Seize Today by Dunn Pintip

Author:Dunn, Pintip
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: time travel, parallel worlds, precognitive, Marie Lu, Alexandra Bracken, Across the Universe, Carve the Mark
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

29

When I crouch in front of the cabinet and open the trap door to the cellar, Ryder’s the first one up the stairs. Limbo. He’s the last person I want to see.

The smile spreads widely, automatically, across his face, and everything inside me shrinks into a little ball.

“Are they gone?” he asks. “Is it safe?”

I don’t respond. I don’t have to.

I know the moment he glimpses the guards’ heavy black boots over my shoulder. The smile evaporates in an instant, and confusion clouds his eyes.

Ow, that hurts. That single moment when he’s not sure what happened, when he still wants to believe the best, despite the evidence stacked against me. I feel it like a dagger piercing my throat.

“Olivia?” he asks quietly. “What’s going on?”

Tears leap into my eyes. The situation is obvious, and yet, he’s still asking. He’s still hoping he’s wrong. “I’m sorry, Ryder. I messed up. I shouldn’t have brought you guys here, but I did. And now, I have no choice.”

His mouth tightens. “You always have a choice.”

“Yes,” I say. “But it’s not always the one you want to make. Don’t worry, though. You’ll be safe. Pardoned from your crimes. All the formula you need—”

I break off mid-sentence as Scar Face shoves me roughly away. “Come out, now, before I drag you out,” he growls, jabbing the electro-whip directly in Ryder’s chest.

“What are you doing?” I shriek. “He’s not a criminal. Get that thing away from him.” In response, Scar Face just pushes the electro-whip deeper.

I whirl to my mother, who is standing with her arms folded casually across her chest. “Mom! Tell him to back off!”

“I’m sorry, Olivia,” she says, and there’s not a single note of regret in her voice. “As I said, when the ends are big enough, any means will justify them. I can’t let your friends loose in society. They’re too big a risk. I said what I had to say to get what I want.”

I inhale sharply, and my heart drops like an anchor in my chest. I can’t believe it…and yet, I should’ve known. The chairwoman thinks nothing of torturing small children. She would have no qualms about lying to me.

Oh Fates. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

I try desperately to catch Ryder’s eyes, but he won’t look at me as he maneuvers his body through the open cabinet door, his movements stiff. The rest of them crawl out after him. Angela, with Remi clasped to her chest. Mikey, his eyes narrowed and glaring. Logan, who keeps his gaze down, as though he’s afraid of what his eyes might reveal, as though the monster he keeps tethered so tightly will come roaring out. And finally, Callie.

She trips on the bottom frame of the cabinet, and her body launches into Scar Face. Their eyes lock, and something moves over his features, something dark and disturbing.

“So…Callie Stone. We meet again.” The vicious smile pulls and yanks at his scar. He taps the electro-whip against his palm. “It’s been ten years, and I still haven’t forgotten what you did to me.

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