Toxic (Denazen #2)(45)

Always alert, Mom scanned the woods off to the right of the path as we went. “You didn’t see him at the party?”

I hadn’t even known he was there. “I wasn’t there long, and it was dark.”

“OhmyGod,” Jade whispered, panicked. She grabbed my arm and yanked, almost knocking me off balance. “Something moved in those bushes.”

I shoved her off, pointed to the ground, and smiled. From under the bush, long ears attached to a tiny brown speckled head peeked out. “Yeah. That bunny is a Denazen suit in disguise. Where do you suppose he’s hiding his gun? Or maybe he doesn’t need one. Maybe he’s a martial arts master trained in the art of kickassery.”

“Bitch,” she mumbled, turning away.

We walked for a good ten minutes without seeing any sign of Alex, the others, or Denazen. Unfortunately, Memorial Park was exceptionally huge. There were seven hiking trails, two lakes and a pool, and basketball, tennis, and racquetball courts. Without a clue from Alex about where he was hiding, this could take all night.

“I’ll bet you a million Metal Face made a break for it and is long gone.” Jade stopped walking and folded her arms. “We’re wasting our time.”

“No,” Mom said, stopping beside her. “Dax told him to stay put.”

“So that must mean he did it, right?” Jade snipped with a dramatic roll of her hand.

Mom squeezed her eyes closed and sighed. “Dez is right. You’re extremely annoying.”

It was something I’d expect from Kale, not Mom. She was usually quiet in her opinions and tended to stand back and watch rather than get involved. “Okay, it’s official. I have the coolest mom in the universe.”

Jade opened her mouth—assumedly to shoot off another snipe—but froze. Arm flailing, she gave a small shimmy and squealed, “Notabunny. Notabunny!”

Just past the West Lake gate at the head of the path, four suits were charging toward us. Mom reached behind her and yanked out the gun, dropping to her knees and taking aim. One shot. One agent down. The bullet hit him in the knee and he let out anguished scream.

“Get back,” Mom spat. I hesitated, not wanting to leave her, but she screamed, “Now!”

I didn’t argue. Grabbing the back of Jade’s shirt, I took several steps away and tucked us behind a large pine tree. More shots rang out, and Mom cursed. One of the agents yelled something, followed by a moment of silence, then the appearance of Mom around the other side of the large tree.

“I got three of the four. The last one ran off, so we should be—”

The moon was nearly full and the night sky clear. The agent thought he was being sneaky, coming up around behind Mom while we were all distracted, but his shadow announced him right before he reached the tree.

I yanked Mom forward just as his arm shot out to pull her back. She shoved me away, but I didn’t take it personally. I’d seen her in action during the battle at Sumrun. She was a lot like Kale. Completely immersed and focused on the task at hand. At the moment, that task was beating down one of Denazen’s not-so-finest.

I poked my head around the tree. There were two more approaching. “Company’s coming.”

Mom ducked a swing and retaliated with one of her own, catching the agent squarely in the gut. “Head for the woods,” she huffed. “I’ll be right there.”

We scattered. I ran for the woods as instructed while Jade took off in a different direction.

I stopped at the tree line, trying to decide if I should attempt to follow her, but one of the approaching agents said, “Grab the redhead. I’ll get Cross’s kid.”

Cross’s kid? What the hell? Was there a milk carton picture going around? These freaks knew me on sight? In the dark? Feet pounded the concrete trail close on my tail. There was no time to wait for Mom or go looking for Jade. I had to shake him.

Or at the very least, gain some ground.

When he was closer, I stopped short and dropped to the dirt. I jarred my knee, which was already sore from the window incident, and both wrists. It was less than graceful, but effective.

Unable to stop in time, the guy stumbled over my back and crashed to the ground. I didn’t wait. As soon as he was down, I was up and sprinting toward the tree line.

But I changed my mind at the last minute. Instead of heading for the woods, I veered toward the playground. Through the sand and under the monkey bars. Over the seesaw. Around the slide. Finally back on the path, I made my way into the picnic area. It was heavily wooded. It’d be a safe enough place to stop and catch my breath.

I ducked behind a thick maple and stretched out my left arm, wiggling each of my fingers. With every movement, I had to bite down to keep from crying out. The pain was getting worse. The gunfire had stopped, and now the park was silent except for the occasional cricket and rustling leaves. Mom and Kale could take care of themselves—Dax and Alex, too—but I was still worried. And Jade… Unfortunately she’d be fine. I was willing to bet she was working for Dad, so there wasn’t any real danger for her.

After a few short moments and a somewhat lower heart rate, I stepped out from behind the tree. Karma, continuing the Screw Dez kick it seemed to be on lately, had a Denazen agent walking into the picnic area at the exact same moment. Our eyes locked. I bolted but wasn’t fast enough.

He leapt, tackling me against the nearest tree. I hit the trunk hard with my right arm at an odd angle. There was no gentleness as he pinned both arms behind me, elbow jabbed into the hollow of my back to keep me under control.