Toxic (Denazen #2)(61)

“He’s actually Kiernan’s date.”

“Her—”

“She doesn’t have a clue who he is.”

The singer, a willowy girl in a stunning black cocktail dress, announced they’d be taking requests for the next hour, then stepped back onto the stage as the guitarist struck the first chords of a new song.

“You have to tell her!” Alex snapped over the music. “You’re putting her in danger by not saying anything.” He glanced around the room, eyes falling on the table. “And what does Freak Boy say? How come he hasn’t—”

“Kale hasn’t seen him. Someone is keeping him conveniently busy.”

Fred the labret bead wobbled on Alex’s chin. “Kiernan is your friend! Since when do you bail on your friends, Dez?”

“Dad’s not interested in her at the moment,” I snapped back. Honestly, though, Alex was one hundred and fifty percent right. Not letting Kiernan know about Able was dangerous. Dad might be focusing on me, but if an opportunity to snag a useful Six came up, he wouldn’t pass it by. I’d need to either come clean or think of a way to tell her to stay away from him.

“Just tell her the damn truth,” Alex growled.

He moved a step back, never taking his eyes off me. I looked away—probably the worst thing I could have done. Unfortunately, Alex knew me too well. He’d been able to lie to me, but I’d never been able to slip much past him.

“You’re hiding something,” he said. “What is the—” His eyes went wide.

I should have moved. Backed out of his reach. Turned and ran like hell through the crowd and for the door. But I couldn’t. His expression kept me rooted. I followed his gaze to my shoulder. The sleeve of my dress was just slightly out of place from where Able’s fingers had been.

Before I could move my slow ass out of the way, Alex reached out and brushed the fabric further to the side. It shouldn’t have been an issue. When I’d left the hotel, the angry red blotch and spiderweb black veins only came to the tip of my collarbone. But the poison was spreading.

And it seemed to be speeding up.

Before I could stop him, Alex grabbed my hand, pulling me closer. Too fast, he reached up and pushed the shoulder of my dress to the side, face pale. The black lines had crept past my collarbone.

“What the hell is that, Dez?”





23


I was tempted to walk away, but knowing Alex, he’d run straight to Ginger just to piss me off. “Remember that night on the roof of your old building? When Able touched me? It’s some kind of poison.”

Alex looked like he was going to be sick. He opened and closed his mouth several times, doing his best imitation of a fish. “Daun,” he finally spat, twisting me toward the door. “We need to get back to the hotel.”

I pulled away from him. “Daun’s gone. ’Sides, don’t you think I already talked to her? She tried. There was nothing she could do.”

Some of the color returned to his face. “Jesus—the way you’ve been acting… For a second, I thought no one knew about this.”

“They don’t. The only one who knows is you. And well, Daun, but she’s gone, so that doesn’t matter.”

“Are you insane? Have you taken a good look at that thing?”

“It’s complicated, okay? There’s a cure.”

“Which you obviously don’t have.”

“Well, no. But I know there is one. That’s good enough for now.”

Alex could be a dick, but he was generally pretty sharp. “Your dad has it, doesn’t he?”

“Pretty much.”

“What happens if you don’t get it?”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure.”

He slammed his foot down. Several people at the table next to us looked up. I recognized a few of them. All residents of the Sanctuary.

“You’re not sure? Are you kidding?”

“Dad wants me to believe that it’s going to kill me,” I admitted.

“You’re f*cking certifiable, you know that? First, you let Kiernan go off with some guy who’s working for your father, now you’re hiding some killer rash? Lemme guess. He wants to trade that * for the cure.” Alex took a step back, realization sparking like a wildfire behind his eyes. “Holy shit, Dez. That’s why you haven’t told them. You’re protecting that freak. He doesn’t know, does he?”

“No. And it stays that way. Besides, it’s not about Kale anymore. Dad said he’d trade the cure if I turned myself over to him. Plus like I said, he wants me to believe it’s going to kill me. That doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Alex turned and started for the door. “This is crap.”

I rushed forward, jumping in front of him. “This is my choice.”

“You need to tell them. Tell Ginger. She can fix this.”

“What the hell? Now all of a sudden you’ve got this creepy blind faith in Ginger? Since when?” I took a deep breath and grabbed his arm, pulling back with all my strength. “Alex, I’m asking you—begging you—don’t say anything. Just give me a little more time. I need to figure this out.”

He pulled away. “Doesn’t look like you have a lot of time to think.”