Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107115 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
“Winston,” Agatha’s voice warbled from somewhere behind her. “No. No!”
“Dad!” Roger finally said his first words of the day, looking stunned and pale. He turned an accusing stare Todd’s direction. “You little bastard! You stupid, self-absorbed… You both called me lazy and cowardly all these years, but I let Dad have the spotlight he wanted. I let him play his political games. They were devious and wrong, but they skirted illegal. And I stayed out of his way. You changed all that. You dragged him deeper into the seedy underbelly of DC. You gave him ideas he’d never even entertained. And now you’ve ruined us all.”
“My Winston…” Agatha dropped to her knees and gripped his limp hand, then turned on Todd. “What have you done?”
His fingers fell from Madison’s neck as he reached to console his grandmother. Madison gasped before she elbowed him with all her might. As he doubled over with an oof, she gripped his wrist and sank her teeth into the back of his hand gripping the knife as if her life depended on it.
She feared it did.
The blade clattered to the ground. He shook his offended hand, then spun her around and backhanded her, sending her reeling and tumbling—next to the gleaming blade.
Todd tugged her to her knees by the hair. “You’re right where you belong, cunt.”
Then he reared back his fist and aimed it at her face. Vaguely, she was aware of Matt closing in, of the police running closer, shouting at Todd to stand down. Screams echoed in her head, and she was shocked to realize they were hers. Panic set in. Her body trembled. The sight of his threatening fist made her shudder.
With trembling fingers, she grabbed the knife, aimed it at his belly, then shoved it in with all her might.
Despite Todd grabbing her wrist as if he intended to crush it, the blade sank in to the hilt. Blood ran over her fingers. Vaguely, she heard Todd scream as he released her.
Someone grabbed her shoulders from behind. Matt. He thrust her into Ethan’s waiting arms. Madison turned in time to see him yank the knife from Todd’s gut. They snarled at each other. She couldn’t hear their words over her roaring heart and her dizzy lurch to find her feet.
The police closed in, surrounding the stage. Todd met his father’s stricken expression, followed by his grandmother’s mask of grief, and finally Genie’s hate. Then he glared at Matt—and reached for the gun in a nearby female cop’s hand.
The officer shoved at him. “Stop! Or we’ll shoot.”
“Do you realize who I am, you whore?” Todd sneered. “Give me your gun.”
He lunged for it again, smearing his blood on the policewoman’s face and gouging at her eyes. With her distracted, he pulled the weapon from her grip. Before anyone could shoot him, he spun, firing a shot at Ethan’s feet. Her tattooed bodyguard loosened his hold for half a second—long enough for Todd to jerk Madison against him like a human shield. He panted into her face, grinning with wild eyes and a vengeful smile. He dug the barrel into her temple.
God, that face. Her heart jolted. Her life flashed in front of her. No! Her baby—the one Matt didn’t know about. The future she still hoped to spend with him. Daddy. Her friends. All her regrets. She couldn’t go out like this.
As she fought back, Todd’s finger wrapped around the trigger. Suddenly, he aimed at Matt, his smile widening maniacally. “Goodbye, motherfucker.”
“Nooooo!” Madison screeched, trying to wrest free so she could push Matt out of the path of Todd’s bullet.
Ethan yanked her away and held her back from the fray, despite her struggles, then covered her body with his own. Deafening explosions filled the afternoon and resounded in her head. She heard more screams. Children cried. Time seemed to stand still.
Then Todd’s smile froze. She saw a hole in his chest, which buckled until he curled in on his spine. Blood splattered. Some seared Madison’s cheek as he staggered back, gasping and flailing. The gun in his hand clattered to the makeshift stage.
Matt raced to his side to kick the weapon away, then stepped on Todd’s wrist so he couldn’t reach for it again. “You’re done.”
“Fuck…you.” Todd’s voice sounded strained but defiant.
Madison stared at her husband, pale and getting paler by the moment, blinking in disbelief. He was dying. And no one seemed in a hurry to stop it. A hush fell over the voters, watching raptly. Even the police and EMTs stood as if shocked and transfixed.
“No, Toddhole. Fuck you.” Then Matt spit in his face.
Tit for tat.
As the breath seemed to leave Todd’s body for good, Matt reached for Madison, pulling her from Ethan’s protective arms, and clutched her face. “Honey. Oh, god. Baby…are you okay? Talk to me. Tell me you’re all right.”