Touch (Denazen #1)(80)

Dad raised the gun and released the safety.

I spread my arms wide, standing in Kale’s way. “You can’t do this. It will make you no better than them. And you are better than them, Kale. You are.” I reached out and took his face in my hands. Tears welled in his eyes. “They do not control you. You don’t kill for them anymore.”

His voice came in soft, cracked rasps. “No, I don’t. But I would kill for you. Only you.”

Seconds ticked away in silence.

Finally Kale spoke. His voice had turned icy—the same cold, dead tone he’d used the night we met. When he told Dad he would kill me. “I’ve made my choice, Cross.”

“Who will it be?”

Kale stepped away and turned to him. I could see the wicked smile spread across his face. “It will be you.”

Kale shot forward, fingers curled for Dad’s throat. Almost as if he’d anticipated it, Dad wrenched himself to the side. Kale sailed past, but managed to jump to his feet before I could call out a warning. The gun was pointed at him now.

He didn’t seem to notice. A shot rang out as he rounded for another pass. Kale’s body was a blur of motion as he pivoted and ducked. The bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the wall, sending plaster and debris exploding all over the hallway. I rushed forward to tackle my dad, but stopped short when I caught sight of the other end of the hall. A dozen or so Denazen suits gathered, watching us.

I turned back to Dad, who was now pinned and fighting hard to keep Kale’s hands away from his face. Kale struggled but was having no luck connecting with skin. His fingers, straining inches away from Dad’s face, hovered, frozen. After a few seconds, Kale’s fingers advanced an inch. Then two. Just when it looked like Kale might be gaining the upper hand, I saw Dad’s lips move. Something he’d said caused Kale to hesitate. He scanned the room until he found me, eyes wide. Dad used this to his advantage. He kicked up, knee connecting with Kale’s gut. As Kale curled from the blow, Dad followed it with an elbow to his throat. Kale choked and gasped, trying to catch his breath.

With Kale distracted, Dad shoved him aside. Climbing to his feet, he said, “There’s only one way this is going to end.”

I readied myself to surge forward, but Mom beat me to it. She flew at my dad, knocking him to the ground as the suits at the other end rushed us.

“Move!” I screamed and pulled her off him. She’d gotten in several well-placed blows and didn’t look like she’d be stopping anytime soon, but we needed to bail. I hauled Kale to his feet and the three of us bolted to the other end of the hall.

“There’s a staircase leading to the first floor beyond that door,” Mom cried. “I saw it when we came in.”

We burst through the door and, sure enough, there were the stairs. Flying down, two and three steps at a time, we were back in the main room, bodies grinding and music pounding. Unaware. All of them. Through the crowd, I could see more suits gathering by the entrance.

I was about to ask Mom if she’d seen another exit, but someone snatched my arm.

Alex.

“What the hell are you still doing here?”

I pulled away. I hadn’t forgotten what he’d done. “There are suits everywhere,” I yelled over the music. “Dad’s upstairs and he’s got a gun.”

To the right, across the room, we could see several Denazen men shoving people aside as they stomped down the main stairs. I turned to my right, where a sheepherder danced suggestively with a scantily clad cat-woman. “I need this,” I hissed, ripping the thick wooden walking stick from his hands. Whirling, I jammed it through the latch to stop the door from opening.

The men on the other side of the room were halfway down the stairs now, and they’d seen us. At the bottom, partygoers began to scatter when one pulled a gun.

“It’s real!” someone screamed.

And chaos erupted.

“We have to find Fin and get the hell out of here!” I called over the bedlam. Turning to Alex, I asked, “Any ideas?”

For a moment he hesitated, but then gave in. “The bar in the corner by the front door. The chick is a Denazen employee. Fin is with her.”

“You knew where Fin was the entire time?” I seethed. Did Alex know about Supremacy? “Did you know what Fin was? What I was?”

No answer.

Mom stepped up, eyes locked on the bar. “Is she a Six?”

Alex didn’t answer, but I could see him glaring at Kale out of the corner of his eye. I slapped him across the back of the head. “Pay attention. Is she a Six?”

“No,” he snapped as someone on the upper level screamed.

Another rush of people flew by and then I smelled it. Smoke. “Is something burning?”

Kale pointed to the bar by the door, where Fin was fighting off three Denazen men—with fire. “He’s an element thrower. He’s going to light the whole place up if he’s not careful.”

Mom didn’t waste any time. She shoved through the crowd and took the furthest suit by surprise, grabbing a handful of his hair and landing a sweeping kick to the back of his knees. When he landed on the floor, she brought her boot down into his gut.

Holy shit. My mom was a badass!

I picked up an empty bottle of Bacardi from the bar and crept forward. As I was about to smash it against the head of the suit closest to me, he turned, narrowly missing my attack. He shoved me backward and I lost my footing, toppling over just in time to see the third suit overcome Fin and wrestle him to the ground.