Hearts on Fire 7: Claiming Catalina(22)
She struggled once they were outside, thinking no one could get hurt but her at this point, but then came the prick to her neck. She gasped as he shoved her into the van.
“I heard about your spunk. I came prepared, Catalina. Your boyfriend took away everything that means anything to me. He took it all, and I have nothing. I’m a wanted man. Now I’m going to take everything from him.”
She felt her head begin to ache, and her vision blurred just as she hit the metal floor of the van. She heard the door close, and then another door open and close, and then the engine start. She rolled as the van took off, and then she passed out completely.
* * * *
The sirens blared, putting the whole hospital on high alert as police and federal agents swarmed the building, trying to locate Frederick Price and Catalina.
Don looked at Cody and Cooper as information came flooding in. Deputy Davie Lee had been shot and was in critical condition. The head nurse had suffered a concussion. They now stood by the nurses’ station looking at the surveillance video. Apparently the security guards had been in their office when it all went down and they were locked in, the door secured from the outside. Their quick thinking sent calls into the sheriff’s department fast, but not fast enough to catch the van before it headed out of town.
They had helicopters in the air, and the agents were giving Cody and the sheriff updates on Jeremy and the team.
“They took out Clover two hours ago. Frederick must have found out and set this plan in motion. He’s desperate, and he wants revenge. Jeremy uncovered the snitch in the agency. He’s dead now, too.”
“Jesus, this is a fucking mess,” Lew said to them.
“We have to find that van and get to Catalina before this asshole kills her,” Don stated.
Cody’s phone rang.
“It’s Jeremy,” he said and answered it.
“The setup worked. We know where Frederick is, and we’re headed there. This will be over soon.”
“He’s got Catalina,” Cody told his brother.
“What? How the fuck did that happen? What do you mean?” he carried on, and Cody explained. He heard his brother yelling, and then he clamed down.
“I’m going to kill this fucking guy. How long ago did this happen?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“Fuck. He must be heading to Pennsylvania. Are their eyes in the sky?”
“Yes, and I’ve got my guys in motion to use their special skills. I hope to have a location on that van any minute.”
“Okay, we’re headed that way. Let me know the moment you get a location.”
“You got it, Jeremy.” Cody rubbed his hand along his jaw. “We have to find that van and fast. He’s going to kill her.”
“We’ve got men tracking the phone calls, and we’ve come up with three separate locations where he could be headed,” the federal agent told them.
“Then we need to plan a simultaneous raid on all three locations once we ensure Catalina is safe and we can go in. If we hit the wrong place, he’ll know and he’ll kill her. We have to do this right. He’s a fucking psycho, and this is definitely his line of thinking,” Cody told them.
“Let’s do it,” Lew said, and they all started organizing their teams as they waited on confirmation of the three locations and the appearance of that van.
* * * *
Jeremy gripped the steering wheel so tightly. He wanted to kill Frederick. How the fuck had that asshole gotten to Catalina? He’d been so close to catching him and taking him out just like they had Clover and the snitch Rogers. That asshole Rogers had sold out his own men, his country, to the corrupt, murdering trash that Frederick was. How many agents had died, how many families left without a father, a husband a boyfriend, a son? Men like this needed to be eliminated and destroyed.
He was tired of this shit, tired of placing his life on the line and now sacrificing his own family because of this job. This shit had to stop. God, what if Catalina died? It would be all his fault. He should have stayed and protected his family and let the other agents take down Rogers and Clover. She wouldn’t be in danger, and both men would be dead because the other agents were more than capable of doing the job. They’d lost their friends, their fellow agents, too.
He exhaled and felt his heart ache. Please keep Catalina alive and let us get to her in time. I’m done with this life, this job. I need to focus on my family. Nothing else is more important. Nothing.
* * * *
Catalina shivered. She blinked her eyes open and saw a man standing by a table. A bright light blinded her for a moment. Her head was pounding and her vision blurry, but she could see the metal devices, knives and other tools on a table, and a round container of fire. He was running the instruments across it. She shook, her body seemingly in shock from whatever he had injected into her skin.
She was slowly becoming more aware of the situation and the fact that she was lying on the floor in her panties and bra. Her lips felt sore, her cheekbone, too, and she wondered if he’d hit her. She started to move, but her limbs were weak, and she fell back down.
He turned to look at her.
“Good, you’re awake. I was thinking I would have to do the rest while you were unconscious. That wouldn’t be as much fun. I want to hear you scream for mercy, beg to be saved, and we’re running out of time.”
“Who are you, and why are you doing this to me?”
He picked up the knife and ran it over the flame, heating it.
“It doesn’t matter who I am. Just know that the pain I’m going to cause you is because of your boyfriend, Agent Jones.”
She felt the tears reach her eyes, and her heart pounded. She knew he was going to cut her, burn her flesh as he stabbed her or something. She lifted up, determined to fight her way out of this or die. Jeremy would eventually find him and kill him. She was on her own. She had to fight for her life.
He lowered to a squatting position over her legs.
“It will only hurt for a little while, and then the pain will be so bad you’ll pass out, but then I’ll wake you, and we’ll start again.” His eyes were so evil she felt he wasn’t human at all, but some monster. This was the kind of man Jeremy had to hunt down in his career as an agent. No wonder he didn’t want to quit. He probably feared more men like this would exist if he weren’t there to kill them.
But where was he? Did he even know she’d been taken? Where the hell were they, anyway?
She took a few unsteady breaths and panicked as his hand came down on her thigh.
“You’re very beautiful, but you won’t be once I’m finished with you.”
She struck him across the mouth, and he staggered back. She pulled herself up to her knees, fighting the weakness and the dull pounding in her head as he swung the knife at her chest. She fell back, causing him to miss, but then he grabbed her leg, pulled her forward, and stabbed down at her shoulder. She cried out as the pain radiated through her body, suddenly awakening her entirely, erasing the fog and replacing it with pure adrenaline.
She shoved at him, sending him flying into the table, knocking over the container of fire and some kind of liquid. It caught fire, quickly spreading around them.
She grabbed for whatever weapon she could as he came at her again like some raving lunatic.
She swung the metal with the sharp, hook-like edge and cut his chest, slicing through his shirt smooth and quick. His arm made contact with her face, and she fell back. The pain hit her face then her shoulder and back as she landed on the concrete flooring. The fire was spreading fast, and she jumped up and ran.
“You won’t get away from me. No one can find you. You’ll die out there.”
He threw something at her, and it hit her arm, cut her skin, and made her stumble on the stairs.
“Get away from me!” she screamed and kicked at him, knocking him down a few steps.
She shoved open the door at the top of the stairs. The place was in complete darkness, the only light coming from the moon outside. She felt around the wall, then heard the door slam open and him yelling.
“I’ll find you. I’ll kill you, bitch. I’ll cut you to fucking pieces and leave you here for all those fucking agents to see. They’ll never catch me and kill me.”
She was crying, but trying to be quiet. Where’s the door? Oh God, please let me get out of here. She felt the pain radiate against her shoulder. She was bleeding so much. She knew she needed to get a move on it and get out of here. She could go into shock from the stab wound. She eased slowly down the wall. He was banging open doors and heading the opposite way. She was barefoot, wearing only panties and a bra, but she had to run. She needed to get out of the house and run.
She saw him, the shadow of a man, and he had a gun. She was going to die. It was run and take the chance to live and escape, or stay here and suffer a horrible death.
She was shaking harder, and she knew it was bad. She could go into shock, and then she wouldn’t be able to move at all. She looked around frantically and saw the doorway. She made her way toward it and began to open the door.
She screamed as the shot rang out, hitting the wood by her head. She pulled the door open and slammed it behind her as she headed to the right, ducking and weaving. It was complete darkness out there, like they were in the woods somewhere. She ran toward the trees, her feet aching and broken branches, rocks, and sharp sticks cutting into her skin painfully.