Chapter 5 - The Hostage
Santiago stared through the glass, his blood turning completely to ice.
Tomas looked perfectly calm as he stood in the freezing snow.
Sophia was trembling violently in her thin pajamas, her terrified eyes darting around the cabin.
Ruby struggled to sit up on the sofa, her face draining of color.
"He has her," Santiago whispered, his voice cracking with pure rage.
"How did he find this place?" Ruby gasped, clutching her bandaged side.
Santiago looked down at the medical kit he had just used.
He realized he had grabbed it from the emergency supply cache in his armored SUV before abandoning the vehicle.
The kit must have contained a microscopic tracking device.
Tomas raised a megaphone to his mouth.
"Come out, Santiago!" Tomas's voice echoed through the dense trees.
"Bring the girl out here, and I promise Sophia lives."
"If you try to fight, I will end her misery right now."
Santiago grabbed his heavy assault rifle from the weapons locker hidden beneath the floorboards.
He checked the magazine, his face set in a mask of lethal determination.
"I am not going to let him hurt either of you," Santiago promised.
"You cannot fight all of them," Ruby argued, grabbing his arm.
"Let me go out there."
"He wants me dead to keep his secret safe."
Santiago looked at her, entirely appalled by the suggestion.
"I protect what belongs to me," Santiago stated fiercely.
"And right now, you and my sister are the only things that matter in this world."
He formulated a desperate, suicidal plan in a matter of seconds.
He handed Ruby a small, silver pistol.
"Lock yourself in the underground root cellar beneath the kitchen rug."
"When the shooting starts, do not come out until you hear my voice."
Ruby took the gun, her hands shaking as tears filled her eyes.
"Please don't die, Santiago," she whispered.
He kissed her forehead softly, lingering for a fraction of a second.
Then he kicked the front door of the cabin completely open.
He stepped out onto the porch, his rifle lowered but ready.
Tomas smiled a cold, victorious smile and pushed his gun harder against Sophia's temple.
"Where is the maid?" Tomas demanded.
May you like
Before Santiago could answer, Sophia violently threw her head backward.
She smashed her skull directly into Tomas's nose with a sickening crunch.
