I shook my head. “It’s okay, you don’t need to explain.” It’d be better this way. Brandt was right. Killing him off, tossing him from body to body amassing other Sixes’ gifts, he could easily become a weapon far more powerful than Kale. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I’d sleep easier knowing he was far away, and that my best friend was alive and safe. I threw my arms around him. “Will I ever see you again?”
“Like you could ever ditch me?” He gave me a quick squeeze and pulled away, reaching for a green bag on the floor next to the bed. “You have the list I gave you, right?”
“List?”
He gave the bag a shake and sighed. “The one I gave you at my funeral.”
I’d totally forgotten about it. “It’s at my house. I never even opened it.”
“Don’t lose it, Dez. It’s a list of every known Six in the country. They’re all on Denazen’s bag and tag list. Being monitored. You’re on there too, Dez.”
“Me? How could I be on it? You gave me the list before I told Dad what I could do.”
He shook his head. “Like I said before, this is bigger than you know. Don’t lose that list.”
I’d left it in the pocket of the jacket I’d worn to the funeral. “It’s safe. I’ll go back for it as soon as I can. I promise.”
He nodded and stuffed the skateboard wheel back into his pocket. “I’ll leave word with Misha when I get where I’m going. Don’t worry, this isn’t good-bye forever.”
He turned to Kale, eyes narrow. “You better make sure nothing happens to my girl.”
Kale squeezed my hand. The look he gave my cousin wasn’t exactly friendly. “She’s my girl.”
28
I was used to wearing short skirts, but for some reason, the shorts made me feel self-conscious. Or maybe it wasn’t the shorts. It could have been the hair. I’d done the unthinkable and traded my trademark two-tone locks for a simple reddish-brown shade very close to that of my favorite video game heroine of all time, Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider herself.
Kale’s costume was perfect. The Terminator getup would keep most of his skin hidden, not to mention he looked hot as hell. He kept the collar of the jacket flipped up so only a small portion of his face was exposed. We were like polar opposites. Me in a skimpy tank top and short shorts, and Kale covered from tip to toe.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, gun holsters strapped firmly in place, and looked up at Kale, I couldn’t help but smile.
His gaze appraising—and appreciating—he reached out and fingered my long braid. “How did you do that? Change the color?”
I ran a hand over my hair. “Do you like it? I know, it’s different, isn’t it?”
It didn’t make sense. For some reason I was sad to see it change. I’d been rocking the blonde and black stripes for almost a year now. Hair color didn’t define you. Spirit and soul did. Yet, I felt naked. “The character that I am has dark hair. We need to blend in and Dad will never assume I’d go as far as to dye my hair.”
“Dye?”
“It’s a goop you put in your hair and wash out. It changes the color.”
“Will it change back?”
“To blonde? Not unless I bleach it.”
He touched the shaggy black strands of hair that fell into his face. “I can change the color?”
I laughed. “Welcome to technology.” I reached down and picked up a neon blue notebook, holding it out. “You could dye it this color if you really wanted to.”
“Don’t put the goop in to change it back. I like it,” he said, stepping closer. He brushed his lips against mine and pulled away.
That wasn’t going to work. I pulled him back and kissed him again—properly.
“I’m never going to get used to that,” he said, smiling.
“Used to what?”
“The way I feel like I’m going to explode every time you come close. The way my head fills up with just you when you do that.”
§
When we arrived at the party, things were already in full swing. The air crackled with energy. Whether it was the party or the excitement of knowing something huge would go down soon, I had no idea. I was edgy and ready to go.
I was relieved to see most people got the upgraded costume info. There were French maids, alien slave girls, and a handful of scantily dressed witches—when would people come up with something original? Obviously, they’d all gone to that same slutty costume place.
On the men’s side, I saw everything from several cowboys bunched up in the corner of the room stalking a group of sorority girls, to cavemen and lifeguards. I passed at least four “Edward and Bella” pairs.
Kale was nervous, even though ninety percent of his skin was covered.
“You ready?”
He nodded and grabbed my hand. We made our way through the crowd, weaving in and out of the grinding, already semi-drunk dancers. So far, I’d only seen two or three people out of costume—I’d known them all—and no sign of Alex or Dad.
From the questions Mercy-as-me had asked Curd, I guessed Fin was one of the targets Denazen would be after tonight. We had no idea who the other was, but at least we could shadow Fin and try to keep him safe.
“It’s still early. Maybe they’re not here yet,” Kale said, surveying the room. He’d pointed out on the way over that he probably wouldn’t recognize my mom because she would have already mimicked before coming in, but Alex would be easy to spot.
“Maybe,” I said, standing on my toes to see over the crowd. Score! Fin stood alone by the edge of the bar, tossing back a beer. “That’s Fin, come on.” I dragged Kale along behind me, through the crowd.
“Wow!” Fin let out a sharp whistle. “You look hot, Dez. You can raid my tomb whenever you’d like.”
“Aww, you’re sweet,” I forced out with a smile. “Fin, this is Kale. My boyfriend.”
Fin’s face fell a little, but he recovered. “Boyfriend, eh? But Curd told me—”
“It’s, um, really new.”
Kale made a growling sound deep in his throat, towering over Fin.
“Okay, then,” Fin said, inching away from Kale.
I nodded to the dance floor, about to suggest we dance, when I saw Alex’s white-blond head bobbing through the crowd. “Thank God!” I turned to Kale and said, “Stay here and get to know Fin. I’m gonna go grab Alex, okay?”
As I walked away, I heard Kale tell Fin to stop staring at my ass or he was going to punish him. I couldn’t help but smile.
Up the stairs and through the crowd, when I reached the top, Alex was leaning against the railing, talking to a tall redhead. “Alex,” I said, out of breath. He wore normal blue jeans and a black button-down shirt. No costume. They hadn’t found out!
Alex turned to me, a look of relief on his face. The girl was forgotten. “Dez, we have to leave. This whole thing is a setup.”
“I know. It was Mercy. I’m not sure if the information is true or not, but they might be after Fin Meyer and someone else.”
Alex groaned and grabbed my arm, pulling me off into a dark corner. “You don’t know anything,” he hissed. “You walked right into this. They needed you to mimic Mercy so she’d look and sound like you. They needed the party location and they needed someone to lure Fin.”
“Wait, you’re telling me Mercy’s still wearing my face?” The idea that someone out there was walking around with my body made my skin crawl.
He paled slightly. “What, did you think it would wear off? Does anything else you change wear off on its own?”
Idiot. I hadn’t even blinked when Mercy left me the note saying the mimic had worn off. I automatically assumed because it was a bigger, more complicated thing, it wouldn’t last. I should have known better. “Where is she?”
Alex shook his head. “I have no idea. It doesn
’t matter. We need to get the hell outta here.”
“Wait. How did you know I was me, if Mercy is wearing my skin?”
“There’s only one you. Easy to spot a fake.” He gave me a small smile. “Plus, you’re in different costumes.”
“Shit,” I cursed. “So you guys did hear about the costume thing. What’s she wearing?”
He grabbed my arm. “Does it frigging matter? We gotta bail.”
I pulled free. “I can’t leave. Kale’s downstairs watching Fin, and my mom might be here. I’m not gonna miss the only chance I might get to save her.”
“Your mom is here, but you won’t be able to get near her. That’s the point. Why else do you think Mercy told you she’d be here? To make sure you’d come. Did you ever think you’re the second target?”
Again. Idiot. The thought had never even crossed my mind.
“That’d be stupid. They had me already, they wouldn’t need to lure me here. Dad could have locked me up any of those days at Denazen.”
“I heard them talking. They wouldn’t have taken you while you were at Denazen because they’re looking for Ginger. Been looking for her for a long time. They were hoping you’d lead them to her. Besides, your dad knows about you and 98. They want him back and they knew he’d come with you.”
“Kale,” I seethed. “You know damn well his name is Kale, not 98. Don’t call him that.”
“I don’t care about him or his name.” He tried to pull me from the corner. “You and me. Let’s get out of here.”
I stared at him. “I care about Kale, and I’m not leaving without him. Or my mom.”
“Screw Kale!” he snapped. On the railing behind him, a half-full glass of orange liquid shattered. “I love you, Dez. I always have. I’m sorry for what I did, but I know we can fix this. We can make it work. But you have to get out of here before they collect you like a science project.”
I didn’t need this. “Alex, don’t. Not now. I told you, I had to sort through my feelings for Kale. I did and—”
I couldn’t believe he was arguing about this here. Now. “There’s nothing to sort through. We’re perfect together. I know it and so do you.”
“I love him, Alex. I love Kale.”
His eyes went wide. “You—what about the other day at my apartment? It didn’t feel like you were in love with him while you were kissing me!”
“I’m sorry! I was upset and you were there, and I wasn’t sure—”
Alex shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. Please, get out while you can. I’ve had a glimpse of what Denazen does to its Sixes. That place is a horror show, Dez. They’ve got half the Sixes there thinking they’re doing everything from God’s work, to super-secret government missions to make the world a better place. The other half are walking zombies living in cages with no minds of their own.”
He tried to pull me out of the shadows, but I wasn’t budging.
“Please, you’re never going to get near your mother. Cut your losses and go.”
“Want to bet?” I grabbed his face and held tight. In a matter of seconds, my own frame too heavy to keep itself up, crumpled to the floor. Alex caught me right before I hit the ground.
“No,” he whispered, staring at me. “Don’t do this, please. It’s not part of the plan.”
Still shaky, I climbed to my feet. The pain in my head was there—and sharp—but it was almost tolerable. On the plus side, I didn’t feel the immediate need to puke up everything I’d ever eaten. Maybe the more I did this, the easier it would get. “Plan?” Suddenly I couldn’t breathe. “What plan? What are you talking about?”
He tugged on my arm again, pleading. Pointing through the railing to the front he said, “Look, there’s the door. We can be down the stairs, thorough it, and on our way to a new life in twenty minutes. I did what I had to… If we don’t leave now, you’re gonna fuck it up!”
A cold sweat broke out across my forehead and under my braid as I backed away. “It was you.” All the air drained from my lungs and my vision swam. No. It couldn’t be. “You told Dad about me and Kale.”
I turned to scan the room. The bar where I’d left Kale and Fin was crowded now but neither were there. Mercy-as-me had told Curd I wanted to hook up with Fin. Curd, in turn, passed the message along. Fin, being the dog he was, jumped at the idea. While I was wasting time up here talking to Alex, Mercy-as-me had probably swaggered in and snatched Fin up. He would have gone along like a puppy begging for a treat after finding out I was on for him. Sure, I’d already told him I had a boyfriend, but with my rep, that wouldn’t mean crap. My only hope was that Kale had been intimidating enough for Fin to back off in search of more promising prey.
I turned back and grabbed the front of his shirt. “What the hell did you do?”
“It’s too late for him. If your dad doesn’t have him yet, he will soon.”
“How could you do—”
“The way you were kissing me the other day—then you pushed away. It killed me. Then you said it was because of him… When you went out to the car at my place the other day, I called your father back. I told him I’d make a deal. You for Kale. I told him you were infatuated with the little freak. He wasn’t surprised to see me at the coffee shop, Dez. He already knew I’d be with you.”
This person standing in front of me was a complete stranger. This heartless, selfish, cold thing that wore the face of someone I’d once cared about. “How could you do that? Knowing what they did to him—what they’re going to do to him?”
“I did what I needed to—to make sure you were safe.” He stood straighter now, jaw set. “That freak was going to get you killed. He was going to get us all killed.”
I couldn’t believe he was actually defending his actions. Trying to justify what he’d done. Even if his intentions had been good, he knew how I felt about Kale. He knew what they did to Sixes at Denazen. To knowingly hand one over…
“You disgust me.” I spat in his face and turned away.
I left him in the corner and went to find Kale and my mom, wearing my ex boyfriend’s face.
29
I’d been looking for signs of Kale, or my mom—even though I had no idea who to look for—when I spotted myself by the lower bar. I was wearing a pale pink bikini with a fluffy pink cotton ball tail attached to the back. My hair—in its former glorious blonde and black incarnation—hung in loose ringlets spilling from a pair of long pink ears pointing skyward. A playboy bunny? Seriously? I’d kick Mercy’s ass from here to Jersey for that alone.
I made a beeline for the bar with a sudden burst of renewed energy. The mimic had still taken its toll, but my anger gave me a second wind. And a third. Plus, if one more trampy girl threw herself at me-as-Alex, someone was getting hurt.
“Hey,” I said, leaning close. I hoped I could channel Alex well enough to make her believe I was him. “What the hell are you doing lounging around? We have work to do.”
She shrugged and sipped her green drink. “Fin’s been taken. It was so easy. I walked up to the kid, blew in his ear, and he followed me like a starving man.”
“What about 98?”
She shrugged again and downed the rest of her drink. “He wasn’t with Fin.”
Her hand snaked out and caught me by the waist. After a moment it slipped down to my ass—Alex’s ass. I’d never get over this as long as I lived, no matter what Denazen did to me.
“We’ll find them. Her mother’s here and she knows it. I made sure of that. That will be enough to bag her. And once we get Dez, 98 will be a cinch.” She squeezed my ass. “We can kill the time by waiting for them in a dark corner somewhere.”
It took me a minute to figure it out. My gag reflex kicked into high gear and I stumbled away. “Ew!”
“You didn’t think that when you had your tongue down my throat last night,” she snapped
.
Wow. Just…wow. He was that warm for my form that he’d screw this cheap imitation?
She reached for my arm, and I let her take it. This whole thing was creepy and disgusting in an epic way. But ick factor aside, I could usually see the possibilities in any situation. This might actually work to my advantage. I wanted her out of my skin, and to do that I had to get her alone. “Fine, let’s go.”
She led me around the back of the bar. The door to the storage hall was open and, thankfully, empty. I didn’t waste any time. Unfortunately, neither did Mercy-as-me. She pawed Alex—me—trying to back him up against the wall the second the door closed. “I know you were mad when you found out I wasn’t her, but it was good, right? Something about that little tramp’s body—it makes me bolder.” Her hands were everywhere, grabbing and squeezing parts of me that triggered an intense need for eternal therapy.
I shoved her off and growled. No amount of scrubbing would ever scour the memory of this moment away. Brillo. Lufa. Boric acid. Nothing.
As she rounded for another pass, thinking it was all part of the game, I punched her in the face. She went down like a sack of textbooks. “You and Alex? That is so gross.”
She stirred and I didn’t wait. Falling to my knees, I grabbed her hand. Like back in the woods when we’d escaped her office, I concentrated on mimicking Mercy back to Mercy. Focusing on what was on the inside rather than the outside. A rush of warmth spread throughout my limbs, accompanied by a slight prickling in my temples.
When I opened my eyes, Mercy was back to a forty-something-year-old woman with mousey hair and a way-too-tight pink bikini. I was right. It was getting easier. Like a muscle needing to be conditioned. All these years I was afraid to mimic because of the effect it had on my body, and it could have been avoided. I could have been living it up all this time.