Page 30

Chapter Thirty

K enna stopped short of tapping her foot. The judge might think she wanted him to hurry things up, and in reality, she needed this to take as long as possible.

The door handle rattled.

She twisted around to look over her shoulder, but the senator didn’t let go of her arm. Tomorrow, she would have a bruise there from the strength of his grip. Hopefully, that would be the worst of her problems, but that was unlikely to be the case.

A brunette teenage girl in a pizza delivery uniform came in, carrying a stack of two pizzas, a ball cap low over her face. “Shoot. This isn’t the accounting group? Did I get the wrong floor again ? My boss is gonna kill me.”

Kenna bit down hard on the side of her lip. Maizie.

“Leave.” Woodford looked at his men. “Get rid of her.”

“Is this a wedding?” She slipped into one of the rows and sank into a chair. “I love weddings. I won’t disturb nothin’. I just want to watch.” She handed the first guy who approached her the pizza. “Hold this. I don’t wanna smell like pepperoni. This is a special occasion.”

“What are you doing?” The guy tossed the pepperoni aside and pulled his gun out.

Kenna gasped. “She’s just an innocent pizza delivery girl. Let her go. You don’t have to hurt her.”

Kenna couldn’t look at Adrielle and Laney, sitting in the row in front of Maizie with their backs straight. Trying not to get caught in the crossfire. Hoping they wouldn’t have to watch anyone get murdered today.

She didn’t blame them. Anyone in here was at risk of their life ending in a messy way before they even realized what was happening.

In order to even try and save their lives, she was going to have to get her hands around that dead man’s switch and make sure Woodford didn’t let go of it.

Maizie said, “I’m just recording on my phone. Or is this secret, like no pictures? Are you guys famous? Are you in witness protection ?”

“You wanna get shot, girl?” He grabbed her arm and hauled her out of the chair. “Get out of here. It ain’t none of your business.”

“Okay, gees. You guys are serious.” She stumbled but caught her feet under her. “Fine, whatever. Tell accounting you took their pizzas.”

He shoved her toward the door.

“Ow, gees. I’m going .”

The doors flew open in front of her. Someone tossed a small canister across the floor. Kenna swung around to face Woodford and grabbed his right wrist, ducking behind him a second too late. But she already had her eyes closed.

The room flashed with light so bright it was like lightning inside the room, filling it for a split second. The accompanying sound was so loud it eclipsed everything in her ears. In a second, they were completely deafened, and she could hear nothing, quickly replaced by sharp pain in both ears and a loud high-pitched ringing sound.

She grasped Woodford’s hand. He flinched, his knees buckling from the sudden noise and the bright light. He’d been looking at the door when it went off, which meant he was disoriented now. But she couldn’t allow him to let go of the dead man’s switch.

Whatever he did, she had to keep his hand on the button. Even transferring it to her grip would be too risky.

He collapsed onto one knee. Smoke filled the air.

She spotted flashing lights, bobbing up and down. People moving through the cloud from the flash-bang. Her ears rang so sharply all she could think about was the pain. Woodford listed to the side. She had a dress on, but instinct rode out above all other things.

Kenna dropped to her hip, swung her leg over, and hooked it around his neck. She pinned his upper body and his head to the floor, twisting his arm around his back so he was locked in place.

He fought her hold, but her legs were stronger. Even if it hurt. Even if she wouldn’t be able to hang on forever.

Muzzle flash erupted in the room.

Kenna held on for dear life while the cops or whoever had come in cleared the room and took out everyone who fought back. She saw white letters on a black vest but couldn’t make out the words. The person came down the center aisle.

Charlie dove out of the row he’d been in and slammed into the person, knocking them into the opposite row, colliding with chairs that went flying. She couldn’t hear anything except the ringing in her ears.

She watched for them to rise up above the chairs so she could see what was happening. But they didn’t.

Kenna looked back behind her for the judge, but he was nowhere to be found.

If they were raiding this room, what about the cabin? What about her mom and sister? By doing this, they could be signing the death warrant for her family if Woodford had left instructions that they were to be killed immediately if anything happened.

Hot tears rolled down her face.

Her hold on Woodford must have slipped a little because he shifted. His hips came up. Then his foot swung up, and he kicked up toward his backside. His shoe caught her shoulder, and she cried out, moving out of his reach. She didn’t let his head up. He would probably bite her.

Out of the smoke, Maizie moved to the chairs over where Laney and her mom had been. She might’ve said something to Kenna. All she saw was mouthed words tossed in her direction with a glance. She heard none of it.

Kenna kept up her two-handed grip on Woodford’s fingers. He thrashed again and stilled. Passed out? His hand would relax, and he would let go of the switch if she wasn’t careful. But it would be far easier to keep the button pressed down with him no longer fighting her.

She allowed her hands to relax a little but didn’t let go of the button. She put all of her attention on holding it down.

Listening to the ringing in her ears.

Keeping Laney and Adrielle alive.

Someone touched her face. She lifted her chin, tears still rolling down her face. Jax spoke to her, but all she could do was shake her head. He frowned.

“It’s a dead man’s switch.” She spoke slowly, forcing the words out. He had to know what was happening.

Jax flinched. He reached back on his belt and pulled out plastic ties, which he used to circle Woodford’s hand and keep his fingers on the button.

Finally, she could let go.

Kenna slumped back, moving her leg off Woodford’s shoulders. She had no strength to get up and laid on the floor instead, staring up at the ceiling. She turned her head to see Jax shouting orders to others. Maizie ran over with her phone, typing on the screen. She held it close to the switch in Woodford’s hand and glanced at Jax, saying something. He squeezed her shoulder.

Kenna couldn’t hear what they were saying and couldn’t get up. She couldn’t ask where Stairns and Ramon were or what had happened to Jax’s dad—and Bruce, who’d been shot in the chest and left for dead.

Tears leaked from the corner of her eye.

Jax glanced at her for a second, then said something to Maizie.

They weren’t going to be able to take the explosive collars off. Not without…the key. Kenna rolled over and pushed up. Her arms didn’t like that, so she just scooted along the floor in the wedding dress. Probably getting it dirty.

The whole getting married business was ruined for now anyway, so she didn’t worry about it.

She tugged his suit jacket out from under him and dug in the closest pocket.

Jax set his hand on her arm. She looked at him, and he shook his head, silently asking, What?

She motioned turning a key, then touched her collar, then pointed to where his mom and Laney were.

“There’s a key?”

Jax helped her search the senator’s pockets. The guy was unconscious, but she didn’t want to be next to him when he woke up. Not without the knife in her dress.

She patted her front and made sure it was there.

Jax came up with the key from the senator’s pocket, touched her cheek, and leaned across the unconscious man to touch his lips to hers.

Woodford shifted.

She fell back, and the senator lifted a gun with his left hand. Jax’s holster was empty.

The senator brought the weapon up. She dove for his arm, shoving it aside, and felt the gun go off.

He slammed the gun at the side of her head, his other hand still holding the switch with his grip zip-tied into place. Both hands swung at her. Pain exploded in the side of her skull.

Kenna fell back again.

She dragged the knife from her bodice, tugged off the lid, and swung it at the senator. The gun muzzle flashed over and over as he fired wildly around the room. Jax lay on top of Maizie, covering the teen with his body.

Kenna jabbed the knife into the side of the senator’s neck.

The gun slipped from his hand.

Woodford reached up and clutched the knife handle on his neck, drawing it out as he gasped and choked on his own blood. The knife fell to the floor. He clutched the blood seeping from his neck and fell back.

What would happen to the dead man’s switch if it became soaked with blood? She pushed the zip-tied hand out farther from the senator’s bleeding body.

Kenna gathered up the stupid dress and clambered over him. She fell to her knees by Jax and turned his shoulder. His head came around, and Maizie blinked up at them from the floor. Kenna touched the teen’s head. Jax had a gash on the side of his face, across his cheekbone. A graze from a bullet.

She gasped, then coughed out the grit and smoke still in the air.

The key.

She looked around, found the key on the floor, swiped it up, and stumbled across the room. Langford swung around, crouched by Adrielle. Yelling to someone.

Mrs. Jaxton needed her heart pills. That was what Laney had told her.

Kenna unlocked the latch on Laney’s collar. Laney took the key and did her mother’s. Kenna took both collars and threw them to the far corner of the room.

Only then did she let out a breath.

Every part of her body hurt.

She slumped to the floor. Laney tried to catch her, but pain flashed in Kenna’s forearms, and she couldn’t hold on.

Then Jax was there, gathering her to him.

She buried her face against his shirt, wrapped her arms around his waist, and prayed for her mother and sister.

She felt Maizie touch her arm.

Two EMTs came in and crouched by Adrielle. Kenna hung onto Jax, leaning against him until he scooped her up with one arm under her knees and another behind her back. He lifted her, carrying her like a terrible facsimile of a bride over a threshold. The whole thing was ridiculous anyway.

She looked over her shoulder.

Woodford lay dead on the floor. Along with all his plans and his attempts to terrorize people. At least this small part of the Dominatus was gone.

It was over.