Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 748(@200wpm)___ 599(@250wpm)___ 499(@300wpm)
He smiled down at her. “Besides, letting your sister kill Manny buys me so many points. So many.” He stopped suddenly. “Kenzie, I’m putting you down. I need you to run.”
The door in front of them slid open and Dr. Huisman stood there with the detonator and two large guards at his back, rifles trained on Kenzie and Ben.
There would be nowhere to run to.
“I wouldn’t move if I were you,” Huisman commanded. His normally pristine lab coat was covered in blood, and she was sure most of it was his.
Ben pushed her behind his back. “Manny, I only came for her. Let us out and I swear you won’t see us ever again.”
“What fun would that be?” Huisman’s lips curled up in a snarl. “Your bitch whore nearly cost me my life, and I will deal with her. I think I will deal with you as well this time. Don’t expect your friends to help you. I left them with a gift. They’ll be trying to save Louisa. They will fail.”
Kenzie’s heart threatened to seize. “What did you do?”
A guard was at their back, shoving them forward, closer to Huisman, though he kept a careful distance. They were through the threshold when he answered.
“I gave her a dose of what I gave you. A large one. She was screaming when I left. I didn’t bother to give her the paralytic, so it was fun to watch her jerk and break some bones.”
She hated this man. He was right about one thing, though. It would give him a hell of a distraction since everyone would need to help hold Lou down and pray she made it through.
She had to hope Tris and Tash were still watching. Her father would have left her mother in a sniper position, protecting the evacuation site. If they could get there, her mom would take them all out before they could consider doing anything.
But she wasn’t sure how far away that was or whether Huisman would have the same exit strategy.
She suspected he would have a helo somewhere. It was how he liked to roll.
She tucked her hand into Ben’s, threading their fingers together. They’d almost made it out.
“Take their guns,” Huisman ordered.
She squeezed his hand. It might be better to go out in a fight than to let him take them away. If he had them both, he would torture them in ways she couldn’t imagine. Except she had a really creative mind and so she could, and death might be preferable.
“Stay calm,” Ben said quietly.
He handed over his P90 and they took Kenzie’s SIG.
“I should have done this sooner,” Huisman said. “I’ve enjoyed this game of ours, Benjamin, but it’s time for you to face some consequences.”
Ben turned away from Huisman, cupping her face with both hands. “Kenzie, I love you. Do whatever it takes to survive.”
“I’m talking to you, Benjamin.” Huisman sounded awfully annoyed.
Ben leaned over, placing his forehead on hers. “You are everything, Kenzie Taggart. You are worth it all. Worth the pain. Worth the fear. Your love is the bedrock of my existence, and I’m so sorry to drag you into this.”
Tears pierced her eyes, and she was so happy Kala had the foresight to get him to sign that non-legally binding document because she wouldn’t make him grovel at all after those words. Those beautiful words. But she did enjoy a good grovel.
If they survived…
She moved into his space. “I wouldn’t change a thing. I would always want to be here with you. No matter what.”
Come what may, and what was coming was likely an enormous amount of pain.
Her heart hurt, an actual ache in her chest.
“Benjamin,” Huisman shouted.
Ben simply held her, hugging her tight.
“You ignore me for your whore?” Huisman was starting to sound unhinged. “This is your problem. You cannot see what is good for you. You have a small mind.”
“I’m pretty sure you have a small penis. And don’t you dare call my daughter a whore,” a familiar voice said.
That was when her father opened fire.
Ben immediately moved, hauling her down. He covered her body with his. “Keep your head down, baby. Let your dad and Zach do their work.”
Zach was here?
She heard the sound of doors closing and saw that while her dad and Zach had taken out all the guards, Manny had managed to get the door closed.
And they were on the wrong side. They were locked in with the madman.
“Huisman, let my kids go and I won’t have you murdered while you flee,” her father said.
Ben wouldn’t move. If anything, he shifted so she was completely covered. Like he was ready to take all the bullets that were coming their way.
Huisman was oddly quiet for a moment and then sounded somber. “I think I’m finally caught, Mr. Taggart. Rather like my father. But my father wasn’t as smart as I am. If this is the end for me, it’s the same for you. And you can thank your little freak Louisa for this. I primed the bomb before I left her. It should be more than enough to blow this whole place sky high and scorch the earth around us. Your precious daughters all gone.”