“Ben, he’s back there and he’s wounded,” Kenzie explained.
“I don’t care. I came here for you.” Ben kept moving.
He didn’t miss a step when Kenzie aimed and fired at the guard who was about to take them out.
“Ben, he’s here. I don’t want to be the reason you miss this chance. I can walk.” She could crawl, maybe.
“Not a chance,” Ben replied. “On our left.”
Kenzie took that guy out with a head shot. “Ben…”
“Kenzie, I love you. I’m not leaving you.”
All around her everything was chaos, but those words cut through it all. “You don’t have to say it.”
“I love you. Baby, I promise I will do a deep grovel when we get out of this. Trust me. I know what is expected, and I’ve signed off onthe plan. Kala and Tash gave me explicit instructions, including dates and timelines, and I’m pretty sure I signed some legal paperwork we will have to deal with later. I am going to be the best groveler, but if maybe you could…”
“I love you, too, Ben.” She wouldn’t make him grovel. Much. Right now all that mattered was that he was here and he was choosing her.
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.”
