“Go low,” Perez whispered.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the barrel of his Glock slightly above her head. She crouched and edged forward, allowing him to take the higher stance and avoid a crossfire.
The divider separating the rear compartment was open, and Nina saw bare legs manacled spread-eagle on a queen-size bed that dominated the tight space. The shackles were bolted to the wall with heavy gauge steel eye hooks. Nina moved in closer, eyes darting in every direction before settling on the girl’s face.
Tears streamed from beneath a black bandanna folded to cover her eyes and tied behind her head. Mucus slid down from her reddened nose to drip over two bands of silver duct tape covering her mouth. Her wrists were also shackled to eyehooks. Nina could see that one of her legs was close enough to the built-in bedside table to allow for the girl to kick it.
The girl shook her head from side to side. “Mmmmf!”
“Watch my back,” Nina said over her shoulder as she holstered her weapon. “You’re safe now.” She offered reassurance as she approached the bed. “I’m Special Agent Nina Guerrera, FBI. I’m not going to let him hurt you anymore.” She tugged the bandanna off, then grasped the tape and tore it away with a loud ripping sound.
The girl’s eyes were wild with terror. “Help me!”
Nina focused on the most critical question. “Where is he?”
“He said he’d be right back,” the girl said. “You’ve got to get me out of here.”
The sound of sirens reached the vehicle.
“Tell them to cut their sirens,” Nina said to Perez. “I want to get her out of here and catch him when he comes back.”
“It’s no good,” Perez said. “Every available unit is on the way. And I saw people from another neighborhood down the street walking toward us. They’ll have a tamale stand set up in twenty minutes.”
The Cipher would see the crowd and slip away unseen. She closed her eyes and swore before turning back to the girl. “Where is the key to unlock the shackles?”
“He took the keys with him.”
Nina heard the tinny sound of clanging metal outside as responding police officers scaled the chain-link fence.
“See if anyone has bolt cutters,” she said to Perez.
After he left, she stroked the girl’s cheek. She matched the description Emma had given, but Nina needed to be sure. “Are you Trina Davidson?”
She nodded. “Where’s my mom?”
“She’s at the shelter. The police will bring her to meet us when we leave.”
“Where will you take me?”
“To the hospital. You need to be checked out.”
Trina began to shiver. “Can you cover me with something?”
“Of course.” She pulled off her raid jacket. She was draping it over Trina when Perez stuck his head in the door.
“Rescue’s here. They have bolt cutters.”
He disappeared and two EMTs tromped up the steps, filling the cramped space with their gear.
“Excuse me.” One of them shouldered past her with an oversize set of shears in his hand. When he bent toward Trina’s foot, she shrieked.
Nina put a hand on the EMT’s forearm. “Hold on a sec.”
She squeezed past him to kneel on the mattress next to Trina. “Look at me, honey.”
Trina’s gaze met hers.
“They’re here to help you. We can’t unlock the shackles, so we need to cut the metal part holding them to the wall.”
Trina’s eyes flicked back to the EMT and she whimpered.
“What’s wrong, Trina?”
“Can you stay with me?” she whispered.
“I’ll be right here. Just focus on me. Don’t worry about what they’re doing. I know this is not the best time, but I want to ask you some questions. Is that okay?”
It would serve the dual purpose of distracting Trina while gathering intel as quickly as possible to put out a BOLO for the Cipher.
At Trina’s nod, Nina adopted a soothing tone. “What did he look like?”
“Like one of those biker guys. He was huge. Really strong. He had body art all down his arms, a shaved head, and a black goatee.”
A loud metallic clank made Trina jump. The hook had snapped in half. One of Trina’s feet was now free.
Nina asked for more details as the medic went to work on the other ankle. “What about his eyes?”
“Couldn’t see them,” Trina said. “He wore sunglasses.”
Another loud pop of splitting metal and Trina was able to pull her legs together. The EMT moved to her wrist.
“How did he talk?” Nina asked. “What did he say?”
Trina shook her head vehemently. “I don’t want to repeat the stuff he told me.”
The third hook fell apart with a loud crack. Trina clutched her free hand to her chest, holding Nina’s windbreaker.
“I’m sorry,” the medic said. “But I have to get to her other wrist.”
He leaned over Trina, who tucked her body into a ball under the jacket. Nina reached out a hand, and Trina squeezed it in a white-knuckled grip.
“Damn,” the EMT said, grunting. “This one’s at a bad angle. I’m sorry, but there’s no other way for me to reach it.” He moved his leg, straddling Trina between his knees to brace himself.
Trina thrashed hysterically.
Nina grabbed the medic’s arm and hauled him off the girl. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He let out an exasperated sigh. “Trying to cut her loose.”
She kept her hold on his arm. “You need to find a different position.”
A fragment of memory flickered in Nina’s mind. The pressure of heavy masculine legs pinning her down. Trapping her. Eleven years ago, the monster had straddled her that way, keeping her still, forcing her to submit. He had probably done the same to Trina when he shackled her.
“I don’t like this any more than you do,” the EMT said. “But I don’t see another way to cut that thing off.” He held the shears out to her. “Maybe she’ll do better with you.”
She took the shears and looked down at Trina. The girl was wide eyed, batshit, full-on panicked. She would have to position her body over Trina’s as the medic had done to get to the last manacle. Nina struggled to tamp down a distorted sense of déjà vu, reliving her own attack from both Trina’s perspective and the Cipher’s as she prepared to straddle the girl.
“Listen, I want to free you, but I can’t do it unless you cooperate. Will you help me by lying still?”
Trina simply stared at her, unwilling or unable to speak.
Grasping the handles firmly, she leaned over the girl, lining up the sharp blades along the edge of the metal. She squeezed. After considerable effort, Nina was rewarded with a loud pop. Trina shot up, pushing Nina aside, struggling off the makeshift bed. The EMT grabbed her, feeding her hysteria, and Trina began flailing and clawing at him.
“Stop!” He grabbed the girl’s wrists. “We’re trying to help you.”
Something deep within Nina snapped. She hauled her arm back and elbowed the paramedic in the shoulder. Hard.
He released his grip on the girl and rounded on Nina. “What the hell?”