Tremble (Denazen #3)(74)
I crossed the room, fully intending to mimic my way right the hell out, but something caught my eye on the way to the door. It was a painting in the corner, leaning against the wall and partially concealed by the desk. I knew I needed to go, but something about it wouldn’t let me leave. Not until I saw the whole thing.
Hurrying across the floor, I swiped the painting from behind the desk and laid it across the top. The tarnished silver plaque on the bottom said W.V.K. The man depicted, somewhere in his forties if I had to guess, sat tall in a high-backed chair and wore a black brimmed hat and a dapper-looking suit. I couldn’t date it—I’d failed history miserably—but it was definitely old. Early 1900s, if not older. The man looked so familiar and yet I couldn’t place him. He had a long black beard and mop of thick hair with the slightest curl at the ends, and his expression was fierce. Like a hunter scanning the wild for prey. It reminded me a little of Kale’s.
I reached for my phone and, of course, found it missing. Duh. They’d taken it. A picture was out, so I committed as much of the picture to memory as I could and started for the door.
I got two steps before someone walked in.
30
I frantically dove to the desk for something to use—or mimic—into a weapon. I grabbed for the only thing I could find—a stapler. Spreading my legs, ready to wield my office supply of death, I faced the door.
“Dez?”
The stapler fell from my hands and clanked to the desk with a rattle, then rolled onto the floor. “Aubrey?”
Something shoved him aside, and a blur of black and blue stormed the room and flew straight at me. Kale swept me into his arms and squeezed so tightly I had a hard time breathing. “Are you all right?”
“Fine,” I gasped. “Can’t—breathe—but fine.”
Kale looked confused for a moment before letting go and stepping away. “Oh. Sorry.” He glanced from me to the wall, then back again. “If you’re free, what are you still doing in here? We need to leave.”
He was right. If this kept up, I’d need a babysitter. God only knew what would happen the first time something shiny passed in front of me.
“We have to hurry,” Aubrey said, tapping the doorframe to get my attention. “I caused a distraction, but we don’t have a ton of time. We need to get to the lab.”
Kale nodded, and we followed Aubrey from the room.
Aubrey led us around the first corner and down the hall. Tinted bubbles lined the ceiling, making me nervous. They were smaller versions of the ones you saw in department stores. “Aren’t these cameras? Can’t they see exactly what we’re doing?”
Aubrey smiled. A sly, mischievous grin that made him look years younger. “Not everyone here agrees with what Cross and the Council are doing. We’ve got the cameras covered. Don’t worry.”
The lab was three floors below the holding room, and when we got there, I was surprised to find it empty. We skidded through the double doors and Aubrey took off toward a tall glass cabinet on one side of the room, while Kale made a beeline for a small desk by the door marked Exit on the opposite side.
“What are we looking for? Is the vial in here?”
Aubrey threw open the doors and started pulling things out. Several glass bottles crashed to the floor, and I cringed as they shattered, causing an echoing clatter. After a moment, he exclaimed, “Got it!”
“Got what?” I flew forward to get a better look. “What are we here for?”
“These.” He turned and held out a tray of glass vials filled with smoky gray liquid. Domination. It had to be. “We came for these.”
“Found it,” Kale called on the other side of the room. He raced toward us, something small and golden in his left hand. “Where is she?”
“Right here!” someone else called, bursting through the door. “Right here. Everyone’s tied up with that electrical issue and the fire.”
It was the girl from the panel room. “Devin?”
She flashed me a smile and winked. “I’m a friend of your cousin’s.”
“You’re Brandt’s contact?” I didn’t know why, but the fact that she was a she surprised me.
Devin wrapped her arms around me, gave a quick squeeze, and took the tray from Aubrey. Then, she took the gold thing from Kale—a door key—and disappeared through the exit without another word.
“Domination,” Kale said, taking my hand. “We needed to get a batch. Just in case we don’t find the blood. Devin is taking it out to one of Ginger’s people.”
A small blossom of panic bloomed in my chest. “You didn’t find the vial yet?”
“He found the safe,” Aubrey interjected, closing the cabinet doors. “But the blood wasn’t there.”
“Maybe the blood is gone. Used.” Kale frowned and nodded at the door where Devin had taken out the case. “That was a brand-new batch. They could have used the last of the blood to make it.”
“There wasn’t much left and Cross had the lab working nonstop to pump out as much of the drug as they could,” Aubrey said. “If the blood is gone, that batch might be the only chance at a cure we have.”
I couldn’t speak. If the blood really was gone, our only hope was Domination. With a 50 percent survival rate, I wasn’t loving the chances.