Toxic (Denazen #2)(92)

Kale was staring at me. Leaning close, he brushed the softest of kisses across my lips. With his thumb, he skimmed my cheeks, wiping away the fire-tears. More hallucinations—but this kind I was okay with. My memory deserved some serious kudos. It was almost as good as the real thing.

“I love you, Dez,” he whispered. Turning to Dad, he said, “Make her better.”

“We have a deal, then?”

“Anything. As long as you fix this.”

“No!” Jade came tearing down the path. It pissed me off to see she had no trouble navigating the snow-grass. Even more of a reason to hate her.

“Jade Banna,” Dad said. “Formidable. I take it you dispatched my employee?”

She put herself between Dad and Kale. “Sending a telekinetic to keep me grounded? Someone hasn’t done their homework.”

I wondered what she’d done? Bitched him to death? Maybe there was more to her.

Dad chuckled. “Indeed. What would you say if I were to offer you a job, my dear?”

Jade didn’t answer right away. When she finally made her choice, the movie in my head had her shaking hands with Dad and high-fiving Kiernan and Aubrey right before running a victory lap around us.

In reality, she flipped him off.

“Are you certain?” Dad pressed. “I could offer you more than you can possibly imagine. You’d never want for anything again. Your family could come out of hiding, free to live a normal life.”

“No, thanks.”

“Your choice—for now.” Dad snapped his fingers, and Kiernan took a step toward Kale. She’d pulled on a pair of dark gloves, and there was a set of shiny silver handcuffs dangling from her pointer.

Kale’s hand shot up. He took a step back, glaring from Kiernan to Dad. “Fix it first,” he demanded.

“You should know better, 98.” Dad clucked his tongue and gestured to Kiernan and Aubrey. “Let’s face it. We all know you could run circles around these two. I’d wager even Ms. Banna could give them a proper run for their money. I’m not foolish enough to underestimate you. When you are safely bound, Aubrey will help Deznee.”

“You have no honor. How do I know you’ll keep your word?”

The floor spun, but I managed to stand and keep from toppling down again by grabbing Jade’s arm. “Don’t do this, Kale.”

He didn’t budge.

“He’s full of crap.” Despite the poison speeding through my veins, the thing I was most scared of at that moment was losing him to Dad. “Don’t fall for it. We can find another way.”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” Jade’s voice was low, but I heard her as though she’d screamed in my ear. God. Even with me at death’s door, the bitch was trying to change his mind about me.

“I am trusting you to make sure she is okay. Please. Don’t let me down.” Kale kept his eyes on her, refusing to glance my way. Me? I couldn’t look away. “Watch over her.”

Nodding to Dad, he held out his arms. Clinking metal and an almost deafening snap as the cuffs locked into place.

Kiernan glanced from me to Kale. She looked almost sorry. That had to be a hallucination. “Don’t give me any crap. If we don’t make it out and into the car, he won’t let Aubrey help her.”

“I won’t fight you,” he said, turning.

“Please,” I begged. “Don’t do this. It’s not worth it.”

Kale froze and turned back. It had to be the poison. His expression was all wrong. Happy. Serene. “Knowing you’ll be okay is worth anything I could possibly go through. Please remember that.”

He held my gaze for a moment before turning to Kiernan. She led him around Aubrey and up the path. Dad followed without as much as a word.

Once they were out of sight, Aubrey took a step back. “He of all people should know Cross has no honor.”

Jade was pale. In fact, her skin looked a little green. Like she’d been rolling around in the snow-grass and gotten it all over her face and arms. “You’re not going to heal her, are you?”

Aubrey watched us for a moment, then frowned. “My instructions were to bring her with me or let her die.”

This was it. After all I’d been through. After all I’d seen. I was going to bite it in the middle of a cold, empty field surrounded by two of the most annoying human beings ever to walk the earth.

Seriously. Karma must’ve had it in for me.

Everything was getting colder. The air I forced in and out of my lungs. The snow-grass soaking through my jeans. It was so cold, I couldn’t feel my arms anymore. In fact, I couldn’t really feel anything. The pain was gone, and while that should have made me happy, it scared me. The pain had been real. Tangible. It was something to hold on to in the middle of everything breaking apart. Without it, I’d lose hold of reality.

I don’t know where he came from, but Able appeared in front of me. He hopped from foot to foot, chanting, Too far gone to feel it, yeah? I turned away, not wanting to see the smug satisfaction all over his face.

Something blurred in front of me, then a puff of warm against my neck and ear. Able’s voice again. “Cross has no honor. I, however, do.”

No. Not Able. The pitch was the same, but the words were wrong. Able’s weird, almost unnoticeable accent was gone.