Chapter 35 - Blood in the Snow
The snap of a pine branch outside broke the silence like a pistol shot.
Daniel reacted instantly, tackling Emily to the wooden floor just as a high-caliber bullet shattered the double-paned window.
Glass rained down in jagged shards across the living room rug.
"Stay down!" Daniel commanded, rolling behind the thick stone base of the fireplace.
Emily pulled the blanket over her head, tucking herself into a tight fetal ball against the wall.
A second shot blew through the heavy timber door, followed by the crunch of heavy tactical boots approaching the porch.
"Daniel Van Allen!" a gravelly, accented voice called out through the freezing wind. "Throw out the hard drive and the girl! Arthur gives his word you will walk away!"
"You tell Arthur he can collect both in hell!" Daniel shouted back, reaching under the floorboard beneath the hearth.
He pulled out a customized twelve-gauge tactical shotgun that his father had stored there decades ago.
He racked the slide with a clean, heavy metallic clack.
"Daniel, there are too many of them!" Emily cried out over the howling wind.
"Keep your head down and cover your ears," Daniel replied, his eyes dark with lethal focus.
The front door splintered inward under a violent kick, revealing a masked mercenary holding an assault rifle.
Daniel stepped out from behind the stone chimney and pulled the trigger.
The shotgun blast roared through the small cabin, throwing the intruder backward off the porch into the deep snow.
Daniel racked the slide again, advancing toward the doorway without a single trace of hesitation.
A second shooter appeared through the broken bay window, raising his weapon toward Emily.
"No!" Daniel roared, diving across the room and firing a blast from the hip.
The buckshot caught the second mercenary in the shoulder, sending his rifle clattering against the shattered floorboards.
The man slumped against the sill, groaning in agony as blood stained the white snow outside.
Daniel rushed to the porch, weapon raised, scanning the dark tree line for further movement.
The mountain forest was dead silent, save for the whistling pine needles and the distant hum of a snowmobile engine speeding away.
"Daniel..." Emily called out, her voice trembling from behind the chimney.
May you like
Daniel turned back inside, tossing the empty shotgun onto the couch, and knelt beside her.
"They know we are here," Daniel said, hauling her gently to her feet. "We have to move. Now."
