Hard to Kill (18 page)

Kane glanced at Sabrina.
"We're not going to hurt you."

"
Ha, we've heard that before. Now we fight back. It's the only way," another of the girls said, a makeshift knife in her hands. "You have guns. We know what that means."

"
Watch, we'll put down our guns. We mean you no harm. We're here to help," Kane said before he slid his Uzi to the floor.

While Sabrina followed suit, she struggled to regain her composure.

Think. 

"
I'm going to turn on the light so you can see our faces. We're not going to hurt any of you. I promise."

Before she could, the ringleader tackled her to the ground
. The others went after Kane once again, this time grabbing the weapons that had been surrendered.

Sabrina hit the ground, the wind knocked out of her lungs. The girl's wiry legs landed on either side of her chest. Sabrina grasped tightly on to the girl's arms to stop the blows coming her way. She needed to make her understand. "I promise I won't hurt you. I'm looking for Caitlyn Collins. Maybe you know her."

The girl emitted a wail. Sabrina couldn
't tell if it was pain or some sort of acknowledgment. Cautiously, she let her fingers slip from around the girl's biceps.

While the girl
's posture slumped from its formerly rigid position, Sabrina turned to the girls harassing Kane. "
Arresto
," she shouted in Italian. When that didn't work, she tried German. "
Anhalten
." No luck. Spanish? "
Detener
." Either she hadn't hit the right language or nothing was going to stop them short of force.

The girl
moved to a sitting position before she turned her attention to Sabrina. "Who are you?" The words came out almost as a curse.

Sabrina
's heart kick-started in her chest as she sat. With trembling fingers, she touched the wisp of hair surrounding the girl's face. The girl jerked back in response, bringing her hand up to protect herself.

Sabrina breathed in deeply as a knowing sensation barreled through her.
"Caitlyn," she whispered. "My name is Sabrina Shaw and I've been working with your parents to find you. Your birthday is November 13th. Your favorite color is red. Your room is white with a red, striped comforter and a four-poster white bed. Your dog is named Riley. "

Caitlyn
let out a sob then clutched at Sabrina's shirt, pulling her into an awkward embrace. "I've been…" She drew in a ragged breath. "…waiting…so…long." Sabrina felt tremors run the course of the girl's body as it pressed against her. The words came out in a mixture of Italian and English, mixed with bone-deep sobs. "I…want…t…to go home."

Caitlyn
pulled back, examining Sabrina more closely, as if not quite believing help had arrived. She shook her head, scared, delirious, or a combination of both while tears streamed down her cheeks and great big sobs retched from her chest to her throat.

"
Sabrina Shaw, you're my hero," Caitlyn uttered.

Sabrina enveloped her in an embrace
, while the girl held on as if trying to convince herself being rescued wasn't a mirage. Her body felt emaciated, far different from the robust photos taken of the girl. But right now, it didn't matter.

Kane rubbed at her shoulder
, breaking into the moment. "We gotta go. The sun will be up soon."

"
What about the others?" Caitlyn turned toward the girls, a hint of strength in her words.

Kane peeked out the window, then back toward the group.
"What kind of vehicles do they have in the garage?"

"
That pig has a Hummer." One of the girls spewed the information in a combination of Italian and German.

"
What's the name of the man who has you?"

"
Guillermo Ponci. He has this place here and an island off Venice somewhere," Caitlyn supplied. "He left a couple of days ago in a hurry. That's why there are only a few guards."

Kane and Sabrina exchanged looks. No doubt he was thinking the same thing as her. The initials were in the code: GP.

"I'm going to break into the garage. You get the girls ready," Kane announced as he made a move toward the door.

Despite the fact they
'd been ready to kill him moments ago, they now stood in front of him. "
Lassen Sie
," the girls pleaded.
Please stay
.

"
I'll be right back," he whispered, even as the girls shook their heads and latched on to his arms. He glanced at Sabrina for support.

Her brothers had started on their missions for Petrovich several years before her. She
hadn't known what it was they did, but she could see a sense of fear mixed with determination in their eyes. Each time they'd left, she'd begged them to stay. Each time she had been petrified they wouldn't come back, and she'd be alone.

She understood well the sense of desperation. Now that these girls saw a sense of hope, they couldn
't let it slip away.

"
We'll go with you." She nodded to Kane's questioning glance. "I'll bring up the rear." She forced a smile. "Besides, you know I'm much better at hotwiring a car than you are."

Kane blew out a breath and shook his head.
"Really bad idea," he muttered. Despite his words, he pulled out his cell and called the FBI, relayed the name Guillermo Ponci, and let them know what his coordinates were and the fact they were headed back with five victims.

Sabrina translated the
plan to the girls in as many languages as she could muster. Based on their nods, she was pretty sure they understood. She gave them a few minutes to change out of their nightclothes.

Caitlyn
whimpered, her body trembling. She turned her head into Sabrina's chest. "I'm not strong enough. Besides, I'm going to die soon. I'll slow everybody down."

Max
's similar words flew around her brain from that night seven years ago. She had to force herself to focus.

"
That is not the girl who attacked me ten minutes ago." Sabrina grabbed Caitlyn by the shoulders and steadied her. "Don't worry, I'll help you." Sabrina grasped Caitlyn's hand.

One of the girls
pulled on Sabrina's sleeve and whispered, "She hasn't had anything to eat in a week."

Sabrina wanted to ask why, but now was not the time.
"I won't let anybody hurt you again, Caitlyn."

Kane ushered them out
, the barrel of his Uzi leading the way. They walked past the guards on the front porch, who had started to come around. Kane made short work of putting them back out. That left only three guards to worry about.

The expansive lawn seemed as long as the
eighteenth hole on a golf course when Caitlyn faltered at nearly every step, trying to keep up as they tiptoed single file to the garage. Sabrina couldn't be sure if it was lack of food, drugs in her system, or something else that caused the girl's weakened condition. But it seemed now that the adrenaline rush was over, Caitlyn was hard-pressed to walk a straight line, let alone move quickly. Caitlyn's teeth chattered, and her body shook once exposed to the cool evening air. She emitted a drone-like buzz to mirror her unsure demeanor. Every step seemed to take minutes rather than seconds.

"
Come on, Caitlyn. We have to hurry," Sabrina whispered.

Caitlyn
started to trot, but then her knees gave out and she stumbled to the ground. Sabrina grasped on to one bicep while Kane grasped the other. Together they brought her to an upright position. With her feet barely touching the ground, they moved her closer toward the side door on the garage.

Kane got through the lock with minimum effort. Sabrina felt she could relax once all the girls were safely inside the car. Caitlyn teetered a hair
's breadth away from an emotional breakdown. 

"
Care to try out your magic fingers?" Kane asked as he locked and barricaded the door from the garage to the house, as well as the side door.

Sabrina ushered the girls inside the car then slid behind the driver
's seat and went to work. The new technology didn't make it easy. 

A sense of
déjà vu
rode down her back, but she pushed it away. Shouts coming from outside made her believe something was up. Seconds later, someone pounded on the side door. The girls screamed in unison, and a flurry of gunfire pinged against the metal garage door.

"
Come on, come on." The anti-theft device kicked in, preventing her from putting the car into gear. "I need the key. Check the garage somewhere." Panic rose within her throat, threatening to prevent her from swallowing.

Kane swore as he rummaged through the garage. Bullets came from the front of the garage. This was going from bad to worse.

The girls kept screaming, which only inched up her fear. Failure. If they were caught, they'd all die. And everything she'd done would be for nothing.

Caitlyn
's eyes glazed over as she whimpered, "The mat. Check under the mat."

Sabrina bent down and ripped up the car
's floor covering but found nothing. Kane rushed to the passenger door. "No key."

"
Caitlyn said to check under the mat."

He looked at her quizzically, but he pulled back the floor mat. With a big smile on his face, he handed over the key.
"Get down, ladies."

She pushed the steering column back together and turned over the engine. When the garage door opened, she didn
't waste any time before barreling through. The men were waiting for them, Uzis firing a steady stream.

Bullets pinged off the frame as if a hammer pounded on it. The girls were hysterical by now.
Everything seemed surreal as she mowed through the grass, small trees, bushes, and branches in her path to get them out of there.

The only road leading in or out was nothing more than a dirt track made through the forest. It was impossible not to be jostled about the cabin, especially when pursued by a Jeep filed with bad guys shooting.

Kane popped through the sunroof and shot off a couple of rounds. He came back down seconds later. "I couldn't hit a side of a barn in this terrain."

Even driving the Hummer, she had them at an advantage; the slow progress of the unwieldy vehicle seemed to erase any potential gain. She glanced in the rearview mirror and they
'd disappeared. "Where did they go?"

"
Damn it. There must be another trail."

"
Look for them." Tension seeped down her shoulders and into her arms as she fought to keep the vehicle on the narrow road and avoid the trees that seemed inches away from the sides.

The girls had gone from screaming to whimpering. Sabrina couldn
't decide which was worse. Caitlyn seemed to have passed out and remained slumped in the seat. If not for the soft whisper of the girl's breath, she'd be worried.

Day or night, this road had
"treacherous" written all over it. Due to an abundance of trees, even on a bright, sunny day, Sabrina doubted much light would penetrate through.

The Jeep appeared in front of them blocking the road. They were either suicidal, or they were close to the mountain road that would get out into the open.

"I'll try to pick them off." Kane shifted in his seat and readied to poke out through the sunroof again.

Sabrina shook her head and pressed the gas pedal to the floor.
"I'm going to plow right through them." She briefly glanced in back. "Hang on, ladies."

Once the men in the Jeep spotted her intent, they jumped off the vehicle. She didn
't think about stopping as she rammed through, not stopping until she'd pushed the Jeep to the road. The mangled car spun until it finally came to a stop, resting on its side. The Hummer went airborne as she landed on a real road.

But they were free. That was the important part.

*  *  *

As far as partners went, Kane figured Sabrina was the best he
'd ever had, even if she fought the word with a ferocity he still couldn't quite comprehend. They stopped to get some water and food for the girls.

"
Caitlyn, do you want to call your parents?" Kane offered his cell phone. She hadn't said a word for the longest time, preferring, it seemed, to slump between him and Sabrina.

He helped her take some sips of water while Sabrina drove. A sense of fear permeated the interior of the Hummer, even though it had been at least fifteen minutes since they
'd seen anyone on the road.  

Caitlyn seemed unable to muster the energy to press in her phone number. Instead, she rattled off the number as he punched them in and handed her the phone.

She seemed to perk up a bit, and tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke. "Mom. Dad. It's me. Sabrina found me." Between the emotion and her weakened state, she couldn't continue, and handed the phone to Sabrina.

Kane could guess the gist of the conversation based on Sabrina
's one-word answers. "Germany." Then seconds later: "Probably Zurich. Sounds good. I'll let you know once we check into a hotel." She handed the phone back to Kane and continued to drive for a few moments. "Where is the Bureau meeting us?"

"
Switzerland border. The girls will be released to their care, visit the hospital to make sure they're okay, and they can be returned home."

"
No. No. No," Caitlyn screamed as she sucked in giant gobs of air. She tried to climb over Kane to the door, but he held her back. She started to hyperventilate and Kane couldn't help but wish he had a paper bag handy. Sabrina reached over and rubbed the poor girl's arm. Caitlyn's head shook back and forth as a prelude to her words. "No hospital. Ponci will find me and bring me back." Her voice so strong, so forceful, he blinked at the intensity.