Chapter 5 - Blood on the Pine Floor
The second intruder on the ground floor opened fire on full auto, sending suppressed 9mm rounds chewing through the banister and ceiling plaster. Mark didn't flinch. He rolled toward the linen closet, leveled his Glock down the stairwell, and fired three controlled double-taps into the muzzle flashes below.
A sharp grunt followed. A body collapsed heavily against the umbrella stand near the entryway.
Mark scrambled back toward the master bedroom. ""Go! Out the window, now!""
Sarah was already moving, hauling a half-conscious, terrified Leo toward the bathroom window. She pushed the sash up into the damp night air. Mark helped boost Leo over the sill onto the tar-paper roof of the attached garage.
""Daddy! Come with us!"" Leo cried out, his small hands clutching Mark’s torn shirt collar.
""I’m right behind you, buddy,"" Mark lied softly, kissing the boy's forehead before pushing him gently onto the shingles beside Sarah. ""Go, Sarah!""
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Sarah grabbed Leo and scrambled across the wet incline toward the drop-off point. Mark swung his legs over the sill to follow, but an iron grip locked onto his tactical vest from inside the bathroom, hauling him back through the window with bone-crushing force.
Mark slammed onto the tiled floor, his gun skittering across the slick porcelain. Standing above him in the gloom was a towering figure in night-vision goggles, a combat knife already flashing in the pale moonlight.
