Chapter 8 - The Face of a Stranger
Rowan instantly stepped in front of me, shielding my body with his own.
"Don't you dare touch her," Rowan growled, his voice a perfect echo of his brothers.
Mark let out a cruel, patronizing laugh that echoed against the wooden walls of the cabin.
"I don't want to hurt her, Rowan, I just want you to get in the back of the transport van like a good boy," Mark said calmly.
"You mean like a good sacrificial lamb," Rowan shot back, his fists clenched tightly at his sides.
I stepped around Rowan, placing myself directly between my husband's weapon and my son.
"You will have to shoot me first, Mark," I declared, my voice steady despite the absolute terror raging in my chest.
"Sarah, please step aside, Leo and Max will be dead in less than two hours if we don't start the extraction," Mark pleaded, showing a flicker of genuine desperation.
"You are asking me to choose which of my children gets to live, and I absolutely refuse to play God!" I screamed at him.
One of the armed mercenaries checked his glowing smartwatch and stepped forward.
"Mr. Mercer, the twins' vitals are dropping rapidly, we are completely out of time," the mercenary warned.
Mark's face hardened into a mask of pure, ruthless determination.
"Take the mother down safely, and bag the boy," Mark ordered his men without a shred of hesitation.
The four massive men surged forward simultaneously, their tactical boots thundering against the wooden floor.
I desperately grabbed a heavy cast-iron fireplace poker from the hearth and swung it wildly at the first man.
The heavy metal connected with his jaw, sending him crashing into the coffee table.
But the other three were entirely too fast for us.
One of them violently grabbed Rowan by the throat, slamming him brutally against the log wall.
Another mercenary grabbed my arms, twisting them painfully behind my back until I dropped the weapon.
Mark walked slowly toward Rowan, holding the loaded tranquilizer gun point-blank against my son's neck.
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"I really am sorry it had to end this way, son," Mark whispered.
Before Mark could pull the trigger, the front door of the cabin was kicked completely off its hinges.
