Shoving Rein into the main hall, she yelled, “Go!”
Without looking, Rein stumbled toward the elevator. Ahron recovered quickly and flipped over onto his hands and knees. Before he could rise to his feet, Ellyssa kicked him in the side. His ribs crunched, and he went down again.
She took off and slipped inside just as the elevator doors snicked shut. Her heart thumping against her chest, she slid the card through the reader, then jabbed the fourth floor button, over and over, until the elevator began its ascent.
Breathing out relieved air, Ellyssa turned toward Rein. He pulled her into his arms.
44
As Rein held her, stroking her hair, time crawled along. Ellyssa could feel the seconds ticking away, galloping into minutes. As soon as the elevator bumped to a stop, Ellyssa pulled away from Rein.
“How are we getting out?” he asked.
“Answers later,” she answered, yanking him through the parting doors into her father’s office.
Ellyssa zigzagged around the doctor’s desk and toward a large room that normally held her father’s secretarial support staff. Desks and chairs sat neatly lined along together to the back of the room, where Lake Michigan could be viewed beyond the grounds behind The Center. She sprinted past the row of desks and down the length of the large glass panes, peering toward the ground until she found what she was looking for.
“Wait here,” she said, dropping Rein’s hand.
She picked up a desk chair and swung it like a battering ram. The window cracked. She swung again and again, screaming in frustration each time the window failed to break.
“Move,” Rein said from behind.
He picked up another chair and launched it at the window. Shards of glass flew into the darkness as a cool breeze from the lake pricked Ellyssa’s skin. Sirens from emergency vehicles pierced the night. Edging forward, Ellyssa looked down. No one stirred below. As expected, all the workers were at the front of the building lined in rows for easy accountability.
“This is it,” she said.
“We’re jumping?” he asked.
“Dynamite,” she answered, grabbing his hand. Without a word of warning, she flung herself out into the air.
With all the boxes and bundles of paper that occupied the dumpster, Ellyssa had expected the landing to be softer. Instead, the impact had jarred her teeth and rattled her bones. She lay stunned for a moment, breathless. Then, she realized Rein’s hand wasn’t in hers. She panicked and fought to get upright. The cardboard worked against her, like quicksand pulling her down.
“Rein.”
He groaned.
“Are you all right?”
His head poked out from the debris. A piece of paper stuck in his dark hair. “Compared to what?”
She released a sigh of relief as she struggled against the debris and went to him. “Can you move?”
“I think so.”
Those were the only words she needed to hear. Ellyssa grabbed him by the shirt. “Come on,” she said, her words labored. Staggering through the trash, they clambered over the boxes to the side of the trash bin.
Rein flipped over the edge onto the grounds behind The Center and she followed. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Ellyssa grasped Rein’s hand and they were on the run.
A deafening explosion rocked the ground, followed by another. Warm air rushed past them and lifted Ellyssa off her feet. Rein’s hand was ripped from her grip.
Landing in the dumpster had been like falling into cotton balls compared to the hard ground Ellyssa found herself tumbling across an instant later. Flashes of greens and browns whirled by at dizzying speed. After one last spin, Ellyssa stopped on her back.
The breath was knocked out of her, and for a few agonizing seconds her lungs refused to expand. Every inch of her skin burned. Gasping, she lay still until the last of the explosions died away. Dust billowed above her and little pieces of debris had started to land around her. Gingerly, she assessed the damage, moving toes and fingers, then legs and arms. Every muscle shrieked protests, but nothing seemed broken.
She turned her head, looking for Rein. He lay a meter beyond her. He was also on his back, and he was moving and groaning. She felt elated.
He turned his head toward her, his eyes searching for her too. He smiled when his gaze met hers.
She rolled to her stomach and crawled over to him.
“Can you get up?”
“If I lived through that, surely I can stand.”
She brushed his cheek with the back of her hand. He winced, and she pulled back.
“Don’t,” he said, capturing her hand. “Never stop touching me.” He kissed the tips of her fingers.
At the touch of his lips, a pleasant current traveled through her. Grinning—it even hurt to
Rein gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “Good.” He exhaled and made a face. “Do I look as bad as I feel?”
Ellyssa chewed on her bottom lip and nodded.
“My hair hurts. I never knew someone’s hair could hurt.”
She laughed. It felt good. Painful, but good. To think, in her previous life, something like that would’ve been locked away inside her, never to be fully experienced.
The corners of Rein’s mouth curled upward. His lips looked delicious. Ellyssa leaned over and kissed him. His mouth opened to hers, and she tasted him as electricity found home in her veins. She wanted to stay with her lips locked on his, but she pulled away.
“We have to go,” she said turning toward the building.
Woody had done an awesome job placing the explosives as directed. The Center had collapsed inward. There was nothing left but a pile of twisted metal and charred bricks. Her father’s work had been destroyed.
“I know,” he said, stroking her cheek.
Reluctant to find what lay ahead for them, Ellyssa pulled herself onto her feet. Without her aid, Rein stood up; the aftereffects of Aalexis’ torture must’ve diminished under the flood of adrenaline.
“Let’s go home,” Rein said.
Ellyssa inwardly cringed at the mention of home. At the time, Rein must not have comprehended what her father had said about their home in Missouri. She didn’t have the heart to tell him yet. He’d been through so much.
Without saying anything, she took his hand, and together, they limped farther away from the burning building toward the chain-link fence that surrounded the property. From there, they sidled along the fence until they reached the front. Rows and rows of workers stared straight ahead at the blaze. Flashing lights from the emergency vehicles doused them in red and blue.
Staying close to the fence, away from the lights and people, they made their way to the sign at the entrance. Ellyssa turned around and watched the reddish-orange glow. Hungry flames flicked through the debris, trying to consume all that was left.
“Do you think this is why Jeremy reached out to me?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not over,” she said.
“I know. But together, we can make it though whatever awaits us.”
With Rein’s hand in hers, she turned and walked away from the burning remnants of her old life, in search of Woody.
