Touch (Denazen #1)(75)

As I walked away, I heard Kale tell Fin to stop staring at my ass or he was going to punish him. I couldn’t help but smile.

Up the stairs and through the crowd, when I reached the top, Alex was leaning against the railing, talking to a tall redhead. “Alex,” I said, out of breath. He wore normal blue jeans and a black button-down shirt. No costume. They hadn’t found out!

Alex turned to me, a look of relief on his face. The girl was forgotten. “Dez, we have to leave. This whole thing is a setup.”

“I know. It was Mercy. I’m not sure if the information is true or not, but they might be after Fin Meyer and someone else.”

Alex groaned and grabbed my arm, pulling me off into a dark corner. “You don’t know anything,” he hissed. “You walked right into this. They needed you to mimic Mercy so she’d look and sound like you. They needed the party location and they needed someone to lure Fin.”

“Wait, you’re telling me Mercy’s still wearing my face?” The idea that someone out there was walking around with my body made my skin crawl.

He paled slightly. “What, did you think it would wear off? Does anything else you change wear off on its own?”

Idiot. I hadn’t even blinked when Mercy left me the note saying the mimic had worn off. I automatically assumed because it was a bigger, more complicated thing, it wouldn’t last. I should have known better. “Where is she?”

Alex shook his head. “I have no idea. It doesn’t matter. We need to get the hell outta here.”

“Wait. How did you know I was me, if Mercy is wearing my skin?”

“There’s only one you. Easy to spot a fake.” He gave me a small smile. “Plus, you’re in different costumes.”

“Shit,” I cursed. “So you guys did hear about the costume thing. What’s she wearing?”

He grabbed my arm. “Does it frigging matter? We gotta bail.”

I pulled free. “I can’t leave. Kale’s downstairs watching Fin, and my mom might be here. I’m not gonna miss the only chance I might get to save her.”

“Your mom is here, but you won’t be able to get near her. That’s the point. Why else do you think Mercy told you she’d be here? To make sure you’d come. Did you ever think you’re the second target?”

Again. Idiot. The thought had never even crossed my mind.

“That’d be stupid. They had me already, they wouldn’t need to lure me here. Dad could have locked me up any of those days at Denazen.”

“I heard them talking. They wouldn’t have taken you while you were at Denazen because they’re looking for Ginger. Been looking for her for a long time. They were hoping you’d lead them to her. Besides, your dad knows about you and 98. They want him back and they knew he’d come with you.”

“Kale,” I seethed. “You know damn well his name is Kale, not 98. Don’t call him that.”

“I don’t care about him or his name.” He tried to pull me from the corner. “You and me. Let’s get out of here.”

I stared at him. “I care about Kale, and I’m not leaving without him. Or my mom.”

“Screw Kale!” he snapped. On the railing behind him, a half-full glass of orange liquid shattered. “I love you, Dez. I always have. I’m sorry for what I did, but I know we can fix this. We can make it work. But you have to get out of here before they collect you like a science project.”

I didn’t need this. “Alex, don’t. Not now. I told you, I had to sort through my feelings for Kale. I did and—”

I couldn’t believe he was arguing about this here. Now. “There’s nothing to sort through. We’re perfect together. I know it and so do you.”

“I love him, Alex. I love Kale.”

His eyes went wide. “You—what about the other day at my apartment? It didn’t feel like you were in love with him while you were kissing me!”

“I’m sorry! I was upset and you were there, and I wasn’t sure—”

Alex shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Please, get out while you can. I’ve had a glimpse of what Denazen does to its Sixes. That place is a horror show, Dez. They’ve got half the Sixes there thinking they’re doing everything from God’s work, to super-secret government missions to make the world a better place. The other half are walking zombies living in cages with no minds of their own.”

He tried to pull me out of the shadows, but I wasn’t budging.

“Please, you’re never going to get near your mother. Cut your losses and go.”

“Want to bet?” I grabbed his face and held tight. In a matter of seconds, my own frame too heavy to keep itself up, crumpled to the floor. Alex caught me right before I hit the ground.

“No,” he whispered, staring at me. “Don’t do this, please. It’s not part of the plan.”

Still shaky, I climbed to my feet. The pain in my head was there—and sharp—but it was almost tolerable. On the plus side, I didn’t feel the immediate need to puke up everything I’d ever eaten. Maybe the more I did this, the easier it would get. “Plan?” Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. “What plan? What are you talking about?”

He tugged on my arm again, pleading. Pointing through the railing to the front he said, “Look, there’s the door. We can be down the stairs, thorough it, and on our way to a new life in twenty minutes. I did what I had to… If we don’t leave now, you’re gonna f*ck it up!”