Carrie’s voice tugged at Ralph’s heartstrings.
“Save me, Ralph.”
Scared stiff, Carrie wailed silently. Her teardrops broke Ralph’s heart.
He wanted to comfort her, but the assurance to the hostage would trigger the perpetrator, putting the hostage in further danger.
Ralph took one long, hard look at Carrie before shifting his gaze to the man with bloodshot eyes.
“Easy there, Brian. The girl is innocent. She doesn’t know about you. She doesn’t know the five students. She’s just an innocent bystander.
“Take me as your hostage. I’ll take her place. Just let her go.”
Carrie watched tearfully as Ralph inched closer to the perpetrator cautiously. Guilt washed over her.
She blamed her foolishness.
She should have stayed in the classroom and waited for Yasmin. If she were not so clumsy, she could have escaped. But it was pointless to regret it now.
As Ralph drew close, Brian shouted angrily, “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll cut her throat and jump off the building with her. I know what you’re planning. You want to replace the hostage and take me down. You’re a cop, so I can’t overpower you. I already killed two kids, and it’s too late for me now. It makes no difference if I kill another.”
Ralph carried a serious look, but his heart was jumping out of his chest. “I understand where you are coming from. I don’t have a daughter, but if my sister is a victim of abuse, I won’t put up with it. I’ll avenge my family.”
Brian’s hand trembled, drawing a deeper cut into Carrie’s neck.
“I know your daughter is a student here. The five students assaulted your daughter. They are bullies.”
Carrie’s teary eyes widened as her painful past flooded into her mind.
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