Silent Run - Barbara Freethy [107]
“I dyed Caitlyn’s hair,” she told Jake. “It’s brown now. I wanted us to match. Just so you know.”
“I’d recognize her no matter what her hair color is.”
“What are we going to do after we get Caitlyn?”
“Find a way out of this. I won’t have my daughter growing up in fear.”
“You have such confidence that you can change things. I lost mine a long time ago. I got it back for a while when I was with you. I thought I could have a normal life, a good life, but I screwed that up, too.” She stared out the window, half hoping Jake would say they could have that life again, but he didn’t.
For the next ten minutes they drove in silence. Finally they neared the town of Santa Barbara. Sarah’s tension increased as they exited the freeway. Teresa lived in a modest neighborhood of Spanish-style houses with red tile roofs and neat lawns. Her two-story house was set in the middle of the block.
Everything appeared quiet. There were no strange cars in the driveway. Why hadn’t Teresa answered her phone when her Toyota hybrid was parked in front of her house?
Jake parked the car but put a hand on her arm as she started to get out. “Just wait a second.”
She looked around. Everything appeared normal. Getting out of the car, they walked quickly up to the front of the house. Sarah knocked on the door and was surprised to realize it wasn’t all the way closed. She pushed it open and said, “Teresa?”
There was no answer from her friend, but at the sound of Sarah’s voice, Caitlyn let out a shrill, piercing scream.
They ran for the stairs. Jake beat her to the top, pushing open the door to one of the bedrooms. Sarah was right on his heels.
A second too late she realized their mistake. Her ex-lover, her worst enemy, the man she had been running from for eight long years was here in this house, and he was holding Caitlyn under one arm. In his other hand was a gun pointed straight at her sweet daughter’s head.
“Hello, Jessica. It’s about time you got here,” Victor Pennington said. “You and I have some unfinished business.”
Chapter Twenty-one
“Put down my daughter,” Sarah ordered, her heart in her throat as Caitlyn screamed in fury, her tiny face turning red as tears streamed down her cheeks. “You’re hurting her. Let her go.”
“I don’t think so.” Victor tightened his grip on Caitlyn. “Stop right there.”
“It’s me you want. Just put her down. I’ll do whatever you say.”
“Mama!” Caitlyn screamed, her little arms reaching out for Sarah.
Sarah’s heart broke at the sight of her daughter’s fear and fury. “It’s okay, baby. Please, Victor, leave my child alone.”
He gave her an evil smile. “The way you left me alone? You betrayed me, Jessica. You turned on me. You became my enemy, and my enemies do not survive.”
“I had no choice. The agents blackmailed me.
They said I’d go to prison if I didn’t work with them.”
“So instead you sent me to prison.” His wild eyes glittered with anger. “Does your friend here know we were lovers? Or shall I tell him in exact detail what we did in bed together?”
Sarah licked her lips. She didn’t dare look at Jake, but she could feel the tension emanating from his body. So far he’d said nothing, but she knew he was trying to think of some way to take Victor down. He wouldn’t let Victor kill Caitlyn, not without a fight— which scared her even more. If they weren’t careful, they could all end up dead.
“This is between you and me,” she said to Victor.
“You’re not going to be able to kill all of us,” Jake added.
Victor’s thick lips tightened as he glared at Jake. “All I have to do is kill you first.