Tremble (Denazen #3)(72)

“Why don’t we switch places and you can see for yourself?”

He laughed and closed the door, punching a four-digit code into the keypad on the wall. “There’s that bravado. I have to say… I’ve always found it admirable how you can stand tall even in the face of disaster.” He turned to me. “Or maybe you’re just too ignorant to be fearful?”

“Aww, there’s the Dad I know and hate,” I spat. Leaning as far forward as the chains would allow, I winked knowingly. “So let’s have it—just between you and me. Not exactly brimming with pride over your other spawn, are you?” This was the first time we’d been alone since Kiernan had revealed our shared parentage.

Dad sighed and pulled over the desk chair on the far side of the room. “Kiernan has been somewhat of a disappointment.”

“Who’s her mom?”

Dad shrugged, face impassive. “No one important. An unwilling Resident chosen for her ability to conceal objects by camouflaging them. I’d hoped Kiernan’s ability, aided by the Supremacy drug, would surpass her mother’s.”

“She can move around unseen—and unheard. I’d say that’s an improvement.”

“Oh, it is,” he agreed. “Unfortunately she inherited her mother’s stupidity.”

“Wow.” I chuckled. “Must have been a West Side Story kind of love, huh?”

Dad stood and began pacing from side to side. “I trust you appreciate the gravity of your predicament. You were created to be a boon to Denazen, not a hindrance. I’m sure you understand that I can’t let it continue.”

“Is that your way of telling me my time is almost up?”

He smiled, and I was struck by how wrong the expression looked on him. “In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Well, then at least let me ask you one thing.”

“I don’t see what it could hurt at this point.”

“Are there any more?”

He stopped pacing and faced me, interested. “Any more what?”

“Kids. Do I have any more freaky sibling science experiments running around out there?”

Dad sighed. He made his way over to the desk in the corner and began pulling open drawers. I couldn’t see what he was doing because he purposefully blocked my view. When he turned back to me, his smile was even wider than before. “I’m going to answer your question, Deznee. I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told another living soul.”

“This should be good,” I mumbled as he stopped a few inches from me. There was something in his pocket. He’d taken it from the desk.

“I loved your mother.”

Laughter. Hysterical and unabashed. “You’ve gotta be shitting me.”

His expression didn’t change.

“Holy shit, you’re actually serious?”

He didn’t seem insulted by my disbelief. “I know, I know. But it’s true. She was beautiful and wild and something about her called to me. I was in upper management at the time and viewed Sixes as nothing more than a means to an end. But she was different. For her, I made an exception.”

“If locking her up in your institution of crazy was your way of showing love, then I’d hate to see how you treat the people you hate.”

Smile still firmly in place, Dad lashed out his hand and clipped me hard across the cheek. “You should know. I hate you. Still, I kept you even though I knew the truth.”

The air thinned, and despite the stinging itch spanning the entire right side of my cheek, a chill had settled in the room. “Truth? What truth?”

“I lied, of course. Had a test done and changed the results in my favor, but as you grew, it was so obvious. That’s how much I loved her, Deznee. I put up with you.”

“What,” I snapped. His words were making me dizzy. “What was obvious?”

He came close—so close that we breathed the same air. A moment later something sharp pricked the skin on my forearm. When he pulled away, he wiggled a small hypodermic needle in front of my face. “The answer is yes, Deznee. You do have a sibling—and it’s not Kiernan because she’s my daughter. You are not.”





29


“Dez?” a familiar voice called. Something shook me and it took some effort, but I opened my eyes.

Everything was bleary at first, but when it cleared I saw Brandt standing over me. His lips moved enthusiastically, but there was only intermittent sound. Like a bad cell signal.

“…it together. I need you…Kale…Dez?”

I climbed to my feet, rubbing both eyes with the heels of my hands. I wasn’t in the holding room anymore. We were standing in the middle of a lush field chock full of daisies and bordered by a trickling brook. Somehow, I’d gotten outside.

No. I hadn’t. I’d fallen asleep.

“Brandt?”

He took my hands. “Dez, look at me. Are you all right?”

“Vial,” I managed to get out. My tongue felt heavy. Like it was weighted down with rocks. The inside of my mouth tasted weird, too. Like I’d been sucking on pennies. I tried to spit it out but that only made it worse. “We still haven’t found it.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know. I told you, I have a contact.”