Read Hostage for Free Online Page B

to the trunk, stepping backwards all the way. She had then ducked under the branches and squirmed along to the other end of the fallen tree.
    The branches shook above her head as the man stepped up on to the tree trunk and then jumped off again into the snow beyond. Amber's heart was beating so hard, it felt as though it was going to explode out of her chest. The blood sang in her ears and she closed her eyes, hoping against hope that when her footprints ran out, he would not double back. She heard him moving on through the forest with the snow squeaking under his boots. The squeaking grew fainter and fainter, stopped altogether, then started to get louder again. He was heading back to the tree.
    Amber groaned, then forced herself to lie still. The branches shook again as the man climbed on to the trunk. The shaking increased as he walked along the top of the trunk towards her, stepping over branches and stopping every few steps to peer at the ground on either side. Amber bit her lip and debated breaking cover and running, but the thought of that sawn-off shotgun kept her pinned to the ground.
    The man reached the thinnest part of the trunk and stopped directly above Amber's head. The branches on the other side rustled as he moved them. Amber lay helplessly, waiting for him to do the same on her side. She knew she was going to be caught, but it was still a huge shock when the man plunged his hand through the branches and grabbed her by the back of her hood.
    One powerful wrench and she was dragged out of her hiding place. The man let go of her hood, but before she could run, he wrapped his arm around her throat instead. She tried to kick him, but he tightened the crook of his elbow and she started to choke. The man pressed the barrels of the shotgun against the side of her head and she grew still.
    'Now we walk back to the trail,' he ordered. 'Slow and steady. We don't want this thing to go off, do we?'
    Back at his snowmobile, the man tightened his grip around Amber's throat and brought her to a halt. She lifted her mittened hands and tried to loosen his arm but it was like trying to move a metal bar.
    'Hey! Kid with the camcorder!' he called. 'I have your friend here!' He pressed the shotgun harder into the side of Amber's head. 'What's your name?' he asked.
    'Amber.' She choked as red spots danced in front of her eyes.
    'Amber here is going to die on the count of ten unless you bring me that camcorder. Understand?'
    There was silence from the forest. The man started counting.
    'One, two . . .'
    Hex stood with his back pressed against the trunk of a spruce tree. It was an impossible situation. If he did not give the man the camcorder, Amber would die. If he gave the man the camcorder, Amber would still die, then he would die too.
    '. .. five, six . ..' called the man.
    Hex closed his eyes. He could wait it out. Call the man's bluff. The more people the man killed, the messier this situation would become – and there was no way to make a shotgun killing look like an accident.
    '. . . eight, nine . . .'
    With a groan, Hex stepped out from behind the tree. He could not stand back and let Amber die. 'OK, OK,' he called, high-stepping through the deep snow, back to the trail. He was pleased to see that the man's cheek was already swollen and discoloured.
    Once he was out on the trail, Hex lifted the camcorder and started filming again. 'So,' he said. 'You planning to kill us all with that shotgun? How're you going to pass that off as an accident? Moose with lethal weapons? I don't think so.'
    'How old are you kids?' countered the man. 'Sixteen? Seventeen? Too young to be running around in these parts on your own. They won't find you before the spring thaw. By then, there won't be much left of you. We have some real hungry animals out here, especially through the winter. You will become just another tragic accident. Five unsupervised kids freezing to death.'
    'That's good,' said Hex, still filming. 'Keep talking.'
    The man's face