. He’s a friend.” She frowned. “Sort of.”

Now I was curious. Still a little worried, but curious.

“Wait,” Kale said as I reached for the door. “Me first.” He sidestepped me and pushed the door open, stepping inside. I was right behind him.

On one of the beds, tossing back a cold one and watching TV, was Brandt’s friend Sheltie. He saw us and smiled, waving. “Thank God. I wasn’t sure you would be coming back.”

Kale still stood in front of me, shoulders tense. “Who are you?”

“Christ, you’re still here?” The guy peered around Kale and crooked a finger at me. “I need to talk to you.”

I turned to Kale. “This is Sheltie, he’s”—I swallowed and corrected myself—“he was my cousin Brandt’s friend.” Turning back to Sheltie, I asked, “What are you doing here? I thought you were leaving town.”

“That’s a good question—one I’d be glad to answer, but it’s complicated.”

Kale snorted. “Have you not heard? Everything is complicated.”

I glanced back at the door, and then to the clock on the night table. We had a little less than two hours. “It’s not gonna take long, is it? We kinda have somewhere to be.”

He nodded. “I know.” Taking a deep breath, he launched into it. “It’s me.”

I stared at him. “You’re high, aren’t you?”

“Look at me. Really look. Don’t you see it?”

I tried to take a step toward him, but Kale grabbed my arm. “What am I looking for exactly?”

Sheltie frowned. “If anyone can see it, it’ll be you. Try. Look harder.”

I scanned his face, his clothing, everything looked the same as before. “Sorry. Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Brandt. I’m Brandt.”

My eyes started to water and I turned away, horrified. “You’re a sick puppy, you know that?”

“Dez, I know how this sounds. You have to trust me. Technically, I’m Brandt. And now Sheltie, too.”

“Wow, you Denazen *s must lock yourselves away in a room with a bottle of Jack and a bag of really good weed to come up with this crap.” I jerked free of Kale’s grasp and stepped forward, fingers itching. “Was it you? Did you kill Brandt?”

When Sheltie didn’t answer, Kale snapped. “Answer her.”