Page 32 of One Step Sideways

Shae went from fear to defeat in barely a second as he gazed at Kane. “How’d you know?”

I could understand the question. He’d had his face covered. “I’m good with details,” Kane replied easily. “You wore the same jeans at the gas station.” Good explanation without giving anything away. “Besides,” he said. “You kind of just confirmed it.”

I chuckled, hoping to relax Shae, and he managed a rueful smile before it fell. “What happens now?”

Kane glanced at me and, knowing he wouldn’t be certain of Shae’s welcome outside of any information he could give us, I took the lead.

“Well, if you were a regular I’d say you’d need around ten days to heal that wound, but in general enhanced heal faster.” I looked at him hopefully in case he was going to give me anything, but he didn’t. “Which means you stay here at least while that’s happening.” Kane looked relieved but Shae didn’t.

“And then?”

“When are you eighteen?” I could pull it up, but we were talking.

He flushed. “Saturday.”

“Yeah?” Kane grinned.

“Well, that makes it even easier,” I said. “That means you can live where you want, without checking in with your dad.” Shae looked firmly at the sheet that was covering him.

Kane nudged his leg to get Shae’s attention. “Am I right in thinking you don’t wanna call your dad? Maybe because of whatever you can do when he robs someone?”

Panic flashed in Shae’s eyes, and I cursed Kane, mentally thinking he’d pushed him too far. But then, as if someone had pulled a plug, any remaining fight went out of the boy. “He doesn’t know. He just uses me because the gang thinks I might become useful and it’s like he has an ace up his sleeve, ya know?”

“I know exactly,” Kane said with feeling. “I didn’t tell the bastard who called himself my father, either.”

I hid my smile as Shae looked at Kane like he held the moon. But according to Ringo, he’d demonstrated speed in the ring, so was he talking about another ability? And I wasn’t sure if he knew he’d let that slip.

“Is that why you helped me, then?” Shae touched his cheek to explain. “What do you actually do?”

“Seeing you this morning was a complete coincidence,” Kane said. “I just got a new job with these guys in private security and the guy I was with was showing me the gym they use. We weren’t expecting there to be any fights.”

“They’re usually Friday nights,” I supplied.

Shae nodded. “Yeah, I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t gotten a text.”

“A text?” Kane asked before I could. Shae nodded.

“All previous fighters are always notified if there’s a fight run so we can be there.”

Which made the whole thing sound more and more like a setup. “What did the text say?”

Shae thought. “Match at ten. Champ takes all comers inc superman.” I grinned but didn’t share the joke.

“Meaning us?” Kane asked. “But he looked like he was a late entry.” Kane mused, as if it hadn’t been a question.

“It didn’t give names,” Shae confirmed, “just someone willing to fight us.” Meaning enhanced. There had been so much segregation in America’s past—and that was putting it so lightly it was insulting—and yet we never learned because here was another one.

“And was the text unusual?”

“Definitely for enhanced,” Shae said. “Fridays occasionally, if we’re lucky.”

“We?” Kane asked. “I only saw you.”

Shae nodded. “I was surprised there was only me. There’s at least two other enhanced that go there to fight. Guess I was the only one who could turn up.”

All the hairs on the back of my neck were standing at attention, so much that Sergeant Major Thacker would have been proud. It was wrong. Everything inside me was screaming it was wrong, but why would Karlo want to target an enhanced? The wound wasn’t enough or in the right place to kill. None of it made sense.

“So, I don’t want you worrying about being here,” I continued. Diesel would want to speak to him, but I needed to speak to Diesel first. Shae yawned. “Are you hungry? Thirsty?”

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