Page 132 of The Widower
“Don’t you dare!” he snapped at me.
“Last chance!”
No one spoke after that.
“Three!”
“Forgive me for everything, Isabelle.”
After he said that, a gunshot echoed through the living room...
The children were terrified after the gunshot. My heart was racing.
I looked at Colin—he was standing, with no visible injury.
Thank God.
“You’ve got guts, man! I like it!”
Colin looked around, then glanced at where the bullet had lodged. The shot had been aimed at the sofa, not at the three of us.
As I crouched, Colin grabbed me, telling me with his eyes to stay standing.
“Dad, I’m scared. What was that loud noise?” Joshua asked.
Colin hesitated for a moment, then crouched down to his son’s level. After that he looked at me differently—like he had aplan—but Marcos still held the gun, and any wrong move would be far too risky.
Stealing a glance, Colin uncovered his son’s ears and said, “Remember the secret passage, Joshua? We used to play there with your sister. Finding her is part of the game.”
Joshua nodded.
“It’s safe there.When I say so, I need you to go—”
“Get out of there now and stop whispering to the kid!” Marcos shouted, cutting him off. Joshua flinched, but Colin covered his ears again and stood up.
“Jeremy, search the mansion, and mark every place with high-value items, like we agreed yesterday,” he told his henchman, who was watching us from a distance.
“Yes, boss.”
We were all on edge.
Marcos strolled through the living room, fiddling with objects and smiling most of the time.
“I’m going to profit big.That bitch just led me to a goldmine,” he sneered.
Colin stepped forward, but I grabbed his arm.
“Don’t—let him talk!” I hissed, trying to hold Colin back so he wouldn’t react to the provocation. If he did, it would be the end for us.
“Well… since Jeremy and Jay are taking their sweet time, I see there are plenty of valuable things in this mansion. We’re going to have ourselves a party…”
As Marcos turned slightly, Colin lunged at him, knocking him down.
The men grappled, but the revolver was still in Marcos’s hand and Colin fought to wrest it away at all costs.They were about the same size and strength; neither had the upper hand.
“Run to my room and use the code, Joshua! Quick!” Colin shouted.
I understood and bolted with the two kids. After we cleared the hallway I pulled the blindfolds off them. When I looked back, what I heard next—
