they reach the door, possibly less. What will it be?” I hear her father’s words.
She’s strong. She’ll do what she has to.
A bullet hits me. I don’t know where on my body because I don’t feel a sharp pain. I do feel the wind knocked out of me as I fall backward, though. I don’t open my eyes. I don’t want Liesel to see me in pain. I don’t want her to watch the life leave my body. I want her last memory of me is how much I love her before I drift away.
16
Liesel
I watch as Langston falls back against the two guards behind him. I don’t know if everyone realizes what I did, but I don’t have time to wait and see. I have a plan to enact, and time is running out.
I turn the gun on my father. “Deactivate the bomb so Corbin and Declan can get out.”
“Not until I’m satisfied that Langston is indeed dead. You’d be surprised by what people can live through.” My father is determined to check Langston himself.
As my father walks by me, I pick the cigar lighter from his pocket. Quickly, I grab the bottle of whiskey on the table, pour out its contents, and ignite the liquid—the table bursts into a wall of flames.
The men on the other side of the fire are trapped. They yell and scream as they scramble to attempt to put out the flames and get out of the room.
My father turns and smirks at me. “I didn’t think you had it in you. It’ll cost you your son’s life.”
I point the gun at my father. “Deactivate the bomb, or I’ll kill you.”
He tosses his phone at me; his security app still open on the screen.
My eyes shift to the phone in the air, and I catch it. When I look up again, my father is gone.
One of the men next to Langston is starting to stir. I fire at him before running to Langston.
“Langston! Get up!” I yell.
He opens his eyes, confused as to why he’s still alive.
“I didn’t shoot you. I shot the guard holding onto you knowing he’d fall backward and bring you with him.”
“You’re incredible,” Langston says wide-eyed before grabbing my neck and pulling me into a kiss. I want this kiss to last forever, but there’s not enough time to enjoy even a second of his sweet lips.
“We have to stop Declan and Corbin from using the security card until we’ve deactivated it,” I say. I hold up the phone, and Langston quickly looks it over.
“The app is asking for a passcode. It could take hours to figure out how to hack this,” he says.
“We have three minutes, maybe less.”
“Shit.” Langston jumps up, his mind spinning what to do next.
The fire spits and bursts behind us as it spreads toward us.
“Go,” I say, knowing my injured leg will only hold him back from reaching them in time.
“I won’t leave without you. I’ll stop them, and then I’ll come back for you.”
I grab his shirt and kiss him quickly one more time. “Go.”
Langston jumps up and takes off to find Declan and Corbin.
I start fidgeting with the phone, trying to figure out how to deactivate the bomb, but I don’t have a clue.
I cough as the smoke from the fire hits me hard. I need to get out of here. I run out through the door and run smack into a chest.
“I’ve got you,” Maxwell says. He looks at the fire behind me and coughs. “We need to get out of here.”
I shake my head. “We have to deactivate a bomb that’s going to go off when Corbin and Declan try to exit the building.”
I hand him the phone. “Shit. I’ll see what I can do while you find a way out of here.”
“Deal.”
I lead us down the hallway, following the direction that Langston went after Corbin and Declan. I need to know that Langston got to them in time. I need to know that they are safe.
17
Langston
I run as fast as my feet will carry me. I won’t fail Liesel. I won’t fail Declan. I have to run faster than I’ve ever run before. The hallways are long and winding, but thankfully there aren’t a lot of choices of direction to be made. The only way I’ll fail is if I don’t run fast enough.
I run faster.
I can’t feel my feet as I run. Sweat covers my brow and starts soaking through my shirt. My lungs burn from the exertion, but