Tremble (Denazen #3)(24)
Aubrey hesitated, peering around the corner of the rock. When he turned back, his expression was grim. “It’s a possibility—but not a guarantee. I’ve seen people wiped once who never revert, but Kale’s different. They’re really not sure what will happen without Mindy reinforcing the wipe. Honestly, I think they’re more worried about him going apeshit.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alex asked. He cupped his hands to his mouth and blew out, sending a stream of smoky breath into the air.
The moon danced out from behind the clouds again—just in time to showcase Aubrey’s sad expression. “The other thing they couldn’t wipe out was all the anger he felt toward Denazen. Kale’s normally in control of it, but by stripping things away and messing around inside his head, they kicked a hornet’s nest. The guy has some serious issues. He spent most of his life at Denazen. You must know the things they did to him. He may keep it in check, but trust me, it’s there—and Cross is worried it’s a ticking time bomb.”
I remembered the way Kale looked at Samsen. There was so much rage in his eyes. So much hate. Everyone had a dark side. Thoughts and feelings they kept hidden from the ones they loved. I knew he thought he was a monster for the things he’d done during his time with Denazen, but maybe there was more to it than that. Maybe he didn’t know what to do with the anger. Feelings like that couldn’t be controlled forever. They needed to be dealt with. “I need to get him alone.”
Aubrey shook his head. “Stay away from him. He’s not the same guy you knew.”
“No,” I said. “I saw something. A spark. My Kale is still in there.”
“Parts of your Kale are in there,” he corrected. “And trust me, they’re not the parts you want back.” He stuffed both hands into the pockets of his trench coat. “Besides, they rarely let him out alone. If Kiernan isn’t glued to his side, Cross has me with him.”
“Then I need your help. Tell me where he’s going to be next. Make sure you’re the one with him.”
“This is suicide, Dez. He was dangerous before they gave him the drug. Now he’s ten times worse. Time away is no guarantee he’ll remember.”
“Maybe not, but one of the Supremacy kids might be able to help.”
Aubrey didn’t look convinced. “You’re assuming you’ll find any of them alive—and still possessing the ability to spell their own name. I’ve seen the decline. It’s not pretty. These kids turn into drooling psychos—” He paused as Alex made a face. “Oh. Yeah. Sorry.”
“I have no intention of drooling, thank you very much.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Why did you help us? I mean, I kinda get why you saved me a few months ago, but why help us tonight?”
Aubrey was silent. Just when I was sure he wouldn’t answer, he sighed. “I made Kale a promise. He may not remember it, but I do.”
Alex narrowed his eyes. It was no secret he didn’t trust Aubrey—not that I did 100 percent either—but I was willing to give him a chance. Judging by the tone in Alex’s voice, he wasn’t. “A promise? What kind of promise?”
Aubrey shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. Just know that I understand how you feel, and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.” He took a step away. “So what do you plan on doing? Asking Kale to go on a nice little road trip with you? There’s no way you’ll be able to take him anywhere he doesn’t want to go.”
He was right. Kale wasn’t going to be led anywhere, but I had a plan. I fished my cell from my back pocket and handed it to Aubrey. “Then I’ll make him come to me.”
9
We made it back to the cabin by five a.m. I was soaked and limping from a twisted ankle. I was also numb. Ashley was gone, and although Alex tried convincing me on the ride home that it wasn’t my fault, I knew better. There were a million other ways I could have handled things. I let my anger over the situation, as well as my desire to bring Kale home, interfere with common sense.
Mom, Ginger, and Dax were sweet enough to welcome us back by waiting in the doorway, expressions full of concern and gratitude that we’d taken the initiative and gone to help Ashley.
Not quite.
“I know this is a redundant question with you, but what the hell were you thinking?” Mom stalked from one end of the kitchen to the other, hands stuffed into the pockets of her flannel penguin pajama pants.
“Why wouldn’t you wake anyone up?” Dax asked, glaring right at Alex. He looked like he was still half asleep. “Going alone was stupid—even for you two.”
“There was no time,” Alex seethed. “We went together. We came home together. Everything is fine.”
Shortly after the hotel burned down, he’d abandoned his apartment and moved into Dax’s complex. Some days—okay, most days—I wished he’d stayed put. Living under the same roof with someone like Alex was bad enough—but add to that the fact that he was my ex? Can you say awkward? At least this time, he had my back.
“Alex is right. There was no time.” I whirled on Ginger. Everyone else had expressed an opinion; I wanted to make sure she got a say, too. “Your turn. Tell us how stupid we were for going to help her.”
The old woman’s lip twitched, but instead of jumping on the bandwagon, she simply stared. Not good. A Visionary, she saw people’s life path when she looked into their eyes—she probably knew for months that we’d do what we did. The catch was, by some freaky code of her own, she refused to tell anyone about the things she saw. It was selfish, in my opinion, and had resulted in the death of her daughter and imprisonment of her grandson—twice.