Chapter 6 - The Basement
I didn't wait another second.
I kicked the basement window as hard as I could.
The old glass shattered inward, raining down onto the concrete floor below.
I slid through the narrow opening, tearing my dress shirt and scraping my ribs.
I dropped into the dark, damp basement and quickly got to my feet.
The house above me was shaking with footsteps.
I could hear the masked man marching toward the staircase.
He was going up to get Noah.
I ran toward the wooden basement stairs, intending to ambush the man from behind.
But before I reached the first step, a hand shot out from the darkness beneath the staircase.
Someone grabbed my ankle hard.
I tripped, crashing hard onto the wooden steps.
I scrambled to my knees, raising my fists to fight in the dark.
"Quiet," a weak voice whispered.
I squinted into the shadows and saw Derek leaning against the cinderblock wall.
His face was bruised, and he was holding his ribs, but he was alive.
"He hit me with the butt of the gun," Derek groaned.
"But I locked the upstairs hallway door before he knocked me out."
"It'll buy Noah a few minutes."
"Lena told him to take Noah for ransom," I whispered furiously.
"I know," Derek said, his eyes hardening with anger.
"She planned this whole thing to steal drug money and use Travis as the fall guy."
"We need to get upstairs," I said, helping my brother to his feet.
Suddenly, a loud, terrified scream echoed from the kitchen right above us.
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It wasn't Lena, and it wasn't the hitman.
It was Travis, and he was screaming in absolute agony.
