Tremble (Denazen #3)(26)

“Well, that’s stupid. You know I’m going to choose solo—but why? You made Alex take Jade.”

She didn’t answer and I understood. Bait. She was using me as bait. “Kale is going to be there, isn’t he?”

“It’s a possibility,” she responded, expression neutral.

“And that’s code for yes—not that you’d actually tell me.”

“It’s code for maybe. The chances of him being there are good. And no. If I knew for sure I wouldn’t tell you, but the truth is, I don’t know for sure.”

I wasn’t sure I bought that. “So you’re on the fritz, then?”

She looked insulted. “Most certainly not. You accuse me of knowing every little detail about your lives and keeping it a secret for my own personal gain, Deznee, but I don’t know how many times I can tell you that’s not the way it works.”

I rolled my eyes. Here we go.

“I don’t know what cereal you’re going to wake up and eat. I have no idea what garish outfit you’ll put on or what crazy color your hair will be from day to day. I only know the key points—the defining moments in your life. The things in between are hidden from me.”

“And my going to check out this name isn’t one of them.”

“No.”

“But you still think there’s a chance Kale might show up?”

“I believe it’s possible, yes.”

“Why?”

She hesitated, fidgeting with the handle of her cane before lifting her gaze to mine. “I knew you would go to Ashley’s last night.”

“So last night was one of those defining moments?” I thought back to the woods. Nothing really stood out as epic.

“It was. But not for you.”

That’s when I understood. She hadn’t seen me there through my path—she’d seen me there through Kale’s. “So you’re using me as bait, then. Correct?”

Ginger wasn’t one to apologize for her actions or the way she viewed the world—and that was fine with me. “Essentially. Is that a problem?”

“It’s Kale. It’s no problem. And what’s the big, right? You just said this wasn’t one of those life-defining moments. That means I’m not gonna bite it, because that’s pretty defining in my opinion.” I waited for her to correct me, or at the very least, twitch, but I got nothing. “Plus, this makes you feel a little more human.”

Her brows shot up, and for the first time since we’d met, she looked genuinely pissed off. “You think I don’t want to find my grandson? That I don’t care?”

I made my way around the table and stopped for a moment in the doorway. She loved Kale in her own way, but Ginger was single-mindedly focused on ripping down Denazen. She believed that since her family was responsible for its creation, it was her job to see it destroyed. I had no delusions that all of us weren’t considered possible collateral damage.

“I know you care, Ginger—but you don’t care nearly as much as I do.”





10


Ginger was kind enough to let me shower and shove a breakfast bar down my throat before practically shoving me into the elevator and out the front door. I’d been tired when Alex and I got back, but now, knowing my shot to fix things with Kale might be right around the corner, I had a renewed sense of energy.

This time I was on my way, in Ginger’s decrepit car, to see Thom Morris. His birthday was three weeks from yesterday, so I didn’t have much hope. Even if I found him alive, would what was left even be salvageable? Or would I find someone like Fin? Spouting gibberish and almost past human.

Before I left, I snagged Alex’s cell from the kitchen counter. He’d probably kill me for it later, but I didn’t want to be without a phone and I’d given mine to Aubrey last night.

I got to Thom’s house at eleven.

Semi-local, Ginger had said. Well, her idea of semi-local turned out to be nearly a four-hour drive. I was betting the only reason they let me do it on virtually no sleep was the fact that she already knew I’d make it there in one piece.

I loved a road trip as much as the next person, but sitting still for that long with so many other things on my mind was agony. Add to that a broken radio, and I was ready to beat my head against the wheel ten minutes into the trip.

Thom’s mother, a worn, frail-looking woman, informed me her son had been missing for the last month. The police were still looking but they were convinced he’d run away. He could have, but I was betting he had a little help. Judging from Mrs. Morris’s swollen eyes and red-rimmed nose, I figured if there was an agent in the house, it was her husband. The woman was clearly distraught. Definitely not the behavior of someone responsible for offing her teenage son. I gave her Alex’s cell number and asked her to call should she hear from him, then trekked back to the car, which I’d parked two houses down.

I sat in the car for an hour, hoping that Kale would show. But each vehicle zoomed past, never slowing. He knew we were searching for the Supremacy kids, and Thom was one of the last locals, so it made sense that I’d be here.

I started the engine, fingers numb, and cranked the heat to full blast. It had started to snow, and as I watched the fluffy flakes fall to my window, an ache bloomed deep in my chest. We’d made so many plans, Kale and I. His first Christmas and snowfall. I’d told him all about sledding and we’d planned to hit Memorial Park at the first sign of powder. They had the best sledding hill in the county.