Hunt Them Down(58)

A shot rang out behind him, and for a second, Emilio lost his focus. He glanced back to see if he was in immediate danger. It was all the other man needed to make a move. This time, he swung a knife.

Where did the knife come from?

Emilio’s pistol was behind him, and he had no idea where the man’s gun was. The knife came in fast, directly at his stomach. Emilio parried with his arm, knocking the man’s knife arm to the right. But the knife swung again, and this time it sliced his right forearm open. Emilio, enraged, swung wildly and got lucky. His fist connected with the man’s already broken nose, forcing him back a few steps. Although Emilio was in an unbelievable amount of pain, his mind was still in the fight, and he dived for his gun. He slid on the sleek marble and reached his pistol on his stomach. He crashed against the wall with a loud thud, still holding his pistol loosely in his left hand. He rolled to his side just in time to see the man lunge at him with his knife, his eyes wild with rage.

Emilio had time to fire only once before the man’s blade plunged into his chest.



Hunt gasped at the scene in front of him. Tony, huddled against the wall, was clutching his stomach, blood pouring from between his fingers, his eyes open wide in disbelief. Next to him was a man in even worse shape. A knife was embedded to the hilt in his chest.

“Anna from Pierce—”

“What’s going on?”

“Tony’s been shot,” Hunt said, rushing to Tony’s side.

“Get the girls, Pierce. I’ll be fine.”

The boldness in Tony’s voice surprised Hunt.

“Go,” Tony insisted. “Please.”

Hunt ignored him and said to Anna, “Come to the safe house. Drive through the front gate and come right in.”

Tony grabbed his arm, and shook his head. “No—”

“He’s in the main entrance. Take him to a hospital.”

“On my way,” Anna replied, her voice breaking. “I’m only two minutes away.”

“I have my own doctor—”

“This is serious, Tony,” Hunt insisted, trying to place Tony in a more comfortable position. “You need surgery.”

“What are you doing?” Tony asked. His voice had lost its strength now, and his eyes were closed.

Hunt inserted a fresh magazine in his Glock and pocketed the other one. “I’m gonna find our daughters, Tony. Or I’ll die trying. I promise.”

Tony slowly opened his eyes. They were glazed and distant. He nodded slowly. A tear trickled down his cheek. “I want to see her again,” he said. “She’s my everything, Pierce. You understand?”

Yeah, I understand.

“Anna will take care of you. Hang tight,” Hunt said.

Without another look at Tony, Hunt stepped out of the foyer, half expecting to get shot. If there were more shooters in the house, they would have flocked to the ground floor and surrounded them by now. Instead, the house was dead quiet. With any luck, nobody had heard the gunshots, or if they did, they thought they were fireworks—a daily late-night beach occurrence nowadays. His gun up and in front of him, Hunt started searching the rest of the house. He began with the second floor, where he found six large bedrooms and as many bathrooms. But there were no signs of Leila and Sophia ever having been there. He checked every room and closet, hoping to find a clue that would at least confirm whether the girls had been in the house. By the time he returned to the ground floor, Tony was gone.

“Anna from Pierce,” he called over their communication system.

“What?”

“Are you on your way to the hospital?”

“Did you find Sophia?”

“No trace of the girls yet, but I’m not done.”

“Shit!”

My thoughts exactly.

“I’ll be at the hospital in less than five minutes,” she added as he was about to ask her that very question.

“I want you to leave him at the emergency room, Anna. Then you head straight back to his house and ask Mauricio to take care of the Range Rover.”

She didn’t reply.

“Anna, did you hear what I just said?”

“Yes! Yes! Yes!”

Hunt could only imagine how she felt. During the past twenty-four hours, she had lost her father, a powerful Mexican drug cartel had kidnapped her niece, and now her brother had been shot and was fighting for his life. That wasn’t counting the fact she’d been forced to work with Hunt, the man who had wrecked her life.

“How’s he doing?” he asked, entering the living room.

“I’m not a doctor, Pierce!”

“You’re doing a hell of a job, Anna. Just focus on one thing at a time. And right now, it’s getting Tony to a hospital.”

“What about you?”

“Thank you for everything you’ve done tonight. But I’ll do the rest on my own,” he told her. “Goodbye, Anna. And I’m truly sorry. You’re a good and kind woman.”

He took the earpiece out of his ear and put it in his pocket. He also turned off the radio. He continued his search of the ground floor. He checked the pantry and the appliances and looked under the sofas and armchairs for anything the girls might have left behind.

Nothing.

There was only one place left to look. The basement.