Toxic (Denazen #2)(11)

“Stop!” I screamed, spreading my arms wide in front of Alex. Not for his sake, but for Kale’s. No matter how mad he was, he’d still feel guilty if he killed someone.

Maybe…

His reflexes were sharp. Kale stopped with about two inches to spare, droplets of water flying every which way. “What is he doing here?” The venom in his voice matched the angry twist of his lips and barely contained rage in his eyes. Instead of flicking his fingers—the Kale equivalent of a nervous twitch—his fists were balled and ready to go.

Maybe he wouldn’t feel guilty.

Carefully, I placed the palm of my hand against the material of his sopping T-shirt and pushed back. He resisted at first, cool blue eyes filled with hate and affixed to Alex. But after a few moments, the pressure on my hand lessened, and he stepped back. “Explain before I touch him.”

So much for getting somewhere warm and dry. Kale wasn’t budging from that sidewalk until he knew what was going on. Thankfully, the downpour was starting to ebb. “He followed me when I left the construction site.”

Kale’s expression faltered. “He was the one who caught you.”

He’d been so wrapped up in what’d happened on the crane, it hadn’t hit him at the time that Alex was even there. Which was probably a good thing. Alex might not have made it off that construction site.

As it was, he might not make it off the sidewalk. I just didn’t know who would be the one to kill him.

Kale—or me.

“Good thing I was there, Reaper. Someone had to keep her from falling. You obviously couldn’t.”

Something exploded behind Kale’s eyes. Rage, yes, but it was more than that. Guilt. He flinched like Alex had landed the mother of all blows. It only lasted a few seconds, though. After that, a twisted smile spread across his lips. The stiff set of his shoulders relaxed a little and he folded his arms. “She needs nothing from you.”

Alex met his smile with an even darker one. “Seemed like she needed something from me tonight. I wonder what else she needs? Maybe something you’re not giving her?”

Pressure against my hand. Kale pushed forward, fingers curling tight again. If anyone was likely to test his limits, it was Alex.

“He’s not worth it,” I said, standing my ground. I was determined to keep them apart. The last thing I needed right now was to get stuck in the middle of two raging, testosterone-drunk guys. “Not even close.”

Kale didn’t look entirely convinced. “I saw him kiss you.”

Reaching out, I grabbed his hand. Contact. Connection. It was one of the few things that soothed him—and me. It was second nature. I never even thought about it.

My fingers brushed the top of his knuckles, but the comforting, familiar warmth I’d come to associate as home, as safe, was gone. In its place was something painful and constricting. A growing pressure, accompanied by a slowly increasing warmth in my stomach and a head full of fuzz. I tried but couldn’t bite down in time. A small gasp escaped my lips as my shoulders and arms went rigid.

Horrified, Kale pulled his hand away and knocked me back—right into Alex.

“What the—” Alex caught me before I toppled to the ground. Shocked, he helped me right myself as I gasped for air. The pressure eased, and the humming in my ears melted into Kale’s agonized apologies.

“Dez, I’m sorry!” The pain in his voice made the corners of my eyes sting. He was sorry? He hadn’t done anything. I was the idiot who’d tried to touch him. Tried to touch my own boyfriend.

“You made her fall…” Realization rang in Alex’s tone. He stepped around me until he and Kale were nose to nose.

Even though I knew it was the remnants of the storm, I could almost imagine the lightning overhead as sparks rising from the shoulders of each boy. Clashing Titans ready to fight to the death.

“You can’t touch her anymore, can you?”

I coughed, still trying to fill my lungs with air. Gripping Alex’s sleeve, I pulled as hard as my fingers would allow, but it was a feeble attempt. I barely jostled him. “Alex, knock it off.”

“You almost got her killed,” he continued, ignoring me. His voice held a slight hint of horror, but more than that, there was amusement. Satisfaction. He didn’t care that I’d almost died. All he cared about was pointing out that it’d been Kale’s fault. So typical!

Kale was silent, but I could see it in his eyes. He was counting. One by one each finger flicked in and out. We’d practiced it over the summer. Any time he felt the urge to punish someone, he’d count to ten. Most times he’d calmed down by eight. In this case, he might need to count to twenty. Maybe fifty.

One hundred might not be too much of a stretch.

Usually it was little things that set him off. Well, little to everyone else. Big to him. He still didn’t understand the need for things like white lies and secrets. Kale saw the world in black and white—there was no room for gray. But this was different. Personal. A new emotion for him.

When Kale finally spoke again, his voice sounded calm, but I knew better. If anything, it was laced with more hate than before.

“You’re correct. I can’t touch her for the time being—but neither can you.”

Alex’s lip twitched. He folded his arms and puffed out his chest, standing a little straighter. I knew that stance. A challenge. “Wanna bet?”