Silent Run - Barbara Freethy [109]
She turned back toward Rick, hoping to find some compassion in his eyes, but they were ice-cold. The man had no heart, no soul. He’d spent just as many years in prison as Victor had. There was no way he would let her go. He would have killed her already if Victor hadn’t said he wanted to do it himself. “She’s just a baby,” she said helplessly.
Caitlyn began to cry again, obviously sensing Sarah’s growing panic.
And then the unthinkable happened. Dylan came out of nowhere, ramming Rick from behind, sending the large man sprawling across the room, colliding with Victor. The two men got tangled up together.
The gun skittered out of Rick’s hand, hitting Jake in the side of the leg.
Jake’s eyes flew open, and he scrambled to his feet.
As Dylan went after Rick, Jake rushed Victor again.
With the doorway free and clear, Sarah ran from the room. She had to get Caitlyn to safety. To her shock Catherine was running up the stairs, determination in her eyes, a baseball bat in her hands.
“Take Caitlyn. Give me the bat,” Sarah said.
“No way. She needs you, Jessica. You’re her mother. Now get the hell out of here.”
Catherine charged into the bedroom like a female warrior.
Sarah heard a thud, then a boom as a gun went off.
God, she prayed the bullet hadn’t hit Jake or Dylan or Catherine. She covered Caitlyn’s ear with her hand and raced toward the stairs. As much as she wanted to help, her first priority had to be Caitlyn. She had just reached the bottom of the stairs when her name was called.
“Sarah.”
Her heart came to a thudding stop.
Jake stood at the top of the stairs. His face was bloodied and bruised, but his eyes were triumphant. “Victor is dead.”
“What about—”
“Knocked out,” Dylan said, dragging Catherine toward the stairs. “Thanks to our leadoff hitter here. Someone call nine-one-one. I want to make sure that guy doesn’t wake up.” Dylan headed back toward the bedroom as Catherine dashed down the stairs past Sarah, heading for the phone in the living room.
Jake walked down the stairs, his gaze never leaving his daughter. Caitlyn was still crying, her face buried against Sarah’s breast.
Jake looked like there were a million things he wanted to say, but no words crossed his lips. His hand came to rest gently on Caitlyn’s back. He closed his eyes as if he couldn’t believe he was touching his child again.
Sarah felt her eyes fill with tears. She was sure Jake wanted to rip Caitlyn out of her arms and take her into his own protective embrace. But he wouldn’t do that to his child. He wouldn’t scare or hurt Caitlyn by taking her away from her mother—the woman who had also betrayed him.
Instead, in a move that reminded her exactly why she had loved him so much, Jake put his arms around both of them, pulling Sarah close, keeping Caitlyn between them. His forehead touched hers. She closed her eyes at the tender gesture. They were safe. They were back together—at least for the moment.
“Look who I found,” Catherine said, leading a dazed Teresa into the living room. “She was tied up in the kitchen.”
“Oh, my God!” Sarah whispered. Teresa had always been a short, scrappy brunette, but she looked even tougher now with a black eye and a bump the size of a golf ball on her forehead. “What did they do to you?”
“I would have gotten away if they hadn’t double-teamed me,” Teresa complained. “At least I got a few punches in. I’m sorry, Sarah. I went outside to the garbage early this morning and they came up behind me. They told me they were only letting me live so I could keep the baby alive until you got here. That’s when I took a swing at one of them. I guess he hit me harder than he intended, because when I woke up, I was alone and tied up in the kitchen. I heard Caitlyn screaming upstairs. It scared the shit out of me. But Catherine says they’re dead—or at least one of them is.”
“Victor is dead. The other one Catherine took out with a baseball bat. I didn’t do anything except grab Caitlyn.” Sarah realized that she had always felt so alone, but today