Chapter 8 - The Forest Hunt
Marin ran until her lungs burned like absolute fire in the freezing night air.
The dense forest was pitch black, making every single step a terrifying, blind gamble.
She held Leo tightly against her chest, hushing his quiet whimpers with desperate promises of safety.
She could hear the heavy boots of the highly trained mercenaries crunching in the snow just a few hundred yards behind her.
They were systematically tracking her footprints, using advanced thermal imaging goggles to cut through the dark.
Marin knew she could not outrun a team of professional killers while carrying a child.
She needed to use the brutal survival skills she had secretly learned while managing Raphael’s dangerous empire.
She found a large, hollowed-out tree trunk surrounded by thick, thorny winter brush.
She carefully placed Leo inside the dark hollow and covered the opening with loose branches.
She kissed his cold forehead and ordered him to remain absolutely silent until she came back for him.
Marin gripped the heavy pistol Beckett had given her and quietly moved away from the tree to draw their attention.
She intentionally stepped heavily on a dry branch, creating a loud, sharp crack that echoed through the woods.
Two mercenaries instantly broke away from their main group and sprinted directly toward her position.
Marin hid completely still behind a massive oak tree, controlling her ragged breathing perfectly.
As the first man stepped past her hiding spot, she lunged forward with terrifying speed.
She slammed the heavy steel barrel of her gun brutally into the back of his neck, dropping him instantly.
She grabbed his dropped tactical rifle and aimed it at the second mercenary.
She fired a single, flawless shot directly into the center of his armored chest, sending him crashing into the snow.
Marin panted heavily, her hands shaking violently from the massive rush of pure adrenaline.
She turned around to run back to the hollow tree to retrieve her terrified son.
Her blood turned completely to ice as she saw a red laser sight cutting through the darkness.
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The deadly red dot was resting perfectly in the center of Leo’s tiny chest.
A third mercenary was standing just ten feet away, aiming a suppressed sniper rifle directly at her child.
