by Jus Accardo
My fingers tangled with Kale’s, and I led him to the edge of the dance floor. Leaning close, I whispered, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you know what dancing is, right?”
He didn’t answer. A sly grin spread across his lips and he grabbed both my hands, tugging me close as the slow, rhythmic beats of a new song began. Pulling me in and spinning me out, Kale moved across the floor with skill and confidence. At about six feet tall, he was the perfect height for me. I didn’t have to stand on my tiptoes, but still needed to look up a bit. The music pounded inside my brain, filling up every inch of space, and my eyes…well they focused on nothing other than Kale and the way he moved us around the small space.
His eyes sparkled and hair fluttered into his face, and at that moment, he looked like a normal boy. Fancy twirls and elegant dips, we moved across the floor. For a split second I panicked, sure we were about to collide with someone, but on second glance, I saw the crowd had moved back, forming a wide circle for us. They stood watching, some cheering, some clapping. Kale, taking advantage of the extra room, spun me wildly away from him, feet moving in some complex maneuver, before pulling me back in an extravagant display ending with a deep dip that left me dizzy and disoriented—but tingly.
Very tingly.
The crowd erupted in a chorus of hoots and shouts, and I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face. I grabbed his hand and led him off to the side as the crowd reclaimed the dance floor. “That was amazing! Where did you learn to dance like that?”
His eyes stayed on mine, intense and unwavering. He wasn’t frowning, but his expression was one of utmost seriousness. “Was that good?”
I squeezed his hand. “Good? That was…” Then, like someone dimmed the lights, everything drifted away. The music, the crowd, everything disappeared. The only thing that didn’t fade, the only thing that remained behind, was Kale. The sharp curve of his cheek, the angular set of his jaw—complete with nervous twitch—all inches from me now. His lips, pressed in a thin line as he awaited my judgment, looked soft and inviting. How easy would it be to lean forward—just a few inches separated us.
I’d made the decision to go for it when a large hand clamped across my shoulder.
“Crap!” I jumped forward, almost knocking Kale backward into a large man with a mohawk.
“She’s ready to see you now,” Alex said, arms folded. He looked annoyed. Good. I’d mainly danced with Kale to piss him off, but now… Things felt different.
We followed Alex through the crowd and up the stairs leading to the second level. Past another bar and to the right, there was a single door. Alex knocked three times, then twisted the knob. It opened with an ominous creak.
“So Alex tells me you’re looking for our help,” a voice said from across the room. In the corner, seated on a cushy red recliner—the only thing in the room—sat a little old lady. Wrinkled and stooped and totally out of place, she appeared to be your typical grandma, complete with flowery housecoat and bluish hair. But the look in her eyes was far from typical. Something told me Granny could go a few rounds with Dad and not break a sweat.
The door closed behind me. “No, technically, we’re looking for the Reaper.”
The old woman’s eyes narrowed. “Quite the tongue on you, child.”
I smiled and took a bow. “I get that a lot.”
“Dez—”
The woman held out her hand to stop him. “It’s fine, Alex. This one amuses me.”
At the other end of the room was a door with two beefy guys standing stone-faced in front of it. The old woman snapped her fingers twice and the guy on the right disappeared through the door. A few moments later, he reappeared with a plastic cup brimming with red liquid. She took the glass and gave him an offhanded wave as she lifted it to her lips. I had to hold back a giggle at the site of this bruiser scurrying to cater to this old woman. Obviously, she held some serious sway with these people.
“So what are you, like the Granny Don of the Six mafia?”
She cackled, mouth opening to reveal several missing teeth. “Something like that.”
A few moments of silence ticked by. I decided to go for it.
“Since I don’t know what my time limit here is, lemme get right to the point. My dad’s the asshole in charge of Denazen. We’ve been told this Reaper dude is some kind of Yoda to you Sixes. My mom is being held at Denazen. Since this Reaper is the only one ever to get out of there alive, I need his help to get in, rescue her, and get out.” There. Short, sweet, and to the point.
The old woman cackled. “Not asking for much, are you?”
“Hey, gotta dream big,” I said.
She turned to Kale. “If you’ve managed to free yourself from Denazen’s chains, why are you still here? Surely you know Cross won’t give up on you?”
“Cross is relentless,” Kale confirmed. Beside me, he squared his shoulders and took my hand. “But I am staying with Dez.”
The guy who’d tumbled down the embankment, landing at my feet—the Six who’d tried to kill me— as more than that now. I didn’t know when it happened, or how, but there it was. “I’m going to get my mom back and I’m not going to let him take Kale back there.”
She was silent for a few moments, seemingly lost in thought. “I will help you,” she responded finally. My joy was short-lived though.
“But of course, I need you to do something for me.” What a shock.
There was a catch.
There’s always a damn catch. “What do you want? Cause if you ask me to get you a horse’s head, the deal’s off.”
“Denazen has been a thorn in the side of Sixes everywhere for a very long time. As I’m sure you can deduce, we’ve been trying to find a way to take them out.”
I hadn’t deduced that, but sure, whatever. “Okay…”
“What we lack, however, is certain information.”
“What kind of information?”
“There is a main database with the names of all the Sixes Denazen currently has in captivity. I need that information.”
Speechless. There were no words I could think of to reply to a request like that. How the hell did this woman expect me to get into Denazen, much less get them to allow me to copy secret files? “Are you high?”
“You asked for our help. I have named my price.” Clutching her cane, she rose. “There is no expiration on my offer. I feel this is a fair exchange. Get me the information we need, and I will help you find the Reaper so you may free your mother.”
She paused at the door. “I will also offer you a bonus. If you get me the information I seek, I will get Kale the help he needs to control his gift.”
10
“Wait!” I surged forward, but Alex grabbed my shoulders. “Let go of me, jackass!”
Alex waited for the door to close before releasing me. I crashed into the door and jerked the knob. Nothing. Locked.
“You don’t want to push her, Dez. She’s not the tolerant type.”
I whirled on him, fists curled tight. “What the hell was that about? You bring me here so she can offer to trade information about this Reaper guy for something I have no hope of getting?”
Alex actually had the nerve to look hurt. “I didn’t know what she was going to ask, I swear. Ginger is a hard-ass, but she’s usually fair. A little strange—but fair. If she asked you to get it, she thinks you can. I don’t believe she’d ask if she thought it was beyond you.”
I sank down into the armchair. “How the hell am I going to do this?” I turned to Kale. “Any ideas?”
He wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at the door Ginger had disappeared through.
“Kale?”
“Do you think it’s possible? I might be able to control it?”
We’d latched onto different parts of what Ginger said. Kale heard salvation. I turned to
Alex. “Is it?”
“If Ginger says it is, then yes.”
“Fantastic. An even bigger carrot.”
“Let’s go sit,” Alex said. “Try to figure this out.”
We wove our way back down the stairs and to the first floor. I couldn’t help feeling a sting of jealousy when I glanced across the room. All these people living it up. Partying till dawn. A few days ago, that had been me. Blissful and ignorant and content.
We settled at the same table, which had remarkably remained empty despite the crowd. Alex nursed a beer, while Kale and I had soda, though mine sat untouched. Kale’s was gone. Well, his first was gone. And the second. And the third. He was on soda number four now. He loved the bubbles.
My head thumped heavily onto the table. “This is impossible.”
“Alex, baby!” an annoyingly high-pitched voice cooed.
I lifted my head and saw a tall, willowy redhead standing in front of our table.
“Hey Erica,” Alex said with feigned enthusiasm.
She gave an eager wave and threw herself into the seat next to him. “So where have you been hiding yourself? I haven’t seen you in forever!” She swiped the beer from his hand and took a long pull before setting it down on the table—not in front of Alex, but Kale.
“Yeah, well—”
She threw an arm over Alex’s shoulder and gave Kale a smoldering look before turning to glare at me. “What’s up with the man-hogging? Pick one.” She inclined her head toward Kale. “You’ve got both ends of the spectrum here, sistah. What’ll it be, day or night?”
I watched Alex cringe as she reached up to run a finger through his spiky, white-blond hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kale pick up Alex’s beer. He took a sip and set it down. A moment later he picked it back up and downed the entire thing.
“I’m not—” I started.
“Not going to share?” She gave a mock pout. “You don’t need both of them, do you? It wouldn’t be fair to the rest of us girls if you held both these droolables hostage!”
Hostage…
Maybe that was the answer!
First, I needed to get rid of Little Miss Gropey. I snaked one arm around Kale’s waist and the other, though it pained me to do it, I draped across Alex’s shoulder. “Actually, I am being selfish, but I need ’em both.”
A little disappointed, she gave me a knowing grin. “I’ll bet!” She stood and leaned over the table, winking. She was about to leave, but hesitated, squinting at me. “You’re Dez, right? Aren’t you the girl who did Troy Beldom and Mickey Doon at the Deerfield party last week?”
Oops. I’d started the rumor the day after the party by telling bigmouth Markie Fray. Markie’s mom was Dad’s secretary at the law firm, and I knew the news would get back to him. It’d only taken forty-eight hours for him to bust through the door and lecture me about being the town train. Score one for me. I’d gotten a reaction.
With one last, longing look at Alex, Erica stumbled off in search of more promising prey. Alex pried my hand from his shoulder and glared. Disgusted, he said, “Seriously? Beldom and Doon?”
I bit down on my tongue and slipped both hands under my butt to keep from punching him. “Is there anyone here you trust? Not like casually trust, either. I’m talking trust with your life.”
He thought about it for a minute. “I’d bet my ass on Dax’s loyalty.”
“Is this Dax guy here now?”
Alex pointed to the door, where a tall, well-muscled man in his mid-twenties was entering. Cleanly shaven head and dressed in black from head to toe, he looked like the kind of guy you’d cross the street to avoid. “That’s him.”
I smiled, my devious little mind already working out the scheme. “Oh my God, he’s perfect!”
“For what?” Kale asked, horrified.
“To kidnap me.”
§
The phone rang five times before Dad bothered picking up. Obviously, he wasn’t waiting by the phone with bated breath for his MIA teen daughter to call. I tried to ignore it, but the hurt stuck in my throat. Like trying to swallow stale bread. “Hello?”
“Dad!” I cried, but Dax took the phone from me. He stepped across the room as Alex threw a chair at the wall. I cried out, and Alex yelled for me to shut the hell up. I had a hard time not laughing.
Next to me, Kale picked up his own chair and copied Alex. He heaved it against the wall and turned to me, smiling. “That was fun!” he half whispered.
After Erica left, Kale had ordered another beer. I was pretty sure we were witnessing his first buzz. I fought a grin and tried to focus on my impending abduction.
“Keep quiet and listen to what I have to say, Cross,” Dax hissed into the phone as he paced the other side of the room. We’d moved away from the party to one of the office rooms on the second level. Everything was coated in thick layers of dust. “Obviously, we have your kid.”
Dax was silent for a moment—probably listening to Dad’s colorful reply.
“This will not work,” Kale whispered. “He doesn’t care about anyone. He will agree and double-cross us.”
We’d never gotten along, but up until I found out what he’d done to my mom, I would have disagreed with Kale. He was my dad after all. He wanted me safe. But now? Now I worried Kale might be right, but I didn’t know what else to do. I had to get on Dad’s good side. This was the only thing I could think of.
“He won’t be able to,” Alex said, leaning against the wall. “Dax would see it.”
It hadn’t occurred to me to ask about Dax’s gift. “He sees the future?”
Alex shook his head. “When he hears someone’s voice, he can see their true intentions play out in pictures inside his head.”
I blushed. It’s a good thing he hadn’t been there when I’d been dancing with Kale.
“What I offer is a trade,” I heard Dax saying. “I will exchange your daughter for two of the prisoners you have in your custody. Monica and Mona Fleet.”
I raised an eyebrow in question at Alex. He leaned in and whispered, “They’re Dax’s twin nieces. They were taken three years ago from their schoolyard. They were only six years old at the time.”
“Jesus…”
“Monica was a very brave little girl,” Kale said, turning to watch Dax. I could tell the older man heard him because his shoulders stiffened and his pacing stopped. “She resisted Denazen’s training. Mona begged her to do what they asked, but she wouldn’t.”
On the other side of the room, Dax was as still as a corpse—probably listening to my dad argue two wasn’t a fair trade for one—but he was staring straight at Kale.
Kale turned away. “They separated them after that. I saw Mona several times, but never saw Monica again.”
We waited while Dax made arrangements and finished the call. Obviously, they’d come to some agreement. When he hung up, Dax crept across the room with slow deliberation, brown eyes fixed on mine. I told myself his expression, a mix of pain and anger, wasn’t meant for me, but I couldn’t help feeling like it was.
“He’ll trade Mona for you,” he said evenly. Something in the sound of his voice made me shiver.
“Monica?” Alex asked.
“She had…an accident.” Dax’s fists tightened at his sides. “Cross said he was sorry for my loss.”
Alex clasped his shoulder. “I’m sorry, man.”
Dax waved him off, still glaring at me. “I have nothing against you, kid, but I’ll be honest…” He took several steps closer, stopping only when his face was inches from mine. Breath smelling faintly of beer and stale cigarettes puffed across my face. “If I didn’t know that bastard couldn’t care less about you, if I couldn’t see the truth of it in his voice—and yours—I’d kill you myself and mail you back to him in pieces.”
Ouch.
&nb
sp; “Back away,” Kale said in a low growl from beside me. He made a move to tug off his right glove.
Dax didn’t budge.
“Now.” The glove was off, clenched between the fingers of his left hand. “If you threaten her again, I will kill you.”
Dax stepped back and bowed his head. When he looked up again, the anger was gone. “I apologize, Kale.” What about my apology? I was the one he’d threatened to chop up and Fed-Ex home. His gaze bounced to Alex, then back to Kale, before turning to me with a small grin. “I don’t envy you.”
11
Three hours later, Dax and I sat on a bench inside Memorial Park. Dad was due with Mona any minute. Kale had wanted to come with us, but I made him wait with Alex, who’d flat-out refused to show himself. They were waiting farther down the path by the lake. We couldn’t see them, but if things went wrong, they were within shouting distance.
I tugged at the hem of my red T-shirt, wishing Brandt had picked something ratty instead of one of my faves. It was pretty much ruined. Typical boy. No clue what on-the-run clothing was.
“Can I ask you a question?” Dax and I had called a truce. Sort of. I couldn’t hold a grudge. Hell—who could blame the guy? Part of his family had been stolen and I was the closest thing to payback he could get. While I wasn’t a fan of the slicing and dicing imagery, I understood. But we had a common enemy here and that’s what we needed to focus on.
“Go for it,” Dax said, leaning back. In the dark, the only part of him I could really see was his shaved head, which kind of glinted against the moonlight. He fidgeted with his keys, twirling them around his pointer finger.
“You said you knew Dad wasn’t worried about me being safe.”
An apologetic look crossed his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but I stopped him.
“No, it’s okay,” I lied. “I was never his favorite person. I just always thought it was because of my mother, which obviously it’s not. But if he doesn’t care, why does he want me back? He’s making the trade, but I doubt it’s to keep up appearances. It doesn’t seem like it’s something he’d need to do…”
