Toxic (Denazen #2)(76)

The address Ginger had given them wasn’t far, so I was relieved when they decided to walk the rest of the way. It provided me with the freedom to walk next to Kale and really listen.

Not that there was anything to listen to.

Jade kept trying to engage him in conversation, but Kale being Kale, gave her simple, one-word answers. He wasn’t trying to be rude or dismissive, he was just being himself. If she knew anything about him, she’d know that for him to be really chatty, she’d only have to talk about simple things. Things people like her took for granted. Thunderstorms and snowfall. Bike rides and zoo animals.

One of the people on Brandt’s list, Andrea Durham, was an employee at the Bronx Zoo. We’d met her there over the summer to warn her about Denazen. And even though Kale wasn’t happy at first about the animals being caged, eventually he sort of fell in love with the zoo. We’d gone back four times since. His favorite part? The bears, of course.

By the time they got to the house, Jade looked like she was ready to explode. Reaching under a small porcelain frog statue, she pulled out a silver key and ushered Kale through the door.

The place was empty. There was no furniture, and judging from the smell, no one had lived here in quite some time. I wondered if Ginger knew the owners, or if we were squatting.

Time passed slowly. Two hours of watching Kale work on his control while listening to Jade try to provoke a reaction—any reaction. She’d tried sexy—batting her eyes and rubbing against him. He’d responded by telling her how much he wished I was there. She hadn’t been happy about that, scowling outright and sulking like a child.

She’d done concerned—further elaborating on her theory that I was only out to control him, just like my dad had. Kale simply thanked her for the concern but assured her that when she got to know me, she’d see how wrong she was.

And she’d tried bitchy—spouting off that Kale needed to open his eyes and move on. She even tried to tell him our inability to touch was a sign from the universe. That confused him just a little—which in turn confused her. The bitch was clueless about the inner workings of Kale’s mind.

By eight p.m. all the potted plants someone had kindly supplied were lined up against the wall, shriveled and gray, and they’d gotten nowhere.

“Let’s move out to the backyard,” Jade said, taking Kale’s hand. “It’s a beautiful night, and there’s plenty of green out there.”

He was frustrated. I could tell by the stiff way he moved. Tense. Kiernan and I followed them out the back doors to the patio.

“She’s lying to me,” Kale growled as he stalked back and forth.

Jade bent down and picked a maple leaf from a low-hanging branch. Handing it to Kale, she asked, “Who?”

He took the leaf and crumpled it in his palm, the dust drifting between his open fingers. “Dez. There’s something she’s keeping from me. She told me earlier.”

Jade let out an exaggerated sigh. “This is why you’re making no progress. I told you, this is all tied up in emotion. You need to clear your mind. Let it all go.”

“She said it was to protect me,” he continued as though she hadn’t spoken.

Jade rolled her eyes. “Protect you? Unlikely. Someone like you doesn’t need protecting. Personally, I think it’s something else.”

That caught his attention. “Something else?”

“I’d be a really horrible friend if I didn’t point this out, Kale. But really, don’t you see the way she looks at Alex? They’ve got history together. He’s obviously still got a thing for her, and I’ve seen the way she looks at him. She feels the same way.”

“You’re wrong. He hurt her.”

Her expression softened. “And you did, too. You almost killed her.”

He looked like she’d just sucker punched him, and at that moment there was very little holding me back. “I didn’t—that wasn’t my fault. I would never—”

She took his hand. I waited for him to pull away, but he didn’t.

“There’s no way he’s going to buy this shit…” I hissed. Tugging on Kiernan’s hand, I took a step closer. We were about four feet from them now. Every word, every expression, clear as day.

“I know you didn’t mean it,” Jade continued. “But Dez runs on pure emotion. She’s an all-or-nothing kind of girl. She can’t touch you, and maybe that’s just too much for her. Alex is available, interested, and she can touch him.”

“I’m gonna f*cking kill her.” I tried to let go of Kiernan’s hand, but she held tight. Jade’s crap until now had been dirty, but throwing Alex in Kale’s face? That was an entirely new kind of low.

“Wait,” she whispered. “I wanna see how far this bitch is gonna go. Then we’ll kick her ass.”

Kale was shaking his head. “You don’t know her.”

“She saved you from Denazen. I get it. It’s totally natural to feel attached to her because of that—”

“I love Dez,” he said. The ferocity in his voice eased some of the tension in my shoulders, but it also sent a chill trickling down my spine.

“Are you sure? Maybe you should take a break from the underground. Go out and see the world. Get to know yourself. I’m not trying to confuse you, but, Kale, if you’ve only been able to be with her, how do you know there’s not someone else out there?”