Tremble (Denazen #3)(84)

But no worries. I had plenty to occupy my time until then. There was a lot of work to do. I had no intention of sitting around waiting for Vince to return with answers. I planned on getting them myself. If Marshal Cross was simply a worker bee, then we needed to know who was above him in the chain of command. We needed to know where his orders came from.

First I’d verify that what Vince told me about Denazen—and himself—was true, then I’d work on getting names. We had a handful of new Sixes under our roof now, and I had a plan that would use the ability of every last one.

I was about to head inside when the black leather bracelet on my wrist caught my attention. It was the one I’d mimicked purple the night after Kale went back to Denazen. I didn’t remember consciously changing it back, but I let it go for now. I had more important things to worry about.

There was a conversation I needed to have with Mom.

I needed to know who my father was.





Keep reading for a bonus scene from TREMBLE, as told in Kale’s point of view…





Aubrey’s Promise



Whatever was in the needle Cross gave me earlier was wearing off. The edges of the room were becoming steadily sharper, and the sick feeling in my stomach was nearly gone. How long had I been back? Four days? Five? Maybe it was longer than that. At Denazen, there was no real sense of time.

They tried to break me. No food. No water. Pain. Threats. But all these things meant nothing to me. I’d been here before. In this same exact place. The only thing that mattered now, the only thing I wanted, was for her to be safe. I could endure anything as long as she was okay.

I was about to drift off again when a small noise came from the door. A moment later, someone tall with long, dark hair, dressed all in black, slipped into the room. I eyed him for a minute, debating whether he was actually there or not.

“I’m sorry,” Aubrey said, approaching slowly. “This is the first chance I’ve had to see you.”

I considered not responding. Cross was getting desperate to break me. There was no trick beneath him. But I needed to know. “Dez?”

He stopped a few feet from me, pulling up a metal chair. “She’s fine. I healed her.”

I nodded, silent. There was nothing more to say. At least for me. Aubrey, on the other hand, wasn’t finished.

“I don’t know how much time I have,” he said, taking a deep breath. “So I need to make this quick.”

Still, I didn’t speak.

“When we met in September, my view of the world was…different. I believed in what I thought they were doing at Denazen. I believed Cross. My brother did, too.” He shifted in the chair. “Able and I, we were raised by an honorable man. Brought up to always keep our word and show no respect to those who don’t deserve it. Cross intended to go back on his promise to cure Dez. After you left with him, he told me not to cure her unless she came with us willingly.”

That caught my attention. My head snapped up, the chains giving a painful jingle at the movement. “You said—”

“I cured her anyway. My point is, my eyes were opened that day. That night, I told Able what happened.” Aubrey stood and started pacing. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to tell me, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable. “Able’s always been a little bit of a follower. He would have gone along with Cross if it weren’t for me. But I talked him into leaving. We were going to pack up and get the hell out of town before sunrise.”

“You’re still here.”

Aubrey nodded. “I went to get Able that night, but he’d changed his mind—with a little help from one of Cross’s Sixes. Mindy.”

“I don’t understand…”

“They hijacked his brain. He’s still my brother…sort of…but he’s different. Cross must have gotten wind that we were planning to bail. Able has an offensive ability. Cross doesn’t let go of those easily. You should know.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I made a promise to Dez and I want to keep it. I can’t stop what’s coming, Kale, and for that, I want you to know I’m sorry. In a few hours, you won’t even remember this conversation—”

Unease swept over me. “You’re saying Cross is going to do this to me? This brain hijacking?”

Aubrey sighed. “They’ve created a successful trial of the Supremacy drug. Domination, they’re calling it. Cross plans on giving it to you, but he needs to know he’ll be able to control you first. He plans to wipe away all memories of Dez and the Underground.”

“No!” I was weak, and even though I knew it would do no good, I pulled hard against the chains restraining me. Raw and bruising pain shot down my arms but I ignored it. “They’ll never be able to do that. Nothing can take Dez away from me.”

The sympathy on his face made me angry. He thought I was wrong. “They will. There’s nothing you can do.” He started toward the door, then paused a few feet away. “Like I said, you won’t even remember this conversation by the time they’re done, but I wanted you to know I’ll be here for you. With you. If there’s any way for you to find your way back to her, I swear to you that I will help.”

“Why?” I stopped fighting the restraints, knees giving out. Conserve. I needed to conserve what little energy I had left. I would need it. “Why would you help me?”