I leaned forward, smiling coldly. “You don’t talk to her.” Kat pinched my leg under the table, but I ignored it. “At all.”
Blake raised a brow. “Well, only talking to you is going to make this conversation real rough.”
“Like I care?” I said.
Kat exhaled slowly. “Okay. Let’s get to the point. Where are Beth and Chris, Blake?”
Blake’s gaze slid to Kat again. “I—”
Placing my hand on the table, I allowed a current of electricity to course across the table, shocking Blake. He lifted his hand with a hiss, his eyes narrowing on me.
I smiled.
“Look, you tool, you can’t intimidate me this time.” Blake’s voice dripped contempt. “So you’re just wasting time and pissing me off.”
“We’ll see about that,” I replied.
Jocelyn returned with the meat loaf sandwich and took Blake’s drink order. The moment she left, Kat refocused. “Where are they?”
“If I tell you, I’d have to trust that you two, plus anyone else, aren’t going to give me a cement swim.”
She rolled her eyes, and I almost laughed at the lame reference. “Trust is a two-way street,” she said.
“And we don’t trust you,” I threw out.
Blake drew in a long breath. “I don’t blame you. I’ve given you no reason to trust me other than the fact that I didn’t tell Daedalus about how well the mutation held.”
“And I bet either your uncle stopped you from turning me over, or you thought he was doing his job,” she countered. “But he screwed you over for money.”
Blake’s jaw hardened. “He did. And he put Chris in danger. But it’s not like I haven’t had to convince them otherwise after the fact. They think I’m happy to be an implant. That I’ve drunk the Kool-Aid and asked for seconds.”
I snickered. “To save your own ass, I’m sure.”
“The fact is, Daedalus doesn’t believe you’re a viable subject,” Blake said.
“How do you know?” I picked up the fork, resisting the urge to implant it in his eyeball.
“The only real wild card here is Will. Obviously, he knew and used that knowledge.”
“Will isn’t our biggest or most annoying problem right now.” I took a bite, chewing slowly. “You either have a lot of courage or are incredibly stupid. I’m going to go with the incredibly stupid part.”
Blake snorted. “Yeah. Okay.”
I did not like his attitude. Once he had his drink in front of him and Jocelyn was gone, I leaned forward. Blake’s gaze met mine, and the stupid ass had the brains to recognize his mistake. “We gave you a chance and you came back here after you killed one of our own. You think I’m the only person you have to look over your shoulder and watch out for? You’re so wrong.”
Fear churned in his eyes, but he hid it when he spoke. “The same goes for you, buddy.”
I sat back, eyes hooded. “As long as we’re on the same page.”
“Back to Daedalus,” Kat said. “How do you know they’re watching Dawson?”
“I’ve been watching you guys, and I’ve seen them hanging around.” He folded his arms. “I don’t know how much work Will did to get him free, but I doubt he pulled the wool over anyone’s eyes. Dawson is free because they wanted him to be free.” He paused. “Here’s the deal. I know where they’re keeping Beth and Chris. I’ve never been there, but I know someone who has and can give us the security codes to get into the facility.”
“Hold up.” Kat shook her head. “So you can’t really get us in. Someone else can?”
“Go figure.” I chuckled. “Biff is virtually useless.”
His lips thinned. “I know what level and cell they’re being kept in, so without me, you’d just be running around the compound begging to be captured.”
“And my fist is begging to be in your face,” I shot back.
Impatience colored Kat’s tone. “Not only are you asking us to trust you but to trust someone else?”
“That someone else is just like us, Katy.” Blake dropped his elbows on the table, rocking his glass. “He’s a hybrid but has gotten out from under Daedalus. And as expected, he hates them and would love nothing more than to screw with them. He’s not going to lead us astray.”
“And how does anyone get ‘out from under’ Daedalus?” she asked.
Blake’s smile was freaking creepy. “They…disappear.”
She tucked her hair back as she glanced at me. “Okay, say we do this, how do you get in contact with him?”
“You won’t believe anything unless you’re there to witness it for yourselves.” He picked up his glass. “I know where to find Luc.”
I smirked. “His name is Luc?”
He nodded. “He’s not going to be reachable by cell or email. He’s kind of paranoid about the government tapping cells and computers. We’ll have to go to him.”
“And where is that?” I asked.
“Every Wednesday night, he hangs at a club a few miles outside of Martinsburg,” he explained. “He’ll be there this Wednesday.”
I laughed. “The only clubs in that part of West Virginia are strip clubs.”
“You would think that.” The smugness creeping into his expression needed to be knocked out of it. “But this is a different kind of club.” He slid a quick glance in Kat’s direction. “Females don’t show up in jeans and sweaters.”
Her eyes narrowed as she swiped a fry from my plate. “What do they show up in? Nothing?”
“The closest thing to nothing,” he replied with a smile. “Bad for you. Yay for me.”
“You really want to die, don’t you?” I said.
“Sometimes, I think so.”
That surprised me, because there was a genuine quality to his words.
“Anyway,” he continued. “We go to him, he’ll get the codes, and then it’s on. We go in, you get what you want, and I get what I want. You guys will never see me again.”
“That’s pretty much the only thing you’ve said so far I like.” I shifted in the booth. “The thing is, I’m having a hard time believing you. You say this hybrid is in Martinsburg, right? There isn’t any beta quartz near that place. How come he hasn’t become some Arum’s afternoon snack yet?”
Blake met my stare. “Luc can take care of himself.”
“And where’s the Luxen he’s tied to?” Kat demanded.
“With him,” Blake answered. “Look, what happened with Adam—I never wanted that to happen. And I’m sorry, but you of all people have to understand. You’d do anything for Katy.”
“I would.” Static built on my skin. “So if for one moment I think you’re about to screw us, I won’t hesitate. You won’t get a third chance. And you haven’t seen what I’m fully capable of, boy.”
“Understood,” Blake murmured, his eyes downcast. “Are we on?”
I reached under the table and found Kat’s hand. I squeezed gently, and she drew in a shallow breath and said, “We’re on.”
Chapter 9
Since Blake was back in the picture and hanging around like a weed that wouldn’t go away, Kat rode in with me Monday morning and Dawson ended up catching a ride with Dee. After school, we made a pit stop at the post office.
Of course.
Kat loaded my arms up with packages, and when we got to her house, she stacked them on her desk, her fingers lingering on the yellow envelopes.
I plopped down on the bed, folding my arms behind my head. “You can open them now if you want.”
She twisted her hair up in a messy knot as she faced me. “I can wait.”
Grinning, I kicked off my shoes. “I know you want to do it now.”
Kat stuck her tongue out at me as she walked over to the other side of the bed and sat down, facing me. I knocked my knee off her hip. “You hanging in there?” I asked.
Nodding, she toyed with the string on her hoodie. “Yeah.”