Tremble (Denazen #3)(39)

I killed the engine and unfastened my seat belt. “So obviously we’re here for a reason. What is it?”

He got out of the car without responding and started up the walk. I stuck my head out the open window. “Kale?” And when he didn’t answer, I extracted myself from Ginger’s uncomfortable seat and begrudgingly followed him to the house. “Are we just randomly knocking on people’s doors for some reason, or do we have a specific purpose here?”

“I don’t know,” he snapped, then stopped halfway up the walkway. Sighing, he said, “I don’t know where we are or why we’re here. I don’t know who lives inside, and I don’t know why I feel such a pull, but I do.”

I put my hand on his shoulder and was surprised when he didn’t pull away. “It’s okay.”

“I feel like I have to be here.”

“Then let’s be here.” There was nothing else to say. There was desperation in his eyes as well as fear. He’d spent his entire life controlled by Denazen, having no free will to speak of. Feeling the need to come here, but not knowing why, must have brought up buried fears.

He turned to me and I saw it again. A glimmer of my Kale. “I don’t know if you’re telling the truth, but I know something’s wrong. I can feel it. My own family attacked me, and I keep seeing…”

I had to fight the urge to grab his hands and shake him. “Seeing what? Are you having flashes?”

He looked like he wanted to say more, but he only nodded to the house. “Let’s go.”

We climbed the steps and knocked several times, then waited. Unfortunately, it looked like no one was home. There was no sound coming from inside the house and it didn’t seem as though any of the lights were on.

“That’s inconvenient.” I sighed. The only chance we had of finding out what had drawn Kale here was getting into that house. I tapped the doorframe and waggled my eyebrows as I turned to him. “We could always do a little breaking and entering. See what’s inside?”

“There’s no need to break in. Just knock a little louder.”

We both jumped, spinning back toward the door. A woman slightly older than Mom, with short black hair and bright green eyes, watched us from behind the screen. She looked from me to Kale and when her eyes fell to him, a brilliant smile lit her face. “You came!”

That was unexpected. “You know him?”

She stepped back, holding the door open, and enthusiastically waved us inside. “Not formally, no. But we’ve met…in a manner of speaking.”

We stepped into the house, Kale more easily than I did. Apparently, along with his memories, he’d also lost his caution to Denazen. My Kale would never just walk through a door in a strange place without checking things out first.

“What are you names?” I didn’t miss how she looked from left to right, almost as if to be sure we were alone, before closing the door and clicking all three intricate padlocks in place.

Huh. Someone was a paranoid puppy.

“My name is Kale.” He pointed to me. “This is Kiern—”

I shot him a look that would have scared most children and small animals, daring him to finish the sentence.

“Honestly, I have no idea who she is,” he finished with a shrug of his shoulders.

I smiled and held out my hand. “I’m Dez.”

The women nodded, smile bright as the sun, and shook my hand. “It’s very nice to meet you, Dez and Kale. Please. Take a seat. Make yourselves comfortable.”

We followed her inside and I settled on the couch, while Kale sat in the armchair on the far side of the room. The woman sat between us, saying nothing. She watched Kale, and I found it a little creepy how she just sat there smiling at him.

“That’s a really cool bracelet,” I said in an attempt to get things moving. As nice as it was to be somewhere with real heat, we didn’t have all day. Things to do. Secrets to uncover. Evil corporations to topple.

“Thank you,” she said, holding up her arm. On her wrist was a shiny silver band with a raised red stone. It was simple yet elegant. “It’s my good luck charm. A…safety blanket so to speak.”

“You seem like you’ve been expecting me. But you didn’t know my name?” Kale fidgeted. Not flicking his fingers but back to tapping again. Sets of three.

One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three.

“Let’s start out easy, shall we?” Smile still in place, the woman asked, “Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t remember anything about my life,” he said, leaning forward, elbows on knees. “My childhood, family, friends—all of it’s gone.”

She lost her smile. “I thought something might be wrong.” Leaning back, she placed both hands in her lap and crossed her feet at the ankles. It was all very British, as Alex would have said. “But if your memories are gone, how did you find your way here?”

“I don’t know. We just started driving. This is where we ended up.”

We started driving? I drove, and technically it was more a hostage situation than the leisurely road trip he made it sound like. Granted, I was a willing captive, but still, he didn’t necessarily know that. “What do you mean, you thought something might be wrong?”

She relaxed a little and faced me. “First, explain to me about his memories.”