Chapter 60 The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived #3
Reed roars at his sister. “Kenzie, for fuck’s sake. Enough! For once in your life, can you shut the hell up?”
She falters back a step, surprised at his outburst.
Jabali resumes his frenzied pacing, his patience with Kenzie’s interruptions teetering on the edge. Rather than killing her, he’s trying to make Reed give him the go-ahead.
He’s depraved. Beyond salvation.
“Tick tock, big man,” he spits out. “Choose before time runs out.”
Having regained some composure, Reed attempts to de-escalate the situation. “Nobody else needs to die today, Jabali. Put the weapons down and end this peacefully.”
“Choose,” he commands, eyes feral. “Why is this a hard decision for you? One is a good person. The other is a lying whore. Choose.”
“This is asinine,” Kenzie mutters, backing away slowly.
“Choosing solves nothing,” Reed counters. “You get the same ending either way.”
Jabali glances toward the door and yells, “Repo. Blaze. Bring in our guests. Our hero needs an incentive.” To Reed, he threatens, “If you don’t choose, I’ll start killing your friends until you make a decision.”
The metal of the blade feels warm and slick from being trapped in my sweaty palms.
I need to make a move before it’s too late. Do something to put an end to this, but with Reed restrained and those big guys never more than a shout away, I’m powerless to intervene. This tiny razor is useless against all this firepower.
The goons return with the remaining agents. Ginny is at the back of the pack, with a gun pointed at a man wearing a silk pajama set. I’m guessing that’s the plastic surgeon. A terrified petite female cowers near him.
From the corner of my eye, I detect Reed looking my way. I quickly check to ensure nobody is watching us, then flash the razor at him. He gives me the slightest tip of his head, beckoning me closer.
Slowly, we inch toward one another.
Caterpillar starts monologuing for the audience in classic villain style. “Good news, friends. Your fellow agent has struck up a deal. He’s convinced me to let everyone go and turn myself in. In exchange, all he needs to do is make a simple choice. Isn’t that exciting?”
Reed and I drift another step closer.
“I figured you’d enjoy being in here when he makes his selection. You know? To bear witness to his bravery.”
One more step.
Carnosaurus prattles on. “The suspense is killing me. Will he save the woman he loves or his own sister? One lives. One dies.”
Kenzie turns to the newcomers. “Ginny, don’t let him do this to me. Please. You have to stop him.”
Ginny looks away, cruelly blowing her off. She obviously has no loyalty to anyone but herself.
Now Kenzie knows how it feels.
I glide two inches closer, then freeze when Jabali swings his focus toward us.
“I just realized something, Agent Hayes. This must be painfully familiar to you, huh? Holding the power to decide someone’s fate.” He waggles his brows, trying to elicit a reaction.
When he doesn’t get one, he resumes his bizarre cajoling.
“Must be agony to be in this position. Especially considering your own mother had a choice. And she didn’t pick you, did she?
” He clicks his tongue, feigning pity. “Aww. I can’t decide if it’s tragic or poignant that you’re faced with the same decision.
Keep one and discard the other. The power is in your hands. ”
The words Reed whispered late that one night replay through my mind.
My mother had a choice. And she made it. Perry and I paid the price for her selfishness.
Reed’s jaw hardens, anger locking it in place. His upper lips curves, and his neck muscles elongate. “How do you know about that?”
“Kenzie’s mother told her all about your real family.
The one who decided you weren’t worth the trouble.
” He points the gun at my traitorous former friend.
“She gleefully passed on every little detail, which I tucked in my back pocket and saved it for the perfect moment. It’s underhanded, I know.
But you gotta give me credit for the way it’s come together. ”
“Stop it, Silas-err-Jabali,” I blather in a flustered rush, refusing to let him cause Reed any more pain.
“Shut up, Lila. The men are talking,” Cacciatore snaps at me.
Bastard.
Using my above-average dexterity, I delicately slip the cap off the razor, exposing the blade, then tuck it in my front pocket.
WWKD? What would Kri do?
Jabali pads to Reed, ensnaring him in his chilling stare. “Kenzie told me how you were born to an eighteen-year-old unwed slut in the hills of Tennessee. Poor thing didn’t have a pot to piss in. She couldn’t possibly afford to keep you all.”
All?
“Stop it,” Reed seethes, his entire body trembling. “Shut the fuck up.”
Reveling in Reed’s pain, Jabali digs the knife in deeper. “She looked at the babies she delivered and played eeny, meeny, miny, moe. You and Perry didn’t make the cut, did you? Tragic.”
Despite some of that not adding up in my mind, I won’t let the man I love suffer. I’m done allowing Jabali to unearth this trauma for his depraved entertainment.
“That’s enough,” I rage at him, moving in front of Reed and turning my back on the devil.
“Look at me,” I tell my love, capturing his eyes. “Breathe with me, dimples. I’m right here, and I need you calm.” I hold his stare, reminding him of his vow. “In this lifetime first, remember?”
Carburetor cackles behind me, his cruelty eclipsing the room.
While he mucks it up, I flick my wrist, slicing through Reed’s wrist restraint in one smooth motion. “Told you I was good with my hands,” I whisper, adding a wink.
Footsteps rapidly approach from behind. I tense, curling the blade in my fist and preparing to make my move.
A slimy hand firmly grips my shoulder, flinging me away from Reed. As I whirl backward, I raise my fist and slam it into whatever part of Jabali I can access.
I make contact with the side of his neck, feeling the flesh give way. A satisfying gurgle comes from him.
It’s only then that I release the blade, leaving it protruding from his neck.
His eyes double in size, and his handgun clatters to the ground. Blood jets from the wound, flowing like a red waterfall.
All hell breaks loose.
Trembling, I step aside to give Reed a path to finish what I started. He explodes, launching at Jabali and tackling him to the floor.
Simultaneously, the four SWAT agents spring into action, catching the two STK goons off guard.
Everywhere I look, there’s violence. People fighting for their lives.
It’s . . . carnage.
Reed’s fist repeatedly pummels Jabali’s face. The thud of skull meeting floor with each punch sends waves of disgust through me.
Trying to block it out, I scurry over and swipe the loose gun so he can’t turn it on Reed. However, I soon realize that won’t be an issue.
Jabali is either unconscious or dead. Either works for me.
Reed acts swiftly to roll him over and divest him of all the other weapons. I kick each one away, keeping the handgun pointed toward the floor.
My focus briefly looks toward the door. The FBI agents have already subdued the remaining bad guys.
“You got him, Hayes?” an agent calls out.
“Affirmative,” Reed answers, the epitome of cool and collected.
Hard to believe he was bristling with anguish only moments earlier. Muscle memory must have taken over, unlocking his training.
I release the shakiest exhale of my life, relief filling my lungs on the next inhale.
We did it. We freaking did it.
But wait. Hold on. Someone is missing.
Scratch that. Two someones.
They must have disappeared in the bedlam.
Unable to speak, I meet Reed’s eyes, telegraphing my panic.
“What is it?” he asks.
All I can do is point toward the door and sputter, “They’re gone. Escaped. Got away.”
“Who?”
“Ginny. And Kenzie.”