Tremble (Denazen #3)(67)
“I don’t understand,” Kiernan said. I could almost see her expression. Eyebrows forming a deep V, lips curled into a disbelieving sneer. “I saw you at the airport. You helped them get that Supremacy kid.”
We were moving, Kale barely jostling me as the cold wind bit at my skin. “Of course I helped them.” His tone was condescending and angry. I couldn’t help it. It gave me warm fuzzies to hear him talk to her like that. “How else were they going to think I believed what they said?”
“I told Daddy. I told him there was no way you’d turn on me. What we have is far too strong.” I could hear the smile in her voice. Apparently Kale’s tone didn’t faze her.
What they have is too strong? If he didn’t get me inside and away from the sound of her voice, there was a chance I’d give myself away by reaching out to choke her.
Kale’s arms tightened around me as the chilly air warmed and something metal-sounding clicked behind us. We’d entered the building. There was no turning back now. “Nothing on this earth could make me forget about the girl I love, Roz. Nothing.”
26
I was losing track of time. Kale had left me what seemed like hours ago—I didn’t know where, because I hadn’t dared open my eyes—and no one had been by since. In reality, it had probably only been about ten or fifteen minutes, but it felt much longer. Slowly, I cracked one eye, and then the other.
The room was barely bigger than a walk-in closet, with one door and no windows. I’d never been claustrophobic, but spending too much time in there might change that. There was a tiny bulb hanging from a wire in the middle of the ceiling—very Sopranos—and a single white folding chair in the corner with suspicious-looking dark stains on the backrest that trailed all the way down the right leg. They’d long since dried, but I had a pretty good idea what they were and could imagine all too well the ways they might have gotten there.
I climbed to my feet and scanned the ceiling, inch by inch, then did the same with the walls and floor. No sign of a camera.
Next I tried the door, which was, of course, locked. I crossed the small space and slid down the wall directly across from it. How long would it take for Kale to get in, get the vial, and get me out? It might have been pure delusion—or maybe the Supremacy crazies setting in—but I kept my fingers crossed that they left me alone until then.
Some time passed. I thought about Lu—another senseless tragedy of this whole mess—and all the others we hadn’t reached in time. Ashley. Conny. Innocent victims of something they probably never even understood. Denazen’s reach was far, but the things Penny Mills said before she was killed terrified me. How many more lives would be destroyed before we could take them out—if we could take them out? Each day that passed, they seemed to gain more of an upper hand. I was starting to wonder if killing the beast would be impossible.
The idea that this was all hopeless was too depressing and I needed to stay focused. I recited the lyrics of several Powerman 5000 songs, then counted to one thousand—twice. I was halfway through the third time when the doorknob rattled, announcing that I had a visitor. When the door opened, I was only slightly surprised to see Kiernan, and not Dad, step through.
“Well, well, well,” she said, closing the door behind her with a snap. “Look what my hottie dragged in.”
“Oh, please. The only way you could get a guy like Kale is to wipe his brain clean. Kinda sinking low, even for you. Don’tcha think?”
“You told me he was an awesome kisser. Holy crap—you weren’t kidding!” She pulled the folding chair from the corner and sank down with a superior smile that begged to be wiped away. It took every ounce of self-control I had—and then some—but I stayed in my corner on the other side of the room.
“Is there a point to this? I mean, you’re not here to just gloat, right?” I let out a little gasp and covered my mouth. “Or…are you? Dad doesn’t trust you to do anything important, right? That’s why he sent Kale with Aubrey to off Thom Morris. Maybe he was afraid you’d screw it up.”
She shook her head, grin never wavering, but I could see the tightening set of her shoulders. I’d hit a nerve. “You can’t bait me, bitch. I’m in way too good a mood. I’ve got my guy home safe and sound, and I get to be the one to find out where the Underground is currently holed up.” She held her hand out to examine her nails. Bright purple with lavender tips. Very Kiernan. “I know you’re not just going to tell me, so, yanno, I’m really looking forward to this.”
“Oh,” I said in mock fear. “Is that supposed to, I dunno, scare me or something?”
She leaned forward, face serious. “I resent you.”
I rolled my eyes. “For what, exactly?” My jaw clamped shut just in time. I’d been about to call her on her misplaced anger over our respective childhoods, but then she’d know Kale spilled and his cover would be blown. Instead, I focused on the things I knew. The things she’d personally let slip. “This can’t all be out of some misplaced sense of loyalty to Dad!”
“This is because someone like you doesn’t deserve to breathe,” she spat, voice full of venom. “You had everything and you threw it away.”
“Everything? Check your facts, sister. I had crap.”