Authors: Wendy Byrne
She sucked in her bottom lip and chewed on it.
"My guess it's in Europe." Despite the heightened circumstances, she chuckled. "That's really narrowing it down, isn't it?"
"
We could have the tech people run that number through the database and see what they come up with."
"
My gut says it's not an address. That would be too simple, considering what we've unwound over the last couple of hours." She glanced at the clock and recognized how much time they'd spent. But progress was a good thing, especially considering their lack of it over the last few days. "What else is recorded in numbers?"
"
Latitude, longitude?" He plugged the numbers into the computer. "If I reverse the numbers it's in the middle of the Gulf of Eden."
"
But what if you don't reverse the numbers. Keep it as is. Where do we end up?"
"
In the mountains of Germany." He tapped on the keys. "Let me get a satellite of the location." A few moments later, he turned the computer toward her, a Cheshire grin on his face. "That house is massive."
"
Can you find out who owns it?"
"
Let me make some calls."
"
That's got to be where she is." She grinned while the idea she might be close shimmied through.
* * *
A foreign part of her itched to cuddle deep within his embrace and stay there, sinking into the security of his arms. The more familiar side, the side she trusted to steer her away from trouble, the side she depended on time and time again, understood the folly of her thoughts.
Push. Pull. Push. Pull.
Overcome with sensations that warred deep inside, Sabrina longed to escape. Needing to dispel the uncomfortable rush of emotion setting low in her belly, she tossed back the covers and propelled out of bed, slipping on her clothes. Getting too complacent was never a good idea.
He patted the bed.
"I had other ideas for starting the morning, but I guess you're ready to get started."
"
We have a job to do. And when we're finished we can both go our separate ways. Don't make this sexual thing between us into anything more than it is."
The reassurance of her words brought a level of calm to her chaotic pulse. Although, for the life of her, she couldn
't quite understand why that twinge of regret knocked around inside her.
His jaw clenched tight as he stood, yanking on his clothes.
"What's going on, Sabrina?"
"
Suddenly now you have a problem with me?" She arched her brow and gave him her best sneer.
You've gotten careless, Dragi
.
Don't let things get personal
.
H
e shrugged. "If you're happy with it being a roll in the hay, then so am I."
"
Good." She nodded as a twinge of disappointment ebbed through. Being with this man made her feel strange, sick, wonderful, and edgy, all at the same time.
Sabrina didn
't want to think about anything more than the here and now. Right now, at this stage of the game, she had no time for warm, fuzzy feelings. Who was she kidding—she didn't have a warm, fuzzy bone in her body. She'd proved that over and over again.
She chewed her lip as she contemplated the risk she might be taking. "On second thought, I think I should go this alone." Sabrina packed up the backpack in the early morning hours and strapped it to her back. That might be the key to getting her head on straight.
Kane shook his head.
"Are we back to that again?"
"
It's not fair to involve you in this. Your job is up in the air, no matter what you say, or they would have given you more support on this."
"
Their lack of support is more about official channels than anything else. They need to make a case against Trinity. That's why I was on the inside."
She raised an eyebrow at him.
"And you don't need to make a case?"
He sighed.
"There's more than one way to make a charge stick. Trust me, I will not let this guy slip away."
"
But you could get killed and it would be all my fault." That was the rub. She didn't want to see anything happen to Kane, which alarmed her. She'd somehow crossed an invisible boundary she swore she never would, and couldn't figure out how to jump back to the safety of numbness.
He laughe
d, the sound breaking a little of the tension floating between them. "I'm not going to die." He paused. "And we are getting Caitlyn back home."
* * *
"What are we doing here?"
When Kane pulled into the small, nondescript airfield,
Sabrina had to force down the shiver. For all her bluster and bravado, small airplanes made her go all squirrelly. As far as she was concerned, they were only marginally safer than flying with a lawn chair attached to helium balloons.
"
Easiest and fastest way in. Ron arranged it. Don't want any trouble at the border with the price on our heads."
"
I don't know about this, Kane…" There wasn't a 747 in sight.
H
e shook his head as he dragged her past the hangar and between the two airplanes on the left. "We'll parachute in close enough to give us an edge, but not close enough to be seen. We don't know what we're getting into. And given the remote location, this is the best option."
Suddenly, she felt a little dizzy.
"I agree with you one hundred percent, except for the whole parachuting thing."
"
How did you think we'd get in there?"
She rolled her eyes and tried to stop the flutter of fear
at bay. "Drive like normal people."
"
It's so remote, they'll see us coming a mile away. There's a clearing in the forest a couple miles from the house. The pilot will get us in close enough, the parachutes are in back, and I'll give you a short lesson."
"
How are we going to get back out with Caitlyn?" She could hear the irritation in her own voice. "Walk? Yeah, sure, that sounds like a wonderful plan."
"
I spotted a helicopter pad on top of the garage. Once we're successful securing the place, the FBI has agreed to airlift us out." He gave her a cheesy grin.
"
But …I don't…know how to jump…" She gulped down the wad of fear clogging her throat. "…from an airplane."
"
Nothing to it. It's like jumping off a giant step."
"
I don't think so."
"
Sure it is. Just larger scale. Besides, we'll do a tandem, so I'll handle the parachute part. I've parachuted at least a hundred times. You just need to know how to land without breaking something."
When he went through his explanations, she couldn
't focus. Her mind was a blur as fear overtook her thought processes.
Jumping out of an airplane? She
'd rather be thrown into a cage match with Attila the Hun, and have people chanting "two men enter, one man leaves" than fly through the air. Boundary-less. And totally and completely out of control. She didn't do out of control. He should know that by now.
Heights petrified her. Ever since Max nearly died, it had been her worst nightmare.
Kane brought his hand behind her back, ushering her toward one of the planes. Her mind faded in and out as a bout of panic overwhelmed her. Before she knew it, the pilot started the engine, and Kane strapped on their parachute. Seconds later, they'd lifted off the ground and all options had disappeared.
Sabrina glanced at Kane then out the window of the small plane once again. She gulped, feeling the anxiety forced down her throat and into her gut.
"Couldn't we fly the plane in close and land like normal folks, not some crazy daredevils?"
His lips inched up in a slight smirk before he let loose a chuckle.
"You think this is funny? I'm going to be covered in a cast from my neck to my toes and you're laughing."
He laughed again and she barely resisted the urge to pop him one.
"After all the dangerous stuff you do, you're scared about jumping out of a plane?"
She folded her arms across her chest
, refusing to give in to his tease. "I don't see the point. I'm sure there's a better way to handle this."
"
We're parachuting in because there's no landing strip nearby. The place is in the middle of a forest with only dirt road access. Besides, we don't want to get too close and give ourselves away."
The plane banked to the right then leveled out. Sabrina had a death grip on the seat cushion
, while the prospect of breaking every bone in her body seemed inevitable.
"
Would it be so bad to hike in? Maybe drive close, then continue on foot."
"
Are you crazy? Look out the window. Do you honestly think we have the time to climb up and down those mountains? They know we're getting close."
"
Really, I think—" He moved in behind her. The clink sounded seconds before she opened her mouth and let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Every curse word in every language Sabrina knew flew out her mouth as she dropped the twenty thousand feet—that felt as if a million—in slow motion.
S
he kept her eyes closed for as long as she could, then dared to open her left eye for a fraction of a second. The ground closed in beneath her with amazing speed. Trees surrounded the miniscule patch of green that Kane had decided they could easily land upon.
If she got out of this alive, she was going to strangle him.
With her bare hands. When she touched ground, he was one dead FBI agent.
"
Come on, Sabrina. Relax." Kane's voice was close, but still he had to shout in order for her to hear him.
If she could open her eyes she could get her bearings. But the sensation of hurtling toward the ground at breakneck speed was more than enough visual for her.
Suddenly, her whole body was yanked up when he pulled on the cord, and she flew back up into the air. Her stomach lurched into her throat as she opened her eyes.
Death was definitely too good for
Kane.
Sucking in a deep breath, she watched as he guided them through the trees to the clearing.
His toes touched down first. Her head knocked into his chest. As he unclipped the binding between them, she slipped off her harness, more thankful than ever to be on solid ground.
He was still taking off his harness when she tackled him to the ground.
She scrambled off, only to glower at him from a dominant position.
"
Ouch."
"
If I really wanted to hurt you, believe me, you'd know it." She drew in a breath and forced her hands onto her hips to keep from hitting him again. "You pushed me out of that plane."
"
It didn't look as if you were going to do it on your own." He folded his arms across his chest and rocked back on his heels. "And the timing was right."
"
I told you I had another plan." Adrenaline spurted through, making her jumpy and nervous.
"
What? Waiting around until the damn plane ran out of gas and crashed into the side of the mountain?"
"
I—"
"
You were scared. I can respect that. You needed a push. I supplied it. Simple as that." A smile brought up his lips. "But you screamed like a girl."
"
Excuse me?" Of all the things she expected him to say, that was not one of them.
"
I've seen you take a punch like a heavyweight boxer and not mumble a sound. But toss you out of a plane at twenty thousand feet and you're a screaming Mimi." He chuckled. "Yep, you screamed like a girl."
"
Maybe that's because I am a girl." Okay, so she didn't feel so mad anymore. He really was kind of funny —even though the joke was at her expense.
And she supposed part of what he said was a compliment.
Of sorts.
"
I kind of noticed. I had my doubts when I saw you street fight, but as I can now verify, you have all the right equipment."
S
he chose to ignore his comment. Besides, she didn't have a snappy comeback.
"
Let me see that tracker." Sabrina held out her hand. Desperate for a change in the tenor of conversation, to work on a plan of action seemed to be a good strategy.
He pulled the devi
ce from his pocket. Sitting down on the grass, he encouraged her to do the same.
"
We're about five miles from the compound." He pointed to a red circle. "It shouldn't take us long to cover that ground."
Sabrina patted the piece strapped to her side.
"What are we waiting for?"
* * *
They got close and took turns resting until darkness fell, then continued their hike through the forest, utilizing the trees as a natural cover to mask their movement. The snap of a twig. The sudden flight of a flock of birds—all heightened her senses. All forced Sabrina to look around, observe, and remember in vivid detail the scene that night seven years earlier. Everything had gone horribly wrong.
Max. Bleeding profusely.
Jake, for the first time in his life, panicked. Which only made her panic more. Alone. The three of them. Double-crossed by the man they'd sworn allegiance to. He'd never responded to their distress call. They were on their own. Just like before.
"
There it is." Kane's voice brought her out of her memories straight to the present.
The imposing structure before them was enormous. More castle than house, it stood alone, surrounded by nothing but forest, with a helicopter pad on the garage roof.
"The iron fence and guards patrolling the grounds with Uzis makes me believe they're guarding something or someone real important," he whispered in her ear.
This. Was. It.
She wasn't sure of the origins of that telltale sixth sense. Petrovich? Or some genetic component passed down through the Shaw legacy? Either way, she couldn't be sure. But the itch was kicking up a storm at the base of her neck.
She nodded, taking in the scene as she calculated odds.
"How do you want to play this?"
Caitlyn was here somewhere. It was almost as if the girl
's voice whispered to Sabrina among the soaring treetops. She needed to stay focused and not allow her emotions to overtake her abilities. There was no doubt she was good at what she did, but focusing on the task at hand took every ounce of concentration within her. Some things came naturally; others took the very life out of her.
A massive iron gate guarded the front.
Despite its location in the middle of a forest, the house was surrounded by manicured vegetation and well-tended gardens. The serenity of the exterior reminded her of Marco's place—a stark contrast to the horrors inside.
"
Let's walk around the perimeter and see what we're dealing with." His whispered words brought her back into focus.
They
crept in a wide arc around the compound, getting the lay of the land and a sense of guard assignments. One guard was stationed at the front gate; two were lazing around the porch, seemingly shooting the breeze.
But it was an outbuilding way in the back that caught her attention. Apparently Kane noticed it as well, as he stopped and pointed. While it looked to be nothing more than an old structure in need of repair, the two guards stationed outside said otherwise.
Kane inclined his head and mimed climbing the fence. When she nodded, he gave her the thumbs-up sign. They waited until the guard passed by, then scaled the fence in tandem.
They hunkered down near a large bush to catch their breath, and waited for the guard to pass by before they approached the smaller building. B
oth guards were stretched back in their chairs, as if sleeping, but with guns strapped across their chests they could still be trouble.
She nodded toward Kane, and together they sprinted toward the outbuilding. S
he peered inside the window, at first seeing nothing much of interest but a threadbare home with a makeshift kitchen. But a sweater tossed across the back of a chair made her heart clench inside her chest. It meant somebody lived there.
When she peered inside the next window,
her breath caught in her throat. Between the blur of dirt on the windows and the bars denying entry or exit…she couldn't tell their age, but two girls slept on cots inside the first room. While they could be servants, her gut said otherwise. The second window revealed another two girls. She motioned for Kane to come look. After all this time, she needed to know she wasn't hallucinating. When he joined her, nodded in agreement, and tilted his head toward the guards in front, she followed him along the perimeter.
She rustled the brushes along the side
of the house, hoping to draw some attention. One of the guard's snoring stopped as the chair creaked.
"
Did you hear that?" He spoke in Italian.
The other man yawned and muttered,
"Probably an animal."
"
I'd better check it out."
It didn
't take more than a second for Kane to take care of him. The other man had already returned to snoring, so it didn't take much to overpower him as well. She and Kane left the men tied and gagged on the porch with their hats tipped over their faces, appearing to anyone passing by as if they were asleep. Judging by what she'd seen so far, the other guards didn't venture this way, but just in case, it would be best to make things appear normal.
Her fingers trembled when she
eased open the door. With both a penlight and the Uzi tight in her grasp, Sabrina tiptoed inside. Kane was on her heels. She pushed through the chaos and fear running roughshod down her spine and cautiously searched the first room. A well-worn couch, a rudimentary table, and a straight-backed chair were the only furniture she spotted.
As s
he slipped into the first bedroom, her heart pounded so frantically it felt as if any minute it might pop out of her chest. Worry, fear, and a host of other emotions bubbled to life inside her.
A sliver
of light filtered through the window, allowing her to see without her penlight. Two girls slept in their beds. The first one was blonde; the second dark-haired.
Neither was
Caitlyn.
Sabrina fought against disappointment
as she made her way to the second room. The threadbare covering didn't do much to dissuade the chill from the midnight air, and each of the girls shivered in their sleep.
As q
uietly as possible, Sabrina went from one bed to the next. Neither one of those girls was Caitlyn either. A third cot lay in the corner, unoccupied, but the sheets and bedclothes appeared rumpled. She shook her head in response to Kane's raised eyebrows, even while she wondered about the whereabouts of the third girl.
She knew nothing about these young women. They could be house servants for all she knew. But that didn
't explain why there would be two armed guards stationed outside the door. Could she have jumped to the wrong conclusion?
Despair gnawed at her temples. But still she couldn
't leave. Was it about stubbornness, or should she pay attention to the itch running down her spine?
Somehow she knew.
Caitlyn was here. Every bone in her body shook in awareness. But she'd been wrong before.
Kane
looked at her and shrugged. Clearly these girls were being held against their will, even if Caitlyn wasn't among them. The smart thing to do would be to leave, but she couldn't.
She went bac
k to the first bedroom and turned on her small light. This time she didn't care if she woke the inhabitants. Even if she was wrong, and Caitlyn wasn't there, maybe they would know where she could be found.
First
she illuminated the perimeter. Then she brought the light up to travel the length of the empty bed, her hand trembling more now than before.
"
Esca della mia casa
."
Get out of my house
. The low growl came from somewhere behind her, followed by a curse.
"
Siamo qui per aiutarti
," Kane's muffled voice protested.
We're here to help.
When she turned, she spotted two girls hitting him with wooden objects—they looked to be spoons, or maybe a pieces of a bowl. It was hard to tell.
Kane
fended off the blows with his forearms as he tried to secure their makeshift weapons. One of the girls cursed at him, mumbling in German, but they continued the assault.
Sabrina tried to intervene, but it was nearly impossible, especially when the girls from the
other room joined in.
Kane
kept muttering, "We're here to help," in German, then Spanish, then French, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. The girls were relentless. Sabrina grabbed one and tried to secure her arms, but the girl fought her off as if she were in a death match and spouted off a litany of curses in what sounded like Russian.
"
Ouch. Damn it. Any bright ideas?" Kane called in her direction.
"
None that I can think of at the moment." Sabrina had her hands full, as two of the girls had taken to hitting her as well. She didn't want to hurt them, and corralling their punches and kicks without doing damage was difficult.
"
We're looking for someone," Kane said to the girls surrounding them.
One of them muttered an oath in response. Given the lack of light, it was difficult to distinguish one girl from the next. But based on the way the others looked to her for direction, she was
clearly something of a leader.
Now desperate to take advantage of the temporary lull, Sabrina said.
"You don't understand."
"
No, you don't understand. We're not going to do this anymore. You either set us free or you'll have to kill us," one of the others said. Her accent made Sabrina believe she might have been French.