“WHAT ARE YOU talking about?” Cold fear snaked up the back of my neck, nestling just behind my skull.
How does he know? Before I could process the information, something moved behind me. Anaya’s gaze shifted to the hallway.
“Ah. Here they are. And they’re doing just fine, aren’t you, my little puppies?” he said, his voice sickly sweet.
“Kate!” Abby’s plaintive wail pierced my heart as I swiveled in my chair. Lauren’s hopeful expression faded when she saw my hands tied behind my back. Smart kid, I thought.
They both looked pale and wan and thinner than I remembered, even though it had only been days since I’d seen them last. No longer wearing their nightgowns, they had on brightly colored T-shirts and shorts and each wore a pair of sparkly pink jelly shoes. Dark circles ringed their eyes and their hair hadn’t been properly brushed, but otherwise they appeared unhurt.
I turned back to Anaya. Affecting a conciliatory tone, I asked, “One last request? Cut my hands free so I can hug them.” He glanced at the girls and back at me. I had to get to that window. “Please,” I added.
“I don’t think so,” he replied.
“Then you’re going to have to kill me. Cut my hands free, or you’ll never get the information.” The voice inside my head screamed that I shouldn’t demand anything from Vincent-freaking-Anaya, but my tongue wouldn’t listen. I stared back at him, defiant. What the hell, I thought. I’d be dead soon.
The air in the room stilled. The guards grew quiet.
Would he kill me right here, in front of Lauren and Abby?
He slammed his fist on the desk and I winced. Abby started to cry. Anaya’s eyes bulged with anger as he stood up from his chair and took a step toward me, breathing hard.
You may have gone too far this time, Kate. It seemed to be a pattern. I braced myself for whatever came next. Part of me watched, fascinated, as Anaya tried to wrestle himself under control. His face had turned a deep shade of red and his hands shook. After a few moments, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it go. With a curt nod at the gunman he said, “Cut her free, but keep your gun handy.”
The gunman cut the plastic tie and I leapt out of the chair and ran to the girls, wrapping them in as big a hug as I could manage. They both melted into the embrace, hugging me back and crying, their tears soaking my shirt.
I pressed my mouth to Lauren’s ear and whispered, “Take your sister and go stand by the window.” Buck and Fernando have to see them, I thought. It was the only way.
“Enough,” Anaya snarled.
Reluctantly, I released my hold on them and stood, angling my body so that Anaya couldn’t see Lauren’s gaze dart from the window back to me. I lifted my chin a fraction of an inch, praying she’d do what I asked. With a protective arm around Abby, she took a tentative step toward the window. I pivoted to face Anaya and wiped at the tears on my cheeks, obscuring his view of the girls.
“Give me the information. Now.” Anaya’s gaze pierced through me. I had to keep stalling, give Quinn’s people time to find us.
I paused, pretending to search my memory.
“Your commandos aren’t coming,” he said.
Startled, I stared at the grim triumph on his face, not understanding. How did he know about Quinn? My brain slowed as I came to grips with what he’d said. Luis had promised to keep things quiet, assuring me he wouldn’t let anyone under his command know. Had Quinn and his team been caught? How could it have happened? I closed my eyes.
“That’s right. I know about them tracking you.”
He doesn’t know they’re here. I opened my eyes. My despair vanished, replaced by determination.
“You really shouldn’t have enlisted their help. Now, you’ll be responsible for their deaths, too.” He shook his head. “You’re just a walking disaster, aren’t you? Everyone you come into contact with dies, don’t they?” A lethal glint flared in his eyes. “Give me the information,” he repeated through clenched teeth.
“I’m trying to remember.”
Fury contorting his face, Anaya yanked the gun from his shoulder holster, vaulted out of his chair and crossed to the window in two strides. He seized Abby by the hair and dragged her away from Lauren, shoving the barrel against her temple. Lauren screamed. Little Abby’s face blanched white and her lips trembled as she hiccupped between sobs.
My god. No.
“Stop!” My voice cracked as I recited the web address and password from memory, tears streaming down my cheeks.
“Write it down,” Anaya commanded over the girls’ wails.
My hand shook as I picked up a pen from the desk and proceeded to write the information on a notepad.
“There.” I slid the paper toward him and straightened. White-hot anger mixed with terror for the girls boiled in my stomach. The voice in my head screamed at me to do something, anything to stop him.
Anaya released Abby and lowered his gun. Lauren ran to her little sister and threw her arms around her. I released my breath in a whoosh and leaned over, gripping the edge of the desk.
He walked back as if nothing had happened and opened a side drawer to retrieve a pair of reading glasses, which he calmly put on. He sat down, reached into his shirt pocket, and removed a business card, placing it next to the pad of paper. Hands on the keyboard and eyes focused on the notepad and card, he typed the information into the tablet and waited. A few seconds later, the screen populated with columns of data, followed by several paragraphs of text.
My position only allowed a partial view of the screen, and I couldn’t make out the details. Anaya scanned the information, scrolling down as he read. His expression morphed from intense focus to a puzzled frown and then surprise. He leaned back, staring at the screen.
I didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t dare breathe, hoping he’d forgotten I was there. My mind screamed at me to go to the girls, but I remained where I was. He’d kill me next. I didn’t want to be near them when he did. They’d been through enough. At least for the moment, my death had taken a back seat to the information on the screen.
“You asked me earlier what was so important about the information you had.” He faced me, his eyes dark. “You have no idea what this means. I’d never have suspected.” He swiveled back to the screen, shaking his head. “They will all answer to Vincent Anaya when I’m finished,” he muttered to himself.
At that moment, a muffled pop! came from outside the hallway. The guard nearest to me grunted, dropped his weapon, and crumpled to the floor. At the same time, a metal canister flew into the room, detonating in midair with a blinding flash. The girls screamed and I lunged, pulling them to me as the stun grenade went off. Less than a split-second later, two more pops came in rapid succession and Toothless fell, his head a gory mess. Anaya disappeared under the desk, clutching the iPad.
Ears ringing and eyes closed against the smoke, I hugged the girls tight as the commandos swarmed the room.
“Hold on to me.” Quinn’s muffled voice broke through the chaos. He guided my hand to his belt as he hoisted Lauren into his arms. Abby had her hands over her ears and her little eyes squeezed tight as I lifted her and held her to me.
Quinn led me to the doorway and stopped. Barely able to see, I narrowed my eyes to slits and watched as he peered around the jamb, and indicated the hall was clear.
“Hawk coming out!” he yelled. With Lauren in his arms, he slipped out of the office. Abby and I followed close behind as we raced down the hall.
Daria and another commando ran in front of us to clear the way. We reached the second floor landing and froze. Several of Anaya’s gunmen had made it halfway up the stairs. Daria and Quinn’s other guy raised their weapons and fired, dropping the men where they stood. Abby lifted her head to see what was going on, but I covered her eyes with my hand.
“Don’t look, honey. It’ll be over soon,” I murmured in her ear. She burrowed her face into my neck, her cheeks wet with tears.
We raced down the stairs, picking our way over the bodies, and paused at the bottom until Daria gave us the all-clear.
The two commandos followed us down the dark hallway to the larger office where Anaya had installed the safe room. Quinn reached the door first and flung it open. I sprinted past with Abby and entered the closet-sized room. Quinn and Lauren followed close behind.
The entrance to the tunnel lay at the far end of the space. The sound of gunfire erupted in the hallway behind us.
“Kate,” Quinn called out. I turned. He set Lauren down and pushed her toward me.
“Go!” he shouted as he slid his sidearm free and turned back toward the fight.
Holding Abby with one arm, I grabbed Lauren’s hand with the other, and the three of us raced into the concrete tunnel.
The murky passage stretched before us. Every few yards a cage light glowed, guiding our steps through the musty-smelling concrete walkway. I sighed with relief when I caught sight of Buck standing at the end near the section leading up to the hatch. We sprinted toward his outstretched arms.
“Climb the ladder, Lauren,” I said, breathless.
Buck lifted her onto the first rung. Another of Quinn’s men peered down from above, arms extended. Lauren nodded and scrambled up the rungs where he took her by the arms and lifted her out.
“You got it?” Buck asked.
“Yeah,” I answered. Abby had her arms wrapped around my neck with her face pressed into my chest.
“Abby, honey, you need to hold on tight, okay?” I said. She nodded, her face never leaving my chest. I grabbed the nearest rung and stepped onto the ladder, hoisting us up, one step at a time. As we neared the top, the commando reached down and lifted Abby out while I climbed the rest of the way.
Several of Quinn’s team were in position outside the hatch, pulling security while waiting for the others to emerge. Fernando smiled at Abby and Lauren, climbed through the hatch, and disappeared, on his way to booby-trap the tunnel. Abby ran over and threw her arms around my legs. Gently, I pried her free and swung her up into my arms. Buck’s head appeared at the hatch opening a minute later. He climbed out and walked to where the girls and I stood.
“I’ll take you to the rallying point,” Buck said, his eyes on Lauren. “Young lady, are you ready to go on a hike?” he asked.
Lauren nodded. “Yes,” she said, her voice small.
Buck’s expression softened even more. He’d morphed into someone I wasn’t familiar with. I tried to think of a name to describe him. Uncle Buck? Mr. Nice Guy?
“If you get tired, you just let me know, okay? It’s kind of a long way.”
“Okay,” Lauren replied.
Tears coursed down Abby’s face and dripped from her chin.
“Don’t cry,” Buck soothed. “You’ll be with your daddy soon.” Abby pulled in a ragged breath and hiccupped.
“Hand her to me when your adrenaline crashes,” Buck said in a low voice. I nodded, giving him a grateful smile. The way I was feeling, it wouldn’t be long.
With Buck in the lead, we ran along the small rise toward the dry riverbed, on our way to safety.