If the local police were bought, she was going to call their bosses. She would not stop—she would not—until these children were protected from this vicious abuse.
Sprinting after Ms. Rossi, she grabbed at her arm again, and this time she was able to tug the tall woman off balance. With a curse, she let go of her daughter and Nina, sobbing, crawled out of reach.
The next moment, Cassie saw fireworks all over again as Ms. Rossi slapped her face, as hard as a hammer blow.
The shock of the impact knocked the breath out of her, and before she could gather herself together, another vicious slap jerked her head back.
Ms. Rossi was beating her methodically, and Cassie could hear the grunt of effort and the huff of her breath as each slap landed. Blows ricocheted off her cheeks, her neck, her mouth. She fell to her knees, shrinking back, cowering down.
She heard her own voice, a breathless whimper.
“Please stop! Stop it, you’re hurting me. Stop!”
But the punches and slaps kept coming.
Cassie was suddenly taken back to the time when she was nine years old. A helpless, terrified youngster, she had crouched in the corner of the kitchen while she was kicked and shoved. Her attacker had yelled out incoherent abuse, with the fumes of alcohol reeking from every slurred word.
It hadn’t been her father, not that time. The attack had come from the most aggressive and unstable of his girlfriends, Elaine, the blonde woman with the high, shrieking laugh. Cassie had mistrusted her on sight, and had quickly grown to hate and fear her.
She’d had no choice but to endure the abuse then—even though the enforced helplessness had left deep emotional scars. Now Cassie remembered those early experiences, how it had made her feel small and powerless and all alone, and how she’d promised herself when she left home that never, ever again would she let this happen.
Never, ever again, she had resolved, would she allow another person to hurt her that way.
Now it was happening again and Cassie felt something inside her snap, as if Ms. Rossi had crossed a line that Cassie hadn’t even known, until that moment, had existed.
Somehow she found the speed to dodge the next blow, ducking down so that the brutal punch passed harmlessly over her. Then, with Ms. Rossi caught off balance, Cassie leaped to her feet and shoved her backward.
The tall woman reeled away, stumbling on her high heels as Cassie drew her hand back and hit her in the face with all her might.
The blow sounded like the crack of a whip and Ms. Rossi’s head snapped sideways. Now she was shrieking, but in a different tone, as Cassie attacked. All the anger, all the frustration at the obscene treatment of the children, boiled inside her. The next punch, to Ms. Rossi’s neck, brought the woman sagging to her knees.
Cassie shoved aside her flailing arms. She landed another punch to the side of her jaw. While she was staggering off balance, she kicked her in the knee with all her might. Ms. Rossi went down with a cry, sprawling on the floor, shrieking in pain and outrage.
Leaping in for the attack, Cassie kicked her again, this time in the head.
Ms. Rossi’s screaming suddenly stopped.
Cassie stood over her, panting, unable to believe what had just happened. The tall woman was breathing rapidly, but her eyes were half closed and blood was trickling from her nose. Cassie thought that the kick in the head must have stunned her.
She was tempted to kick her once more, to slam her foot with all her might into that perfectly coiffed dark head, but her blind rage was ebbing. She’d done enough. She’d fought the woman back and bested her and she was beaten.
Now her main priority was the children.
She needed to get them into a safe place as quickly as she could, and then call urgently for the authorities to intervene.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
“Nina? Venetia?” Cassie called. She hurried back down the corridor, hoping the girls were all right, and that they had not been too badly traumatized by what had happened. If Nina was injured after that prolonged beating, it might delay their plans for escape.
There they were, huddled together under the mahogany table in the corridor, keeping out of harm’s way as best they could.
“Come, girls,” she said breathlessly, bending to help them out of their temporary shelter. “Nina, are you OK? You’re not too badly hurt?”
“I think I’m all right. Where are we going?” Nina asked, her voice high and shaky.
“We need to find somewhere safe. I’m going to—” Cassie hesitated, thinking fast. The responsibility for their safety rested on her shoulders now.
“I’m going to take you to a police station,” she said. Once they were in the car, she could drive to the other side of the city and hopefully find a precinct where the police hadn’t been bought. “Will you be brave enough to describe what has happened to you and to ask the police to stop it from happening again?”
“I will do that,” Venetia assured her and Nina nodded.
“Me, too,” she promised.
“All right.”
Cassie was shaking from the aftermath of the fight. She felt battered, her head was throbbing, her face felt raw with pain, and she was sure she’d have bruises from where she’d been attacked. Despite this, she had fought back and won, and that had bought her a few precious minutes to get out and find a place of safety.
But as she helped Venetia out from under the table, the girl’s face twisted in fear.
“Watch out!” she cried.
Her eyes focused behind Cassie, and the click of approaching heels warned her, too late, that her adversary had not been defeated.
Panic surged inside her. She spun round, but she was off balance, and the attack was too swift and vicious for her to protect herself.
Ms. Rossi was holding a large porcelain vase high in the air, and as Cassie turned, she
