AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No one is letting him die. We’ve got a crisis negotiator and ten armed, expert officers protecting him. A peaceful resolution is our top priority.” A vein in Willis’s forehead throbbed and bulged.
His response exuded confidence but provided zero information. The platitude was probably a handy quote police officers memorized and used when pressed for details they didn’t wish to share. “I won’t stay here.” Tess folded her arms and glared.
“The teams are trained to defuse situations like this. Like I said, restoring safety is our top priority.”
Willis’s attempt to talk her down from the ledge fell flat. “I don’t give a shit about your priorities. Do you understand how much Mark has suffered?” She lashed out, unable to control her anger a second longer.
Over the radio, officers shouted for Willis to join them right away.
Willis stepped closer and bent forward, near her face. “Listen. I will get him back. Stay here.” He raced to join the group, which sped down the trail, dirt flying behind them.
Abandoned, she turned to Declan and stared after the running officers.
“Bollocks, what a fucking cock-up,” Declan spat out.
“Take me to Mark. I can’t let him go through this alone.” She looked up, silently pleading he’d help.
Hesitating, he angled his head and regarded her before sighing. “We shouldn’t do this, but I’ll help you.”
Before either of them could move, shouting erupted, closer than the commotion from a few moments ago.
“Everybody, clear out. Give the men space to move,” someone with a bullhorn called. The pounding herd of footsteps reversed direction and started halfway back up the hill.
Declan assisted her amble down the trail, and the sound of footsteps helped her chart the path. She trod over pine needles and traversed two hairpin turns leading to a second clearing. Despite her determination to find Mark, she nearly buckled from the fatigue weighing down her legs. Lactic acid burned in her quads, and her healing leg ached from plodding across the woods.
Two voices rose above the whistling wind, and Declan gestured to their left.
She followed close behind and crouched next to him by a collection of trees tucked out of view.
In the clearing, Dmitry positioned Mark in front of him like a shield and gripped a cocked handgun in his other hand.
Motionless as a statue, Mark stood, his face glistening with sweat.
She raised a fist to her mouth so she wouldn’t cry out. A lump lodged in her throat, and her heart pounded against her chest like a wrecking ball swinging against a brick wall.
A lone figure dressed in a black tactical vest and wearing a helmet stepped in front of the armed officers, about four yards from the two men. The man opened his bare hands wide and gestured in Dmitry’s direction.
Glancing back and forth, the gunman kept his right index finger hovering near the handgun’s trigger and hyperventilated.
A pack of officers with an arsenal of rifles closed around the men, forming a semi-circle.
The hostage negotiator, a slight man with graying hair, stepped forward. “I’m Malcolm Turner. We all want a positive outcome tonight, so everyone goes home safe. Dmitry, would you like to go home?”
The gunman didn’t respond.
“I want to understand what’s going on. What’s on your mind tonight?” Malcolm forged ahead.
Still, no response.
“I want to help you, Dmitry, and I’m not a police officer. I’m someone who cares, and I’m here to listen to what you want to say.”
Dmitry scanned both directions. “I borrowed money from Yuri to bribe Russians not to burn my family’s house down. But I can’t pay it back.”
Malcolm nodded. “I understand. You owe Yuri money. It sounds like you don’t want to harm anyone, Dmitry.” He repeated the gunman’s words, followed by empathic phrases, creating an intentional lulling effect designed to soothe.
“No. But I must pay money, or Yuri will kill me.”
Tess groaned inside. Dmitry didn’t know Yuri was dead. From her vantage point, she caught a couple of police officers in the group exchanging meaningful stares. Holding her breath, she winced as Mark’s knees buckled slightly, but he recovered before falling.
