Chapter 2 - The Dark Woods
Roman threw his massive body across the cabin before the gunman could pull the trigger.
He slammed the attacker against the wall, wrestling the rifle out of his hands with terrifying speed.
A sickening crunch echoed through the room as Roman neutralized the threat with a brutal strike.
“Dante, secure the exit!” Roman shouted to his lieutenant, wiping a smear of blood from his cheek.
Dante stepped over the bodies in the doorway, firing down the corridor to keep Kincaid’s remaining men pinned down.
Roman rushed back to me, his chest heaving as he stared at Lily crying in her carrier.
“Are you hit?” he demanded, his hands frantically checking Jude and Lily for injuries.
“We’re fine,” I choked out, shaking uncontrollably as I adjusted my clothing.
“We can’t hold this train,” Dante yelled from the hallway.
“They have the whole perimeter surrounded.”
Roman grabbed the carrier holding Lily and slung it over his broad shoulder.
“Grab the other two babies from the stroller and follow me,” Roman ordered his lieutenant.
He turned to me and grabbed my hand with a grip like iron.
“Do exactly as I say, or none of us are making it out of here alive.”
Roman kicked open the emergency floor hatch hidden beneath the cabin’s rug.
A rush of freezing night air blasted up from the tracks below.
We dropped down into the darkness one by one, landing on the sharp gravel beneath the train.
Gunfire continued to echo above us as we scrambled out from under the steel undercarriage.
We ran blindly into the dense, freezing woods, guided only by the pale moonlight filtering through the trees.
My lungs burned as I carried Jude, struggling to keep up with Roman’s relentless pace.
After a mile of running, we finally stopped behind a cluster of massive oak trees to catch our breath.
I looked at Roman, who was gently rocking my daughter Lily to quiet her cries.
“Why did that man aim at my daughter?” I demanded, anger temporarily overpowering my fear.
“I’m just a stranger on a train.”
Roman looked down at Lily’s face as the moonlight illuminated her delicate features.
His dark eyes widened in absolute shock.
“Where did you say you found this girl?” Roman whispered.
“I didn't say,” I replied defensively.
May you like
Roman stepped closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous, trembling octave.
“She has my dead wife’s eyes.”
