Kit lifted a brow and smiled in appreciation. “Nice.”
“I’ll ride with her, get her close and hide the truck. You can go the route we found earlier, then wait for my signal.”
“What’s going to be the signal?”
Oz smiled. “You won’t miss it. I promise.”
Chapter One Hundred Eight
Snow. Oz was right, Ronnie thought as she held her hand out to touch “the signal.” It floated through her hand, but it looked like it melted. Ronnie and Oz ducked down when they reached the large compound. A stone grandiose mansion sat across from a snow-covered clearing.
The lion’s lair now looked more like a winter wonderland. Snow flurries floated down to the ground in slow succession. The naturally crisp evening air helped to sell the illusion.
Oz and Ronnie had hidden the truck about two miles away and walked through the wooded area, creating a new path. There was one road in and out of the lion’s compound, and they were nowhere near it. It wasn’t a long walk, but it stank to high heaven. These men must not have running water or even heard of the word hygiene. She was human and she could smell them.
“Over there.” Oz pointed to the cluster of rusted out railcars on the edge of the cleared property. “I’m sure they’re holding the girls there. Once I open the doors, get the girls to the truck and haul ass.”
“What about you guys?”
“We’ll be fine. Just stick to the plan.”
“The plan. Okay.” Ronnie nodded. But she didn’t like splitting up.
The snow picked up and started coming down in sheets. After a minute or two, she could no longer see the mansion. Ronnie lifted her hands in front of her face, and could barely see them.
Oz grabbed her upheld hand. “Let’s go.”
The two dashed across the open area toward the enclosures. Each railcar had a combination lock on them as big as her hand. She’d never seen one so large before. Didn’t even know they came that big.
Oz wrapped his hand around the lock and twisted then pulled. The metal thinned and squealed before it snapped.
The tiger’s roared echoed around them.
“Kitty’s in trouble. Here.” He took off his cut and long coat. “Wear this. I’ll see you back at the room.” He handed her both, then broke the other two locks. “Be careful.” He pulled her in for a quick kiss.
Before she could protest or argue he was running and pulling off the last of his clothes and leaped into the air a man, then landed a pure white snow leopard. He blended seamlessly into the falling snow. If she hadn’t known he was just standing there, she wouldn’t have.
She shrugged on the coats and wrenched the first railcar door open. It was heavy and hard to move, but she got it. The smell hit her like a sledgehammer, but she held her breath and pushed on.
“Golden! Golden, you in here?” Ronnie screamed into the darkness.
Four filthy heads popped out.
One girl couldn’t have been any older than ten, with huge hazel eyes. “Are you here to save us?”
“Yes.” Ronnie opened her arms to help the girl out.
Once the four girls were out, Ronnie asked. “Anybody else inside?”
They all shook their heads.
“Okay. Stay together, we need to get everyone.” Ronnie led the small group to each container.
She opened the door, and the stench nearly knocked her down. This one reeked of death. Ronnie covered her nose with her hand. She knew no-one was alive inside, but called out anyway. “Hello.” Her greeting was met by silence.
She quickly moved to the last railcar. “Golden! You in there?”
“They took her.” A tentative voice said from the darkness. “But she said you would come. Ronnie, you’re Ronnie, right?” A dark-haired teenager came to the opening. “I’m Mia.”
She didn’t look as bad as some of the others, Ronnie thought. “Yeah, I’m Ronnie. Come on, we gotta get out of here.”
One by one, six more girls and two young boys of five or six stepped out. Ronnie’s heart clutched. She had to get these children out of there. One little boy cried and cried with his arms up.
“Shhhh. Don’t cry. You’re safe now.”
“You shouldn’t lie to the kid like that,” a gravelly voice said from behind her.
The girls recoiled and gasped. More started crying. “Girls,” Ronnie said. “Go to the first car and stand there. No one can see you if you hide there.”
“Don’t. He’s gonna kill you,” Mia said. The girl gripped the sleeve of the duster, shifting the knives.
“I’ll be okay.” She handed Mia the crying boy and moved her hand under her coat to the small of her back.
Over the snarls and gunfire, Ronnie could hear him walking up behind her. “She’s right, you know. I am going to kill you.”
Ronnie pushed the children away. “Mia, take the kids. Stay together and hide. I’ll be okay.”
The teen’s eyes grew large as she pulled the children away. “Run!”
Ronnie turned around holding the gun out of sight. The guard was in black military fatigues, but he didn’t seem to have a gun or a weapon. Not one that she could see, anyway.
“You don’t have to do this. I just want the children.”
“King wouldn’t appreciate it if I just gave the lambs away.” He moved his arms away from his body.
Just before he leaped at her, he did something with his hands. Ronnie couldn’t tell if he grabbed a knife or what. She pulled her guns and fired four shots. The weight of the massive man hit her like a freight train, and something sharp dug into her lower back at the same time.
The kids screamed from somewhere behind her. She told them to run and hide.
Blood had soaked into her top from the hole in the man’s head. She wasn’t sure she’d even hit him. Ronnie opened her mouth to let the children know she was okay, but nothing came out. She pulled her arm from between her and the dead man. It took three good tries,
