Untouched (Denazen #1.5) by Jus Accardo
As always, for Kevin. My own personal miracle.
1
“This is the last one, right?” Reluctantly, I pulled my hand away and wiggled my fingers back into the glove. There. Now it was safe to proceed. The material ensured I didn’t accidentally dust someone, as Dez liked to put it.
She smiled and reclaimed my hand, fingers trailing to my wrist, then slipping beneath the cuff of the glove. Skin on skin. There was nothing like it. Dez was the first person—the only person—I’d ever been able to touch.
“Second to last. One more after this. Why? In a rush to go home?” she said, nudging my shoulder playfully. Her grin widened. It was hard resisting the urge to remove the glove and run the tips of my fingers along the edge of her bottom lip when she smiled at me like that.
Like I was the only other person in the world.
We were standing on the sidewalk in front of a small, blue two-level house. To the left was a driveway with a purple SUV sitting at the edge. Beyond the truck was a thick batch of trees trimmed with bushes that were dotted with small pink flowers. It would be easy dragging Dez into the shade. A few kisses. That’s all. I could tickle the spot behind her left ear, making her laugh—my favorite sound in the world—and watch her eyes light up as she told me about the things she had planned for us. After we spoke with the girl who lived here—Kiernan McGuire—we were going to an amusement park.
“You promised me my first coaster ride,” I said, leaning in to brush a quick kiss across her nose. She rose onto her toes and rubbed her nose against mine. There was a name for it—Dez had told me a few nights ago. Something about Eskimos, but I couldn’t remember, and it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered when I was with Dez.
“The sooner we get in, the sooner we get out. I’m dying for adrenaline-pumping chaos and some serious Kale time.”
I laced my fingers among hers and tugged her toward the house. I loved her idea of Kale time and was eager to get started. “So what do we know about her? About Kiernan McGuire?”
We climbed the steps, and Dez pushed the small golden button next to the doorknob. Musical chimes sounded from the other side of the door.
“Um, pretty much her name.”
I frowned. “That’s all?” We’d spent the summer tracking down Sixes, kids with special abilities, on the list her cousin gave us. All targets of the Denazen Corporation, the Sixes were getting visits warning them of the danger one by one. Other than the obvious perks of getting to spend time with Dez, it felt good to be doing something helpful. Working to save lives instead of ending them. “That’s inconvenient.”
Dez laughed and bumped me with her hip, and I in turn bumped her back. I was learning. “You got spoiled with those last few.”
She was right. I knew none of these people meant us harm, but I still liked to know what we were walking into. The last few names on the list had been complete with information on the target. Age, ability—one even had a list of blood relatives and what state they resided in. But apparently not this one.
“Yeah?” A girl appeared in the doorway. She was tall and looked a bit older than Dez, with long purple hair that hung wildly in her face. She must be the owner of the truck in the driveway. It matched her hair, so it made sense to me. Dez didn’t own a car, but if she did, I was betting it would be white and black. Cars were supposed to match their owners. I was pretty sure that’s how it worked. Or maybe it was furniture.
Possibly pets...
I was still getting a handle on things. Nothing in the outside world was simple.
Dez smiled at the girl. “My name’s Dez, and this is Kale. We’re looking for Kiernan McGuire?”
“Who are Dez and Kale?” the girl asked, folding her arms.
I pointed to Dez and said, “She just told you. Dez.” Pointing to myself, I said, “Kale.”
The girl blinked several times, and for a few moments, she said nothing. When she finally did speak, her demeanor changed. “I’ve already seen the light. Praise the Lord, hallelujah, no meat on Fridays. All that happy horseshit.”
I glanced at Dez, confused. “No meat on Fridays? Is there some rule no one’s told me about?”
She started to close the door, but Dez was too fast. She rolled her eyes, wedged a shoe in front of the door, and shook her head. “We’re not missionaries or whatever—we’re here about your ability.”
The girl’s eyes narrowed. She was instantly suspicious. “Ability? You mean my super-exotic ability to tie a cherry stem into a neat little bow using me tongue?”
“We’re Sixes. Like you. We have abilities.” Maybe if I were completely honest, she would see she could trust us. “Until recently, I was a prisoner of the Denazen Corporation. Have you heard of them?”
Just saying the name made my muscles twitch. Until a few months ago when I’d met Dez, I’d lived at the Denazen facility. A prisoner. Used and manipulated by power-hungry men for their own personal agenda.
She turned her attention to Dez. “Is it time for his meds?”
Dez folded her arms and stared the girl down. Her resolve face. “You know damn well what we’re talking about, so cut the crap. We’ll be in and out and make this as painless as possible. I promise.”