“Where are you going, Kale?” Her voice was soft, her tone gentle.
“Out. I’m just going out. Aren’t I allowed or am I a prisoner here too?” Kale glanced around the room nervously.
“No, you’re not a prisoner. You’re free to come and go as far as I know. But From what I’ve been told you’ve spent the last ten years in one room. The only person allowed to see or talk to you was this Tanya. I gotta tell you Kale, I can’t see someone like that taking a late night stroll, all by themselves in a deserted area of New York. I don’t care if you can do the glowing ball of light thing. You’re not that brave.”
“You don’t know me. You know nothing about who I am.”
“You’re right. I don’t know you. But I would like too. If you let me, I would like to get to know who Kale Delancey is. Not the guy who was kept locked up all of his life, but this guy,” She gestured to him. “I would like, more than anything, to get to know the Kale Delancey standing in front of me.”
All the anger that had been there a moment ago dissolved leaving Kale looking defeated. When he raised his head to meet Utah’s gaze, his eyes were flat. She didn’t like that. “That Kale doesn’t exist.”
Utah moved in quickly before Kale could back off again, she grabbed both his hands and held them tightly to her chest. “But he could. Don’t you see, Kale? You’ve been given something most people would die for—a second chance. A do-over. You get to prove to all those people out there who think you deserved to be locked up, that they are wrong. You get to show them who you were meant to be. Who I know you are in here.” She placed a hand over his heart. “I don’t know where you’re going, but I have a feeling that if you leave, you are letting that chance slip away.”
Utah watched Kale closely. The edgy, guarded posturing, softened to be replaced by the conflict and uncertainty he was desperately trying to hide.
“I don’t want to lie to you. Please don’t make me.” His eyes pleaded with her to let him go.
“I don’t want you to lie to me either, so how about this. Before you do or say anything else, just listen to me, okay?”
He said nothing but gave her a quick nod. He wanted to be saved. Utah could feel it. She guided him to one of the benches and sat down next to him. “You don’t owe this Tanya anything. I know you can’t see that because she has you all twisted up inside.”
“I don’t want to talk about Tanya.”
“Tanya is exactly who we need to talk about. Because I have a feeling she isn’t anywhere near done with you.” Utah didn’t miss his nervous glance to the tunnel exit. “I know you love her. She made sure she was everything to you. She got you to do things by threatening that love and by threatening Cross.”
“That’s not how it was. You don’t understand. She loves me.” His words were almost like a plea. They held no conviction.
Utah gently placed a hand on his face and turned his head until he was looking at her. “That’s not love, Kale. Not even close.”
All the fight seemed to go out of him as he turned away from Utah. “I don’t know what I know anymore. I don’t know what I feel. All my life Tanya has been there. She could be horrible, brutal, but if you did what she wanted, she…” Utah could see Kale trying to find the words.
“She used you, Kale. She manipulated you. Kept you isolated and used your loneliness to get what she wanted out of you. If you played nice she pretended to give you what you needed- love. If you denied her, she hurt you.” She turned his hand over and touched his bandaged wrist. “Love doesn’t work that way.”
“I know. I’m not stupid, I’ve always known but I don’t know how to say no to her. Sometimes I don’t think I want to say no to her.”
“That’s where you’re going. Isn’t it? Tanya’s out there waiting for you.”
Kale looked anywhere except at Utah. She stepped directly in front of him and forced him to look at her. A single tear rolled down his cheek.
“If you tell her no, Kale, then you can start to say yes to the people who want nothing more from you than what you’re willing to give.”
For the first time Kale lifted a hand and touched Utah’s face. “People like you?” His voice held a note of hope that gave Utah the courage to do what she had wanted to do for days. She leaned in close. “Yeah. People like me.” She kissed him and felt him melt in her embrace.
He broke the kiss and touched her lips with a finger. An expression of pure wonder lit up his face. “I have to go and do this. Tanya doesn’t own me as much as she would like to think. But it’s hard.”
Utah touched her forehead to his. “I know.” Her voice was a whisper. “But I think you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for. Prove them wrong. Prove them all wrong, Kale. Then come back to me and I’ll teach you what love is supposed to feel like.”
Kale pulled back and held her face with both hands. He smoothed her hair, his eyes intent on hers. Then without another word he turned, and slipped away into the shadows.
When he was gone, a shadow that was Maizey stepped into the light. “You were here this whole time?” Utah said.
“I was prepared to stop him. I heard Tanya in his head. I was prepared to do whatever I had to do to keep him away from her.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Maizey stared out into the dark where Kale had disappeared into. “I’m not really sure. Something changed after you talked to him.”
“He’ll do the right thing,” Utah said.
“I guess we will all find that out together. I’m not sure what you did Utah, but I am sure of one thing. I think you just might have saved us all with nothing more than a kiss.”
Chapter 40
CROSS WAS NEARLY back to the main hub after meeting Gabriel when a piercing pain in his head dropped him like a stone. A moment later he heard Gabriel’s voice in his head.
Trouble! Tanya…
Cross got back to his feet as the sudden pain faded. He sought Gabriel’s now familiar energy, but found nothing. In one clarifying moment he understood. Gabriel had been followed.
Cross thought he might be dead. And Tanya knew exactly where the Underground was.
Cross tried to contact Kale, but his brother was either ignoring him or blocking him. Either way worried Cross. He found Finn’s energy immediately.
Tanya has found us.
Finn would understand the urgency without the warning being spelled out. Tanya had brought the fight here.
With Niko in tow, Cross ran full speed into the tunnel and found himself staring down the twin bores of a double-barreled shotgun. He tried to back up but only succeeded in falling.
Finn pulled the barrel up. “You almost got yourself killed!” He pulled Cross to his feet. “What’s happening? Tanya knows where we are?”
“I should’ve been more careful, Gabriel called a truce. He gave me Niko back and said all he wanted to do was disappear. I don’t know why, but I believed him. Tanya must have had him followed. I think she had him shot. I felt it. I heard him. He said it was Tanya.”
“Okay, right. Now what do we do?” Finn said.
“She’s got us outnumbered and outgunned. Charlie already moved a lot of the women and children out, but there are still some left down here.”
“Are you trying to make a point here, because I gotta tell you, you’re failing miserably and depressing me at the same time.”
“You don’t get it, Finn. It doesn’t matter what Tanya throws at us because there’s one thing she doesn’t have. Me and Kale. She can’t win. She has to know that.”
“I hate to tell you this, but Kale is gone.” Maizey walked into the room. She seemed calm but Cross could feel the turmoil simmering just beneath the surface.
“Gone? What do you mean gone?” Finn said.
“Trust him.” Utah followed Maizey into the hub. “He’ll be back. He promised.”
Cross held up his hands. “Everybody be quiet for a minute.” The noise in the room hushed to a level where he could concentrate. Kale didn’t wa
nt to be found, but Cross found him anyway. It was almost like looking in a mirror. He would recognize his brother’s unique signature anywhere. What concerned him was the other energy signature he found with Kale’s. He opened his eyes. Betrayal and confusion vied for his emotion of choice. “No.” The word was a whisper.
“He’s with Tanya.” Even saying the words hurt.
“I know,” Maizey said.
“What do you mean you know?”
“I could’ve stopped him. I chose to let him go.”
“Son-of-bitch! He chose her over us? Over you, his own brother? Why?” Finn was close to shouting.
A part of Cross had always known it would all play out like this. “He didn’t. He didn’t betray us. He’s sacrificing himself.”
“He’s still protecting you,” Maizey said.
“I know he’s your brother, but are you sure he isn’t going to flip?” Finn said. “He’s been in Tanya’s pocket all his life. That’s not going to be an easy monkey to shake off his back.”
“He isn’t going to side with Tanya. You’re just going to have to trust me on that.”
“If you’re wrong every single person in these tunnels will pay the price. The things Kale can do…”
“He isn’t going to flip. I trust him Finn.” Cross could feel Kale in his head so strongly it hurt. He knew his brother and he knew exactly what he intended to do. “He doesn’t plan on coming back. He’ll die to keep me safe. To keep all of us safe.”
Utah’s eyes went wide. “No. We can’t let that happen. He’s never had a chance to live his life. We can’t let him die like this.” She sent pleading looks to each of them. “We need to go and bring him back and we need to let this Tanya Santiago understand exactly who it is she’s dealing with. She messes with one of us, she messes with all of us.”
Finn raised his brows at Utah’s words. “I sure as hell don’t want to have to deal with her if Kale doesn’t come back. I’m in.” He stepped next to Utah and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I let Tanya have him once and did nothing to help him. Not happening again.”
Danny King separated himself from the crowd and came to Utah’s other side. He placed a hand on her other shoulder. “I get to help take down the bitch who killed my sister? Hell yeah, I’m in.”
One by one the other men and women in the tunnel surrounded Cross and Utah in a circle, their hands connecting them, the things they could do uniting them. Cross felt it. They might each have their own reason but like Kale and him, together they were stronger. They were joining forces to save Kale Delancey not only from Tanya but also from himself. They shared a common goal.
Freedom.
The right to live without fear. The right to use what made them hunted, to feel the sun again without the fear of becoming caged.
If Tanya wanted a war, the people of the Underground were more than ready to oblige her.
Chapter 41
KALE HAD LEFT Utah and walked to where Tanya waited. Her words still echoing in his thoughts. Cross was trying to get his attention, and he couldn’t concentrate. His head was a mess and that was not a good thing when dealing with Tanya.
He had to do this. No one else could. He knew Tanya better than anyone. She was poised to take everyone in the Underground down to get what she wanted. And he was what she wanted.
Cross was powerful, maybe even powerful enough to stop her, but Kale didn’t think that victory would be worth the lives it would cost. He made a promise to protect his brother. He couldn’t stop protecting Cross now just because the power that had slept inside of him was finally awake.
Cross was only now learning how to use his talents. Thanks to Tanya, Kale had spent years honing his unique skills to perfection. He could this win this war before it even started.
As strong as her hold was on him, he didn’t want that, not anymore. What he felt for Tanya was ugly and dirty. When Utah had kissed him, it was different. Scary, but in a good way, something he would’ve like to explore. Only that too came with a price, and it was one he wasn’t willing to pay. Not anymore.
He just needed a little time to do what he had to do, and he needed everyone to leave him alone so he could do it. He didn’t want to push Cross, or Utah or any of the new friends he’d made, but he had no choice.
Kale stopped walking and closed his eyes. He wasn’t far from the underground, just outside the door, so he wouldn’t need Gabriel’s help. He could feel them, the people there, hundreds of them but he didn’t need to push them all. Just the ones who gave the orders. He focused on Charlie, Maizey, Finn and Cross.
I know what I’m doing. Do not come out of the tunnels. Keep everyone safe inside. Give me twenty minutes. It will all be over in twenty minutes.
Charlie and Finn gave into the push without question or hesitation. Maizey fought back. He had never tried to push anyone like her before, someone who could do what he did. In the end he proved stronger. Her mind gave into the push and he felt her relax.
That left only Cross.
Pushing Cross was like trying to hold onto sand. His mind slipped out of Kale’s mental grasp again and again, until he realized he was wasting time.
Cross, stop! Let me do this!
Let you die? I just got you back. No way. Don’t do this Kale. We can beat her together.
She has the exits surrounded. She’ll kill all of you to get to me. I know you feel that.
She can try. Not happening, man.
They need you to keep them safe, I need a few minutes. That’s all I’m asking. Just a few minutes, and I can end this without anyone else dying because of me.
I’m not letting you sacrifice your life. Not for her and not for me. Stop protecting me, Kale.
Kale blocked Cross’s thoughts.
His brother’s last words repeated in his mind.
Stop protecting me.
No way. Kale thought.
Never.
Chapter 42
DAMN IT, KALE!” Niko leaned hard against Cross’s leg. He was upsetting her. He put a hand on her head in an effort to calm them both. Kale thought he could simply give himself up to that bitch without giving him any say. That was never happening again. Not while he still drew breath.
“What’s wrong?” Maizey wore a content, almost sleepy, expression. She touched Cross’s face lovingly.
He could feel a residue of Kale’s push on her. He could sense his brother’s energy covering Maizey’s. Like a sticky sweet syrup it coated her own thoughts and only allowed the push to come through. Both Finn and Charlie had the same energy residue. They all lacked any sense of urgency. Cross shrugged off Maizey’s touch impatiently.
“He’s going to get himself killed. We have to help him.”
“No, he said he could handle her,” Finn said. “It’ll be fine Cross. Relax.”
Cross wanted to slap Finn’s complacent expression right off. He fought the urge to scream at them all knowing it would do no good.
“He pushed you. Kale pushed all of you.”
Maizey’s languid smile faltered a little. He might have the best shot of getting through to her. To help her to overcome Kale’s push, he concentrated only on her.
Every second was one less he had to try and save Kale, but if he let panic in, Tanya won. He ignored the fear and fought through Kale’s push to reach Maizey. Maizey. Wake up, listen to me and wake up!
Maizey’s thoughts still drifted, but Cross seized them before they slipped away. Maizey, my beautiful Maizey. Please listen to me. Please see me!
“Cross?” She blinked like someone coming out of dream. His vision clouded over and the last of his beautiful blue and white sight faded.
“Yes!” He took her face in his hands. She was only shadows and light to him now. “Do you see me? Can you hear me?”
“What’s happening? What’s wrong?” Her voice registered confusion, but Cross knew he had done it. He had broken through to the Maizey underneath Kale’s push.
“Tanya.”
“She’s here.” Sh
e understood immediately. “Where’s Kale?”
“He’s gone to her. He’s still protecting me, only this time he doesn’t plan on getting out alive.”
“My God. He pushed me?”
“And Finn and Charlie. I thought I had the best shot of getting through to you. I was right.”
“Who else do we have to help us?”
Cross grinned and held his hands out. “We’re it sweetheart. There’s no time to gather up the troops. You stay here and get everyone ready to move out. When Finn comes out of it, he’ll know what to do.” Cross started for the tunnel exit when Maizey grabbed his arm.
“Nice try, but if you really wanted me to simply stay behind and babysit, you wouldn’t have wasted time waking me.”
“There’s no time for this Maizey. I don’t want to argue with you—”
“Then don’t.” She pulled him in and kissed him hard and fast.
When she pulled back, his head was spinning. He didn’t mind.
“Let’s go get your pain-in-the-ass brother and bring him home. I really need to talk to him. No one pushes me.”
“Not very good odds,” he said.
“I thrive in the face of dismal odds. Besides I owe this Tanya of yours.”
Maizey was right. He did want her with him. The fact that she was willing to go with him despite that neither might survive only confirmed what he had been thinking for a while. “I love you, Maizey.”
“Of course you do.” She took his hand.
Before they left, Cross asked Finn to look after Niko. Even under Kale’s push, Finn agreed. He didn’t understand why he was keeping her safe, but that didn’t matter. Niko didn’t like being left behind, but Cross couldn’t let her go with him. Not now.
* * *
AS SOON AS he emerged from the tunnel, Kale felt Tanya’s men all around him. They were terrified, but held their ground as he slowly walked toward the dilapidated structure where Tanya waited.
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