Chapter 9 - The Redemption
Graham coughed violently through the thick cloud of drywall dust and debris.
He was still wearing handcuffs, but the chain between them had been brutally severed.
"Graham, how did you escape the FBI?" I yelled over the ringing in my ears.
"They weren't real FBI agents, Elaine," he shouted back, pulling us toward the breach.
He explained that the cartel had faked his arrest to quietly kidnap him for interrogation.
He had managed to crash their vehicle and escape back to the house to save us.
"I used a localized explosive from the garage to blow through the exterior wall," he explained rapidly.
The armed men in the hallway began firing heavily through the barricaded office door.
Bullets shredded the furniture and shattered the remaining glass in the room.
"We have to climb out through the hole right now!" Graham ordered, lifting Harper up.
I grabbed the backpack full of cash and shoved it into Graham's hands.
"Take this, it's the only thing they actually want!" I screamed over the deafening gunfire.
Graham looked at the money, then looked at me with deep, genuine remorse in his eyes.
"I caused all of this, and I am going to end it," he said, his voice surprisingly calm.
He pushed Harper and me out through the massive hole into the cool night air.
He grabbed Leo by the collar and aggressively threw him out onto the grass with us.
Graham did not follow us out into the safety of the dark yard.
Instead, he picked up the remote gas detonator that Harper had saved from the fireplace.
"Graham, no!" I screamed, realizing exactly what he was about to do.
He smiled sadly at me one last time, pressing the red button with his thumb.
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The entire house erupted into a massive, blinding ball of orange and yellow fire.
The shockwave knocked us flat onto the grass as the cartel members were instantly vaporized.
