Chapter 7 - The Burning Cabin
Marcus stood in the center of the burning room with a completely dead expression on his face.
"I am so incredibly sorry, boss," Marcus choked out, tears mixing with the soot on his cheeks.
Roman kept his stolen rifle aimed directly at his oldest friend's armored chest.
"Why are doing this, Marcus?" Roman demanded, deeply betrayed by the sight.
"Julian kidnapped my pregnant wife this morning and threatened to carve her open," Marcus cried.
"He told me I had to deliver your head to him or my entire family dies tonight."
Josephine slowly moved sideways, flanking the desperate man in the center of the room.
"Marcus, pulling that grenade pin will kill innocent children," Josephine reasoned calmly.
"I have absolutely no choice!" Marcus screamed, his finger twitching nervously on the metal ring.
Roman lowered his rifle very slightly, his heart breaking for his loyal friend.
"We can save your wife together, Marcus," Roman promised softly.
Marcus shook his head, completely overcome by pure, unadulterated grief and fear.
"Julian already sold my wife to the Russian syndicate as a bargaining chip," Marcus revealed.
In that momentary distraction, a sniper bullet shattered the side window of the cabin.
The high-caliber round struck Marcus perfectly in the back of the neck, killing him instantly.
His lifeless body collapsed heavily to the floor, releasing the spoon of the live grenade.
"Get down!" Roman roared, diving forcefully on top of Josephine.
The grenade detonated with a deafening, concussive roar that blew the roof partially off.
Roman's ears rang violently as heavy wooden debris rained down entirely over them.
He coughed through the thick black smoke, desperately checking Josephine for any fatal injuries.
She was bruised and bleeding from her forehead, but she nodded firmly to show she was alive.
They quickly crawled through the flaming wreckage toward the bathroom to check the boys.
The heavy mattress had completely protected Oliver and Finn from the deadly shrapnel.
Roman helped them climb out the back bathroom window into the freezing, muddy forest.
They ran blindly through the dark trees as the entire cabin burned brightly behind them.
Suddenly, Roman's encrypted cell phone began ringing loudly in his soaked suit pocket.
The caller ID boldly displayed Julian's name on the brightly glowing screen.
May you like
Roman answered the call, his intense anger threatening to consume him completely.
"Look up at the large cliff directly above you, Roman," Julian's cruel voice echoed.
