Chapter 7 - Taken to Blackwood Isle
"DON'T YOU TOUCH THEM!" I shrieked, throwing myself at the first guard and slamming an oak chair into his legs. But the second guard caught my arms, twisting my wrist behind my back and pinning me to the desk.
"MOMMY!" Leo's terrified scream echoed from downstairs as guards dragged him out into the cold night.
Minutes later, I was shoved into an armored SUV, my hands bound behind my back with heavy plastic zip-ties. Leo sat sobbing beside me, while Eleanor Vance sat up front holding baby Hope.
We were driven to a heavily fortified private dock near Grand Marais. Two miles off the coast, rising out of the black, ice-choked waters of Lake Superior, sat Blackwood Isle—a fortress-like stone mansion crowned by high stone walls and iron spikes.
We were marched onto a private steel ferry. As the engines rumbled and the boat cut through the dark waves, I leaned toward Leo's ear.
"Leo," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the wind. "Inside my coat pocket is the small hunting knife Mrs. Gable gave me. When we reach the dock, I am going to cut these ties. Hold onto my hand as hard as you can."
The ferry slammed against the heavy pilings of Blackwood Isle. The iron harbor gates opened, revealing a stone staircase carved into the granite cliff.
"Move," a guard grunted.
SNAP.
My zip-ties gave way. I whipped my hands free, pulled the knife, and lunged, cutting the lead guard's shoulder and sending him tumbling onto the dock.
"LEO, RUN!" I screamed, tackling Eleanor Vance to the wooden deck. I snatched baby Hope from her arms as she slipped on the ice, bringing the heavy handle of my knife down across Eleanor's cheekbone.
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"SHOOT HER!" Arthur Sterling thundered from the upper deck.
Sparks flew off the iron railing as gunshots echoed over the water. Scooping Hope into one arm and grabbing Leo with the other, I ducked into the dark cavernous tunnels carved into the cliff base.
