Hard to Kill: a Hard Targets novel Read online

  "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. Both 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. She 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 she 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 quietly 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 back 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.

  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.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  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.