“They came on a Tuesday. It’s funny the stupid, little details you sometimes remember,” she murmured as the room faded into memory of a distant life.
Kiki breathed deeply, trying to calm her heartbeat. It was pounding after her run down the path to the river.
She looked up at the sky. It was impossibly blue today—one of those crisp Swiss mornings where the air smelled of pine and river water. She paused and picked up several stones before she pulled her arm back and skipped them along the edge of the river. She watched them bounce once, twice, before sinking.
“You’re getting better. At least it hopped this time,” Anne teased.
Kiki stuck her tongue out in response. “It’s easier in a lake,” she replied.
Anne pulled her shawl tight against the wind, a rare smile softening her tired face. “True.”
Kiki walked along the path, searching for more rocks, when a movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. The smile on her lips died at the same time as she heard Anne’s quiet hiss of warning.
“Kiki! Run!”
Kiki froze for half a heartbeat—then Anne grabbed her arm and shoved her toward the cottage. The older woman’s face had gone pale.
“Go! Now!”
Kiki fled, not turning back around. Behind her, she heard the sounds of a struggle, but years of training had taught her to focus on her surroundings. Where there was one, there would be more.
“Keep going!”
Kiki’s heart hammered when she heard Anne’s voice behind her. She burst out of the narrow path and onto the road. Across from her was their quaint cottage tucked behind a waist-high rock wall covered in wildflowers.
She slammed into the front door, remembering to test the door to make sure it was still locked before she pressed in the code.
“Grab your bag,” Anne ordered.
Kiki’s breath hitched in her throat when she noticed the blood soaking Anne’s right arm. Anne pushed past her with a shake of her head.
“How-how many?” Kiki asked, her voice not quite steady.
“There was only one—so far,” Anne said. “Get your bag.”
Kiki nodded and disappeared up the narrow staircase. Less than a minute later, she stepped into the kitchen. The room smelled of cinnamon and wood smoke—ordinary things that would never feel ordinary again.
Kiki clutched the small canvas bag containing a meager but vital lifeline to her survival. Passports. Cash. The worn photo of them standing in some country she couldn’t remember now. A single change of clothes.
Anne’s voice shook. “Out the window.”
Kiki climbed through, scraping her knee on the sill. The world tilted into chaos—men in black uniforms, masks covering their faces, moving through the garden like shadows.
Anne dropped beside her. “Staybehind me.”
They ran, cutting through a wooded area to a logging road where Anne had hidden an old, dark blue four-wheel-drive SUV. Kiki scrambled into the passenger side as Anne rounded the vehicle and slid into the driver’s seat.
Seconds later, Anne was driving along a narrow, winding path through fields that glowed in the early morning light before she slid off of it onto the main paved road.
Kiki clung to the door handle to keep from being thrown about even with her seatbelt on. She glanced behind them. Three black SUVs had appeared.
Anne glanced in the rearview mirror. “Stay down!”
“I can stop them,” Kiki said, her voice barely audible over the noise of the engine.
“No! Not unless you absolutely have to.” Anne’s voice was fierce.
They both winced when the back window of the SUV suddenly blew out. Anne swerved back and forth along the narrow road. An oncoming delivery truck driver honked at her and gave her a rude gesture as he passed.
