Jacob fired a round into the desk in front of him. Several shards of wood splintered into the air. The sentry behind the desk shot to his feet and stumbled backwards toward his comrades. The loud bang of the rifle and the resulting demonstration had been enough to intimidate the three men. But to be certain, Jacob pointed his rifle at the trio. He gestured for the group to back away.
“Move!” he hissed.
The three men squeezed themselves into a corner. Jacob stepped past them to a door at the other end of the room. He kicked it open.
Still panting for breath, he entered the space beyond. His wild eyes searched feverishly for Emily, but it was only a corridor leading to a series of separate rooms. A guard at the far end of the hallway raised his hands submissively into the air when he saw Jacob.
"Where is she!” Jacob growled.
The man pointed to one of the doorways in the hallway.
Jacob stepped toward the room the man had gestured. He tested the handle. It was locked.
“Emily!” Jacob shouted through the door.
“Jacob!” Emily cried back.
Jacob stepped back and fired a round into the door handle. It broke into several pieces. The door flew open after Jacob planted a swift kick against its frame. Inside, Jacob’s eyes fell upon the worst sight he could have ever imagined. His heart instantly broke. Emily’s hands were chained to the top of a table. She was beaten and bloodied across her face and backside.At the other end of the room was a sentry. It was the one who had taken her on horseback. Jacob assumed the worst.
“Have they done anything to the baby?” he asked, his voice cold and without emotion.
“No,” Emily croaked, “just me. The baby’s fine.”
To Jacob’s surprise, Emily smiled serenely at him, as if to say: it’s okay, you don’t have to worry…
“Remove her bindings,” Jacob ordered while pointing his rifle at the sentry.
The man complied, but there was flamboyance to his movements. It was as if he found something humorous in the matter.
Once Emily was free, Jacob pulled her to his side.
“Can you walk?” he asked.
Emily nodded her head in acknowledgement.
“You…” Jacob said next while removing the handgun from the back of his pants.
He gave Emily the pistol. She took hold of it, but she didn’t bother to aim it at anyone. Instead, her eyes followed Jacob’s hateful gaze to the lone sentry in the room… the one with the wry smile.
“You want me to kill you, don’t you?” Jacob said with a dark smirk of his own.
Jacob’s grasp upon the rifle tightened. His finger slithered tighter around the trigger. This kill would not be made in defense or to protect… it would be murder.
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