Love Unspoken

Abigail already knew what Landon was gonna say; he was stuck.

She stared at him hard, her eyes getting all complicated, like she was wrestling with sbig decision.

After a bit, she suddenly reached out and started patting him down.

Landon was a bit shocked and grabbed her hand. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Where's your gun?" Abigail demanded.

"It's not on me," Landon replied.

Abigail didn't buy it. She pulled her hand back and reached into his pants pocket, feeling something there.

She pulled out the gun.

Landon, worried it might go off, didn't try to take it from her.

Abigail looked at the gun in her hand, then back at Landon, dead serious. "Since you can't get away, you might as well go all in." Landon looked at her, his eyes peering through his glasses.

A breeze blew by, rustling the weeds around them and lifting the strands of hair on Abigail's forehead. Her gaze was firm and determined.

She said, "Oliver toldthat when you two worked together before, you said if anything went wrong, he should blit all on you." Landon's lips twitched, and he looked away. "I said it offhand. Who knew he'd actually do it?" "Whether you meant it or not, you didn't run, did you?" Abigail pressed.

Landon stayed quiet.

"Landon, after all this time, I still can't figure out what's true and what's a lie with you. You always seem to say one thing and mean another," Abigail said. "Don't act like you knowso well," Landon shot back.

Abigail nodded. "You're right. Letask you one last time, do you want to leave here? Do you want to go down the mountain?" Landon stayed silent.

Abigail didn't care. She took his hand and placed the gun in his palm. "Let's have one last meal together, down the mountain." Landon's fingers curled slightly, gripping the gun.

They headed back to the yard. As soon as they stepped in and before they could get to the car, the cops hiding inside cout. And there were not just five, but seven of them.

They all raised their guns, slowly surrounding the two.

"Landon, let go of the hostage. Don't make things worse!" one officer shouted.

Landon held Abigail by the shoulder, the gun pressed against her temple, and walked towards the car door like no one else was there.

Even though Abigail was the hostage, she walked faster than him, making it look like she was dragging him along. If it weren't for the gun against her, you wouldn't even know who the hostage was. Landon reached the car door and looked at the surrounding officers. "Everyone, go back inside," he commanded.

The officers exchanged glances, unsure whether to retreat. One of them said, "You better not resist. You can't escape. We have people at the foot of the mountain too." Landon repeated, "Everyone, go back inside." Both sides were at a standoff, neither willing to back down. It was clear something was off between Landon and Abigail.

After a moment, Alvin and the others got the news and rushed back.

Seeing Abigail being held hostage, Alvin almost fainted from fear. He shouted, "Landon, let go of Abigail!" Abigail's fingers were gripping his arm so tight her knuckles were turning white. Whether it was out of fear or to keep him from letting go, it was hard to tell.

Looking around at the scene, Abigail started to regret her decision.

By doing this, Landon was now really guilty of kidnapping her, leaving him no way out.

From their earlier conversation, Abigail could tell Landon didn't want to fight anymore.

She thought about the bag of groceries Landon had bought, which they had just finished eating, proving her suspicions right.

If she hadn't done this and just ran out, Landon probably wouldn't have run either. She felt like she had no choice, knowing it was wrong but still going through with it. Even knowing Landon was doomed, she still wanted to delay his fate, even if only for a day, half a day, or even an hour.

With no other options, she chose the least bad outcshe could accept.

Landon's voice cfrom above her, "Everyone, go back inside, or I'll shoot." His voice was as calm as ever, like he was talking about something trivial, showing no panic of a surrounded kidnapper.

The strong mountain wind made Abigail's eyes sting. Eventually, her vision started to blur. Seeing the tears welling up in her eyes, Alvin felt heartbroken, thinking she was scared.

He tried to comfort her, "Abigail, don't be afraid. I won't let anything happen to you." Then he turned to Landon. "Landon, let Abigail go and I'll give you whatever you want. Money, anything, even my life. Just let her go!" Landon closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and said again, "Everyone, go inside. This is the last time. If you don't want Abigail to get hurt, do as I say." As he spoke, he even disengaged the safety.

Alvin's face changed.

Oliver rushed over, grabbing Alvin and stopping him from speaking. He panted and said, "Alright! We'll go inside. Don't do anything rash!" He pulled Alvin towards the house. "Let's go. Everyone, go inside. We need to ensure Abigail's safety first."

Alvin, desperate to do something, found himself unable to act in the current situation and could only let Oliver drag him towards the house. The others also retreated into the house. Once they were all inside, Landon opened the car door, pushed Abigail in, and got into the driver's seat with her.

Abigail obediently climbed from the driver's seat to the passenger seat, making room for him.

Landon glanced at her actions, pursed his lips, and said nothing. He started the car once Abigail was seated. The car slowly turned around and drove out of the yard.

A sniper on the upper floor aimed at the driver's seat, ready to pull then trigger as the car started. Oliver rushed over and pressed down on the sniper's hand. "Wait, what if Abigail is in the driver's seat too? Don't shoot yet. Letnegotiate with Landon first," Oliver said.

The sniper glanced at Oliver. When he looked back through the scope, the car had already left the yard and was out of range.

Oliver forced a smile, worried about Abigail.

Meanwhile, Landon was driving down the mountain. The mountain road sand had many bends and more than one path, with Sroutes unexplored and uncertain if they led down the mountain. Landon chose a route he had never explored before. He glanced at the rearview mirror and vaguely saw a car following them.