Chapter 6 - The Sniper's Mark
Natalie froze completely as the bright red laser dot settled perfectly over her racing heart.
She realized with absolute horror that a third shooter was positioned somewhere in the trees above the highway.
Raymond saw the deadly laser and lunged forward without a single second of hesitation.
He tackled Natalie hard into the freezing mud just as a high-caliber sniper bullet tore through the air where she had been standing.
The heavy bullet completely shattered the trunk of the pine tree, raining sharp splinters down on their heads.
Raymond grabbed her hand and dragged her deeper into the dense, unforgiving forest.
The pouring rain provided natural cover, washing away their muddy footprints as they ran blindly through the dark.
They sprinted for nearly a mile until they found a small, abandoned hunting cabin hidden in a rocky ravine.
Raymond kicked the rotting wooden door open and quickly secured the perimeter while Natalie collapsed onto the dusty floor.
She gasped for air, her beautiful white wedding dress now completely stained with blood, mud, and endless rain.
Raymond barricaded the door with a heavy wooden table and pulled a small medical kit from his tactical belt.
He instructed Natalie to press a clean bandage against his bleeding head while he reloaded his almost empty weapon.
The silence in the small cabin was absolutely suffocating, broken only by the sound of the rain hitting the tin roof.
Natalie looked at the rugged detective and quietly thanked him for sacrificing his own safety to save her life.
Raymond looked up, his hardened eyes softening just slightly in the dim, shadowed light.
He confessed that he had been tracking Marcus for years because the syndicate had murdered his former partner.
He admitted he had attended the wedding undercover, hoping to finally catch Marcus slipping up in public.
Natalie felt a strange, undeniable spark of connection with the brave man sitting across from her in the dark.
She realized that despite the absolute chaos of her ruined wedding, she had found someone who actually cared about justice.
She pulled out the burner phone again, intending to look for a way to trace the sniper's radio frequency.
As the screen illuminated, a live video feed suddenly popped up from an unknown incoming caller.
Natalie hesitated, but pressed accept, terrified of what Marcus was going to show her next.
The video displayed a dark, damp basement, where her treacherous sister Chloe was tied tightly to a metal chair.
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Marcus stepped into the frame, wiping blood from his knuckles, and smiled directly into the camera lens.
He calmly stated that if Natalie did not bring the phone to the city docks in one hour, he would skin her sister alive.
