Tremble (Denazen #3)(70)

27


It killed me to walk away from him, but this wasn’t the place for Kale Time. I made a move to cross the room. There was a file cabinet in the corner we still hadn’t checked. But Kale stiffened and clamped a hand across my mouth. I waited, breath held, and then heard it, too. Voices in the hall.

Kale grabbed my arm and made a move toward the door, but there was nowhere to go. The office had no closet, and the desk wasn’t big enough for both of us to hide under.

But I had an idea. After shoving Kale toward Dad’s leather sofa, I pushed him down, tore off my T-shirt, and straddled him, bending down just as the door flew open.

“What the hell is going on?” Dad growled.

Doing my best impression of Kiernan’s innocent stare, I lifted my head from Kale’s and frowned. “Sorry, Daddy,” I said, snapping up the shirt and clutching it to my chest. “We were just—”

“I can see what you were doing,” he barked. “How did you get in here?”

Déjà vu. When I’d snuck into his original office in Parkview, he’d asked me the same question—only that one had been easier to answer. There was no way he’d buy that the door was open.

“Gino let us in.” Kale sat up, coolly elbowing me aside. He inclined his head in my direction. “She wanted to go someplace private.”

Dad’s face was a mask of rage. “Of course she did. This is all one big game to her.” He stepped closer, finger jabbing at the air inches from my face. “If you don’t straighten up, I’m putting you right back where I found you. You’ve done nothing but screw up since the moment you got here! Deznee is a pain in the ass, but she’s a thousand times smarter than you are—now get out!”

I didn’t need to fake the stricken look I knew was plastered all over my face. Dad had always been distant and cold to me. Then, when I found out who he really was, he’d shown his true colors. A man with no heart. But until this moment I truly believed he must have had some semblance of human emotion—even if it was buried deep. If this was how he treated her, why the hell did Kiernan stay? Why did she resent me for growing up with him when she couldn’t? The man was a bastard.

We didn’t move fast enough. Dad slammed his hand against the doorframe and said, “Don’t make me tell you again.”

I stuffed my arms through the shirtsleeves and stumbled off the couch, Kale at my heels. We were out the door and into the hall before I took another breath. “Holy crap. That was close.”

“We didn’t find the vial,” he growled.

“We’ll have another shot.” I almost sounded like I believed it, too. The truth was, every minute that ticked away, our window of opportunity got smaller and smaller.

Kale stopped walking. We’d made it to the staircase. “No. We won’t. You’re leaving. She won’t be out forever, and just because she looks like you doesn’t mean she won’t be able to prove what you did. A few select questions from Marshal and this will explode in your face.”

“But we can—”

“Too dangerous. Bringing you here served one purpose. To get me back inside as a trusted Denazen affiliate. That’s done. There’s no reason for you to stay.”

“What about that speech in the car? What a great team we made?” I fumed. He couldn’t force me to leave him behind. I wouldn’t stand for it.

“I changed my mind,” he snapped.

“You changed your— Holy crap! This is so not right!” While I wanted my Kale back in his entirety, the new version seemed to have slightly more faith in my ability to handle things on my own. And now he was reverting?

His eyes widened and he leaned closer. “Can you possibly blame me? When I agreed to this, I had no clue what these people were capable of. Now that I’m starting to remember, I don’t want you here.”

I folded my arms. “And how are you going to explain my disappearance?”

He matched my stance as well as my stubborn expression. “You’re wearing Kiernan’s face. You left me in the hall and walked out on your own. Not complicated.”

Talk about role reversal. “Everything’s complicated,” I mumbled. He was right, though. Kiernan wouldn’t be out forever. A prolonged stay wasn’t something I had any interest in, but there was still one minor problem. “What about Kiernan?”

“What about her?”

I had to tell myself to close my mouth. “Um, she’s still wearing my face? Trust me—I’ve been down this road before. It’s creepy, not to mention she’s the last person I want walking around in my skin.”

Kale frowned. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

Further proof that he wasn’t himself. My Kale was sharp. Always thinking—always aware.

“If I swap her back and leave, you promise to lift the vial and get out, right?”

“Yes.”

I sighed. The idea of leaving him behind—especially with Ms. Gropey Fingers—made my skin crawl, but there weren’t a whole lot of options at this point. “Fine,” I relented. “Let’s get back to the room. According to what Devin said, she should be out for a while longer. That’ll give me enough time to switch her back and slip out before anyone notices.”