A sharp pain exploded through Abigail’s arm. It took her a second to put things together. Blood trickled onto the floor. The wound hurt, but was by no means bad. Hope had no skills with a sharp object. But Abigail did.
Hope slashed at her again before turning and trying to sprint away. Abigail reached out, grabbing the girl by her long hair and yanking. Hard. Hope cried out in pain and the sharp object flew from her hand. A box cutter. Where the hell did she get that? And how? Abigail had to give the kid credit—she was persistent.
But she was also no match against a trained officer who had arrested many criminals and had almost every nasty move thrown at her. Blood flowed down her arm onto her hand. That would make things slick, so Abigail grabbed Hope by the other arm, twisting it around.
Hope tried to gouge at her eyes and step on her feet, but the girl was much smaller than Abigail. She kept Hope in a wrist lock, pushed her over to the table and slammed her head down. For a moment, Abigail thought Hope was going to try to continue to fight her, but then she stopped. Had she knocked her out?
No. Abigail saw Hope glaring at her. Again, shehad to give the kid credit. She was scared, but she was fighting. “Here’s the deal. You’re going to behave. Got it?”
There was no answer, so Abigail twisted Hope’s arm harder, making it hurt. She knew enough moves and pressure points to make the kid beg for mercy, but finally she felt the girl nod. “Good. You’re coming with me and if you try anything else, I really will kill you.”
Hope glared at her, but this time, Abigail could see the change in her body language and face. She was back to being scared and Abigail had the upper hand.
Abigail pulled out some plastic ties and locked Hope’s hands together. She made sure they were tight and hopefully bit into the kid’s skin. Again, this girl was tougher than she thought because Hope didn’t make any noise from the pain. She’d arrested hardcore criminals who’d let out whimpers when she tightened the ties down. Abigail had to remember; she was Eric’s granddaughter. He was strong too. So was Maya Thompson. But at the end of the day, Abigail knew she’d outlast them and win—one way or another.
Abigail found some paper towels and cleaned up the wound. She probably needed stitches, but right now, that wasn’t going to happen. There was a first aid kit and she was able to get a thick gauze and tape to wrap it up.
“Now,” she said, pushing Hope in front of her. Were those tears? Good, maybe she was finally breaking the kid down. “It’s time to get going. Walk and go to the right.”
Hope followed her instructions and as they went down the hallway, Abigail thought about what her partner had told her. There were two levels to the visitor center with the second level being offices. She wanted to be on the upper level. The front doors were on the first floor where the stupid agent posing as Eric Torres was coming in. If she was up high, she had the upper hand and a better shot.
All she had was the Glock. A long gun would have been better. But she was a good shooter and she’d make adjustments for the trajectory of the bullet. She could hear sniffles coming from Hope. Good.
They got to the bottom of the stairs and Abigail gave Hope a push on the back. “Get going.”
“What if I don’t?”
The girl was trying to sound tough, but her voice gave her away. So did the trembling of her body. “Then you’ll regret it. Believe me?”
Abigail thought she was going to have to prove her point, but then Hope nodded and started up the stairs. Good thing she was small. If she were bigger, Hope might be able to push back into Abigail and knock them back down the steps.
They went to an office and Abigail pulled up the blind. It was a perfect angle. She’d researched the location when her partner texted her. That’s probably when this stupid, or maybe not so stupid, kid found the box cutter. Abigail was lucky. She could have been severely injured.
Abigail dragged a chair over to a corner where she could see the front entrance. There was a shadowoutside. Then the doors opened and the man walked in. Damn. He really did look like Eric. If she hadn’t had someone warning her, she might have fallen for the trap.
The kid didn’t know that, though. Abigail decided to have a little fun and mess with Hope’s mind. “You know your grandfather, Eric?”
As the saying went, if looks could kill, then Abigail would be dead. Hope glared at her.
“Well, do you?”
“I’ve met him a few times,” Hope finally answered. Her voice was strong, but her body language gave away that she was terrified.
“You like him?”
Hope shrugged. “I guess. He was nice.”
“Too bad you like him.” Abigail left it open for Hope to ask more. She didn’t, so Abigail continued. “He’s going to die today.”
“What?”
There was the reaction she wanted. “Yep. He came to save you. Bad choice.”
Abigail heard the doors open and the sound of footsteps. She grabbed Hope and forced her to her feet, making her look out the window. “See? There he is.”
Hope let out some sort of squeak.
Abigail didn’t know what that meant, but then she pulled out her gun. “Now you get to watch him die.”
