Chapter 1 - The Bait
Ramon Ortega did not hesitate when he saw the horrifying scene before him, his instincts taking over instantly.
He barked a sharp, authoritative command to his most trusted men who stood frozen by the grim discovery.
Victor and Diego sprinted toward the ancient oak tree without asking a single question, their training kicking in.
The fog swirled around them like a living entity, trying to hide the terrible crime committed in the woods.
Diego pulled a jagged tactical blade from his belt and scaled the thick, mossy trunk with practiced agility.
He reached the heavy branch where the thick rope was tied, his eyes fixed firmly on the victim.
With one swift and powerful motion, he slashed the heavy rope holding the woman suspended in the cold air.
Gravity took over immediately, pulling the woman's limp body down through the thick canopy of leaves.
Ramon lunged forward, catching her fragile frame in his strong arms before she could hit the damp earth.
She felt incredibly light, almost hollow, as if the life had already been entirely drained out of her body.
He carefully lowered her onto a soft bed of fallen pine needles, assessing her catastrophic injuries in the dim light.
The little girl dropped to her muddy knees beside them, sobbing uncontrollably as she clutched her mother's cold hand.
Ramon pressed two steady fingers against the side of the woman's severely bruised and rope-burned neck.
For a terrible, agonizing moment, he felt absolutely nothing beneath her icy, pale skin.
Then, slowly, he felt a faint and highly erratic flutter beating weakly against his fingertips.
She was still alive, but she was barely hanging on by the thinnest of threads.
"Get the emergency medical kit from the trunk of the car," Ramon ordered Matteo, who immediately turned to run back.
The little girl stroked her mother's hair, whispering desperate prayers that Ramon pretended he could not hear.
Suddenly, without warning, the woman's dark eyes snapped wide open, staring blindly into the gray canopy above.
They were completely bloodshot and filled with an unimaginable, primal terror that shook Ramon to his core.
Her trembling hand shot up with surprising speed and grabbed Ramon by the collar of his expensive black shirt.
She pulled him down so close that he could feel her ragged, freezing breath against his cheek.
"You have to run right now," she wheezed, her voice cracking in pure, unadulterated agony.
Ramon frowned, gently trying to pry her desperate, dirt-caked fingers away from his clothes.
"You are safe now, I am going to get you out of here," he assured her in a calm, steady tone.
The woman frantically shook her head, bitter tears spilling down her dirty cheeks as she fought for air.
"You do not understand what is happening here," she choked out with her last ounce of fading strength.
"They did not hang me up here to kill me like an animal."
"They hung me up here to serve as bait for you."
Before Ramon could even begin to process the chilling warning, a distinct mechanical click echoed through the silent forest.
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Three bright red laser sights suddenly pierced the thick, suffocating fog from the surrounding tree line.
All three of the deadly red dots came to rest directly on the center of Ramon's chest.
