“Bea, get out of the way!”
“No!”
My hackles rise. My eyes go straight to his hands. I can’t see any augmenters, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them.
The man smiles. “I knew you’d come straight away. I know you, Keelie. And I was sure I wouldn’t have to wait until tomorrow.”
“Bea, get out of the way now!”
I step to the left, but Bea moves with me, waving her arms about.
“Bea, please, I don’t understand.”
She continues moving her lips, but without words, and flaps her hands still.
The man smiles. He bloody smiles. Even in the face of death, they smile.
“Keelie, put the gun down. I know you’ve realized it,” he says.
“Realized what?” The hairs on the back of my neck stand up even more.
“Realized who I am.” He looks so damn amused that I feel irritation rising.
I stare at him. “I don’t know who you are.”
Bea’s bottom lip wobbles, and then she starts shaking, but she moves to the left. I reposition the gun in my hands just as Bea whispers, “It’s him.”
“Who?”
The man laughs, looking at me. “Are you really going to make me strip off?”
My eyebrows shoot up. “What?”
He tips his head to the side, then he undoes the top button of his shirt. “I’ll show you.”
I stare in bewilderment as he undoes all the buttons, as he peels the shirt away from his torso and drops it on the ground. Defined muscles, elaborate tattoos, and—
“See, Keelie, see?” Bea whispers. “It’s our friend.”
My eyes widen as I see the scar.
The man grins. “I got these tattoos for you. I remember you saying you liked them. Don’t you remember that conversation? We were sitting under the trees, with the blue sky and—”
I take a sudden step back.
I remember that. I remember it really well.
But… I stare at him. I try to see him, try to remember and see him….
No.
He died. He didn’t get away. I saw the blood. He’s not one of them. Not an Enhanced. He can’t be.
I shake my head. He’s lying. Got to be.
“You’re not… You can’t be….”
Anyone can get that scar. And the Enhanced will do anything—go to any length in their modifications—if it means winning our trust.
“Oh, I am,” the man says. “It’s me. Red.”
I feel sick as I look at him. Suddenly, I can see it. It’s him, older, bigger, stronger, but—
No.
It’s not him.
They’ll do anything to get to us. Mind games and—
If it was him, I’d have recognized him right away in that office. I would’ve. I know I would’ve. I kissed him.
“I told you,” Bea says.
“Now do you see?” The man sounds impatient now. “Have you worked it out yet? Why I let you go? You really didn’t recognize me?” He turns toward Bea. “You did, didn’t you?”
“Of course. You’re our friend.”
My lips feel funny, like they’re swelling up. Rubbery and strange, that’s how they feel as I look at him. As I look at Red.
No! It’s not him.
The air around him shimmers with the heat. I look at his body. His naked torso. The tattoos accentuate the muscles of his abdomen and make his chest and arms look…hot. I feel heat rush to my face and force myself to look at his face.
I stare at his nose. His wobbly nose that makes him look curious—even now. But Red didn’t break his nose. Not when we were younger, when we were best friends, when we’d compete over who got to take Caia-Lu the Watcher Doll when she summoned it for one of the rituals, when we’d goad each other to climb higher and higher up the mountain and over the most dangerous terrain, when we’d argue over pointless things.
But, that night, he fell forward—hit his face. And I saw him, lying on his front, his head at an angle, his eyes on me, with a ring of blood around him that reminded me of the ring of paint around Caia-Lu’s Watcher Doll.
And I should’ve gone to him. Should’ve gone to all of them.
But I didn’t.
“I thought you were dead,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.” I swallow with difficulty, look for signs of anger in him. Betrayal. Because I know Red, and he wouldn’t forget it. He harbors grudges.
But he smiles, no hint of anger on his face. “There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“But I left you… I lied…” I straighten up, feel sick. That lie. That lie has haunted me, and I’ve repressed it over the years, forced myself not to think about it whenever I start to.
“I said it’s all right, K.”
My eyes narrow. All right? But the Untamed always rescue the Untamed. And I left him, left all of them.
He should be angry.
But he’s not.
Of course he’s not.
I inhale sharply and reposition the gun, looking at his mirror eyes. “You think I’m going to fall for this? You think I’m stupid?”
“I know you’re not stupid. Far from it.” He steps closer. And his voice is so dark, so beautiful. Not like the voice I remember him having.
But he’s not the little boy I remember.
I look around quickly.
Bea’s sitting back on the stone again, but she’s watching us. Her fingers are playing with our mother’s butterfly necklace, but her eyes are firmly on me, watching everything. I try to give her a reassuring look.
Red—no, the Enhanced man—smiles. “I’m not what you think I am. I’m undercover.”
He pauses, then steps closer still, so close I can smell his aftershave. Citrus. But with a hint of something herbal. It wraps around me, and when I look back at him—at his mirror eyes—he nods slowly.
“Keelie, I’m still Untamed.”
“What, Keelie? No hug for your best friend?” The man looks at me carefully, and I stare back.
I try to speak but my lips feel funny. His eyes are all I can look at now, as if they’re magnetized. “No. You’re…you’re Enhanced.”
“I’m not.” He sounds annoyed, more like Red, and I hate him for it. I blink and see his body lying in the blood. “The eyes are an illusion. The mirrors are simple lenses. I told you, I’m undercover.”
“Undercover?” I echo his word faintly, but it doesn’t sound like my voice. “You’re not undercover. You tried to convert me! You were that close to shoving augmenters down my throat—”
“And you shoved your tongue down mine and saved the day.” He grins before his face turns serious. Behind me, I hear Bea disguise a laugh as a cough. “There’s surveillance in that room, Keelie. The Enhanced know the Untamed want our cars. And I have to keep up my pretense. Don’t know who’s watching me.”
I shake my head so hard my neck clicks. A glance at Bea tells me she’s still trying not to laugh. I wish she’d look away. I don’t want to be thinking about that kiss while my sister is watching and very much here.
“You were going to convert me,” I say, eyes back on the man. On Red?
But it…it can’t be him….
Only now that I’ve seen the scar, it fits. And I look at him, his chest and arms with those tattoos, and feel a strange, warm feeling in the core of my body, a feeling I try to push down.
“Those were duds. I wouldn’t have converted you,” he says. “Well, I wasn’t completely sure it was you at first. But then you kissed me, and it was everything I’d imagined since we sat under the trees. And, in that office, my soul recognized yours, and that’s when I knew for sure.”
“Your soul? How clichéd is that?” I take a small step backward. And I don’t know why I do. I run a hand through my hair, trying to process all of this. My eyes fall on his shirt on the ground, then I look back up at his chest. “Put your shirt back on.”
“Too distracting for you?”
I press my lips firmly together, but the warmth
in me grows. He looks great. And here I am with greasy hair and the old clothes I sleep in.
But, if Red’s telling the truth and he’s not one of them, then this is huge. This is the kind of information we need. My head spins, and I wonder how many of them are out there, the undercover Untamed. The idea nearly makes me explode, and I get that dizzy, excited feeling I get with an adrenaline rush.
“You know, I’m glad you kissed me and then fought to get away,” he says, shaking his shirt out.
“You are?” I stare at him, smiling. There are no pockets in his shirt, but what about his jeans? A place to hide augmenters, while he waits for me to trust him?
But you know it’s Red, really, don’t you? Why don’t you want to admit it?
“Made my job easier,” he says as he buttons up the shirt. “The duds I had were colored water. Any Enhanced watching the cameras would’ve seen they’d done nothing to your eyes, that I had fake augmenters. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. You made it easy. Authentic.”
I stare at him, trying to ignore the way my heart is pounding. “You hadn’t thought of what you were going to do if I hadn’t kicked your butt?”
“No.” His lips stretch into a thin smile. “There aren’t many Untamed around here. You were the first one who broke into the office—at least on my watch.” He peers at me, gives me a lopsided grin. “You’re hotter than I ever imagined,” he says, lowering his voice so Bea can’t hear. “Gods, K. I can’t believe it’s you. I mean, what are the chances? We’re miles away. Miles and miles.” He shakes his head, and then a strange expression takes over his face. “And you’re so… I didn’t do your body justice in my dreams.”
“Your dreams?” I feel myself blush and immediately feel conflicted. I still don’t know for sure that this man is Red, that he is definitely Untamed. Especially when his eyes say otherwise….
But he did let me go.
And he’s not trying to convert me now.
So what do Bea and I do? Take him to Nbutai? But, no, a voice in my head reminds me that that’s too risky. We can’t guarantee that he is who he says he is. I step back, up against the rock, feel its rough surface dig into my legs. From here, I can see for miles. No one else is around. It’s just the three of us.
I look over to Bea. She’s tugging at the stained sleeves of her long shirt. She often wears that shirt. Won’t wash it much, says it doesn’t smell right when she does.
“You all right?” Red asks.
I look at him carefully. “What color was the candle that Ji-Lu got me for my seventh birthday?”
“Purple. And she’s called Caia-Lu.” Red grins. “Gods, Keelie. Didn’t think your memory was that bad.”
Excitement builds in me. My lips tingle. “And you’re definitely still Untamed?”
“Untamed and wild.” I think he winks, but it’s hard to tell because sunlight keeps flashing from his eyes as he moves his head.
“Stay here.”
I head over to Bea, and I try not to smile—not to influence her—as I ask her what she thinks, whether this really can be Red. She gives me a look that says I’m mad. And I really don’t like that look, which she knows.
“Of course it’s him. I told you. You should’ve listened to me.”
“But he could be Enhanced. It could be a trap.” I fold my arms and glance back at Red. He looks amused.
“The Enhanced convert immediately,” Bea says. “He had the opportunity—before you kissed him.” A mischievous grin passes over her face. “And he didn’t. Ah, I always knew you two were going to get together. Right from when we were little, you two were always close.”
“We’re not together though.”
“You want to be.” She grins and gives me a very pointed look. “I’ll go and see if I can get any more herbs then. Might’ve missed a few.” She winks. Actually winks. I can’t remember ever seeing her wink before.
“Okay. Just stay close by. We’ll need to get back to Nbutai soon.” I shift my weight from foot to foot, but I smile. “I’ll go and talk to him some more, see if I can suss him out properly.”
Bea smiles as she gets up. “If that’s the excuse you tell yourself, fine. But you just want to talk to him.”
Her words follow me as I head back to Red. He smiles pleasantly at me.
“Tell me about this undercover stuff,” I say, my gaze on Bea as she walks away. Twice, she turns back and grins at me.
“I can’t.”
I raise my eyebrows and focus on Red. “Uh, I’m Untamed too. I’m hardly going to compromise you.”
“And suppose you get caught and they draw information out of you? You’d send all our work down the drain and give out any names I tell you.”
“So you’re not telling me anything?” I’m still holding the gun, and I notice he eyes it a little warily now. But I do believe him…don’t I? He really is Red…isn’t he? And Bea thinks he is. She’s good at judging people.
But it’s dangerous—I know that. The only people you can really trust are those you live with.
Yet, I want to believe him. And life’s been relatively boring in the last few years. Well, pretty much since we got to Nbutai. Rahn stopped me from going out and killing the Enhanced, from getting my adrenaline fix that way, said I could get it through fighting and running and exercise. But could I get it from Red? From immersing myself in this—in undercover Untamed stuff, in secret missions, secret meetings….
And I am attracted to Red.
And my death is to be at a specific point—so it doesn’t matter what I get involved with in the meantime or how dangerous it is.
“I can’t tell you anything,” Red says. “I’ve told you too much already. I have to be careful—that’s why I couldn’t go with Bea to give you my note in-person. There’s always a chance I could get caught, and the less I know about where your settlement is the better.” He leans forward, and it’s as if the intensity of his mirror gaze increases. “You can’t tell anyone about me. It’s top secret. I mean it. You can’t tell anyone.”
“Why?” I shake my head. My mind is running through all the possibilities—the advantages this gives us. “You’re exactly what we need. Someone on the inside.”
“No. I’m not supposed to tell anyone. The more people who know, the more likely it is I’ll get caught.”
“I wouldn’t tell anyone!”
Red smiles. “I know you wouldn’t. But if you were on a raid, you might act differently if you saw me. And I can’t afford to have the Enhanced find out. If they do, I’m finished. And then they’ll look for the others.”
“The others?” I stare at him. At his lips. “You mean this is an organized thing?”
“I work with three other undercover agents.”
I straighten myself back up, staring at him. At Red… Red whom I grew up with, whom I cared for very much… My best friend, and now he’s—
No, ten years have passed. I need to concentrate on that.
But he likes you. He’s been thinking about you.
And you like him.
I blush as I think about his comments about my body and how his dreams hadn’t done me justice. And now part of me is wondering whether his lips always taste like they did in the office. Whether they’d taste like it now….
I force myself to look at the ground as I focus on his last words.
“Agents? You make it sound official.”
“We’re more likely to succeed if we treat it as an official job—not something we’re messing around in.” He gives me a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, K. This is the way it has to be.”
I stare at him. “So what do you want from me?” I take the most recent note out of my pocket. “Your notes were threatening, Red. They scared me. I didn’t know it was you. I thought—”
But I cut myself off.
Part of me wants to tell him about the nightmares—and how I had one the night after I saw him in the office. Because it must’ve triggered it, mustn’t it?
I think about t
he second note. I hope it doesn’t predict another nightmare tonight.
Red smiles easily. “And that was the perfect way to get your attention. You’re family-orientated.” And, of course, it reminds me of the lie—of my aunts, my extended family I left behind.
I swallow with difficulty, processing his words. He wasn’t really threatening me? I know what you did. Just reminding me?
“Why not say it was you in the message?” I ask.
“Too risky,” he says.
“Risky?”
He nods. “I had to think of another way. And I thought you’d want to know that I’d found your parents.”
I fold my arms and watch him carefully. “You just said you couldn’t tell me anything.”
He shrugs and looks in the direction Bea went off in. “This isn’t part of my mission. But they’re safe and well, your parents.”
“Safe and well?” I raise my eyebrows. “They’re Enhanced.”
“Do you want to try and break them out?”
Red’s question knocks me off balance, and, somehow, I end up stumbling on loose shingle. His hand shoots out—super quick—and he grabs me, steadies me. His touch is hot against my skin, and I feel something pull through my body, unbalancing me, releasing too much energy.
I look up—see my reflection in his eyes—and he’s so close. Close enough to kiss….
Concentrate.
I pull my arm back, breaking our contact, but it doesn’t stop my heart from thudding. And why the hell am I feeling like this? What we’re talking about is important. I need to concentrate on that.
“They’re Enhanced,” I say slowly. “My parents are Enhanced. Once it’s done, there’s no going back.”
“But Untamed rescue the Untamed people who’ve been taken.”
“Because it’s before they’ve been fully converted. There’s a chance then.”
I don’t like looking at Red, not when it’s his face with their eyes. I take a deep breath, force myself to look away.
“And you don’t think there’s a chance now?” His voice is rough.
I look at him carefully. When I was little, Caia-Lu told me about an elderly couple her sisters broke out of a compound. They starved them of augmenters until they were running lean, but the couple went mad. They lasted for two days before they killed themselves.
A Dangerous Game Page 7
