Page 70 of Vanishing Legacy
“Oh, but I do. She’s a perfect match.”
“How do you—the break-in a few months ago. That was you?”
Ziva arched an eyebrow.
“But Penny hasn’t been prepped. She needs a filgrastim injection to increase her blood stem cells.”
“Already done.”
“The injection at the hot air balloon festival.” Cash shook his head. “No. No, I won’t do it. Not here. Not like this.”
“Oh, but you will.” She stepped closer and lowered her voice. “You don’t have a choice.”
He squared his stance. “No, if we do this, it will be in a hospital. Surrounded by trained medical staff. I’m not a monster, Ziva. We can go to the hospital?—”
Ziva spun on her heel and marched off. He hesitated, then followed her into another spacious living area.
“Sit.” The single word was a command, not an offer.
Cash wanted to spit out a retort about not being her lap dog, but he bit his tongue and took a seat on the couch opposite her.
“We won’t be going anywhere. We’re just outside the coastal jurisdiction of state and local law enforcement. I’d like to keep it that way. Besides, I wouldn’t need you if my own doctor hadn’t been so stupid.”
“What do you mean?”
“He delivered the benzodiazepine sedative we used on you to one of my lieutenants in Savannah this morning and got himself killed.”
Cash swallowed a lump in his throat. “Trejo? He…he was working for you?”
“Of course.” She picked up a remote control and pressed a button. Nothing happened that Cash could see. “He’s always been reliable in the past. But this time…well, let’s just say his men got what they deserved. Unfortunately, my private physician got caught in the crossfire.”
Death. Each of the men who’d tried to kidnap Penny had wound up dead one way or another.
Ziva’s callousness surprised him. Then something clicked. She’d called Trejo one of her lieutenants. His heart began to pound as his mind put the pieces together. “You’re involved with the Madrina cartel?”
“Honey, I am the Madrina cartel.”
A stewardess carrying a silver tray appeared. Ziva took the gleaming knife off the tray and studied its sharp edge with a look of satisfaction. “Thank you, dear.”
The stewardess bowed and vanished.
In a flash, Ziva was across the room. The blade pressed into his throat. Her face held inches from his. The sweet scent of the champagne on her breath filled the air between them. “You will perform my stem cell rescue, or you’ll watch as I gut your daughter and your precious undercover FBI sister right before your eyes.”
NINETEEN
Alana’s vision flashed white. She was disoriented and in pain, but she unbuckled her seatbelt and shoved the airbag out of the way. Penny was screaming and crying in the backseat.
“Penny, are you okay? I’m going to get you right now.”
Her heart broke at the sight of the little girl’s face red and streaked with tears. Her entire body quaked. Alana struggled to keep her voice calm as she spoke. “It’s going to be okay, baby. We just had a little accident, that’s all. I need you to be brave for me, okay?”
A helmeted rider yanked on Penny’s door handle.
Alana grabbed her gun and opened her door, but the man shoved the door closed and held it with his weight. With one swift blow from the butt of his gun, the man shattered Penny’s window. Glass sprayed everywhere, some of it cutting into Alana’s skin. Penny’s screams went frantic.
The helmeted man reached into the car and yanked the door handle. Alana scrambled into the back seat and threw herself over Penny. She raised her gun, but he wrenched it from her hands.
Alana grabbed his wrist and pinched a pressure point, causing him to drop her gun. It hit the frame of the Jeep with a clang and fell outside.