Marked

Chapter Thirty Seven

She quickly grew dizzy, her head dashing madly between Abby and Lowell.

"I hate to admit it but he's right. They'll kill her sons if they can't get to her. They're not responsible in any way for the things she has done. We gotta let them have her, Rachel."

"But what about Hector?" She said to them.

"Well, the way I see it, Abby has some motivation to tell us what happened to him now more than ever. If not, she'll watch her kid die." Juan said, spinning on his heal to unleash the full force of his outrage on Abby. "So tell us. What did you do with my brother?"

"I don't know what the hell happened to your brother!"

"Really? Because you abandoned him in the capital with a fake mark and I bet you were hoping they'd kill him so you wouldn't have to deal with him. So where the hell is he now?"

"I told you," Abby replied. She was no longer trying to keep up the façade of nonchalance. Her entire frame quivered, desperate to release herself in order to save her son. Though Rachel hated her for what she had done to Hector, she didn't feel even an ounce of happiness at her suffering. "All I know is that when they caught his false mark—"

"A fake mark you gave him!" Juan roared.

"All I know," She repeated, her voice shaking with nervousness. "Is that a fight ensued between his group and the poachers. From then on I don't know what happened! Nobody told me!"

"I find it really hard to believe that you didn't call your capital buddy to ask him questions." Yalina spat.

"Mom!" Lowell's cry was muffled by the glass but nothing could obscure the blood that erupted from his lip when the man with the gun struck him.

"Give us Abby or we'll kill her son like she killed ours!" The man shouted.

"Looks like you're running out of time." Yalina said to Abby.

"I don't know anything!"

"Fuck! Then think harder!" Juan yelled.

"Please," Michael whispered as he met Rachel's eyes. "If anyone here is innocent, it's Lowell. He's just a kid, please."

"Damn it!" Rachel tore her eyes away from his and dove for the gun they'd taken from him when they'd tied him up. She spun and pointed it towards the glass doors.

"This is not how we do things." She said to her friends as she approached the entrance, slamming her hand down onto the scanner so that it would read her print.

"Rachel, what are you doing!?" Juan shouted.

"I'm doing what's right." She dug her heels in and steeled herself for the onslaught of people that was sure to come. As soon as the doors flung open she shot at the floor, a quick and efficient round of gunshots that made everyone freeze mid-step.

A myriad of emotions flitted from person to person as she scanned the crowd. Some held anger in their eyes, others shock, while others still held disbelief.

"Anyone who steps through this door is going to get shot in the leg." For emphasis she shot the ground one more time. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?" She pointed her gun towards the man holding Lowell "You, threatening to kill an innocent kid. That's not going to bring your son back. It'll only make you as much of a monster as Abby."

"And the rest of you! Act now, think later, right? Exact revenge no matter who it hurts. Just like the damn people who hunt us!"

"She told me my husband died protecting his family when in reality she just sent him to be marked! All this time I thought he was dead! She deserves no mercy!" A woman from among the crowd shouted.