Hard to Kill Read Online Free PDF Page A

her to gobble down the nourishment.
    "You wouldn't want your meal ticket to pass out in the middle of negotiations. No doubt that would lower the price considerably," Sabrina said between mouthfuls.
    Marco nodded his agreement with a smarmy smile. For once Sabrina didn't want to be agreed with.
    " You have a point. While G can be a little…ahem…shall we say, creative in the methods he uses to ensure complacency, he does expect his merchandise to be in good working order at the time of purchase."
    " Oh, Marco, you make a girl feel so important—like one of those blue-light specials at Kmart," Sabrina replied, mimicking a Southern accent.
    She glanced at Evan. Imagination or not, he had a strange look on his face. While his lips were drawn tight into a thin line, he worked his jaw back and forth a few times as if trying to figure something out. Was he going to rat her out? Or had her big mouth made him suspicious?
    She half expected him to blurt out the tale of her bribe. But he didn 't. It was too soon to conclude that meant victory.
    After finishing off the last of the bread, she felt strong er. Much more herself and able to do what she needed to do. Once she chased it down with a bottle of water, she felt like she could tackle the world.
    " I don't want a word from you, Grace. Not one single word." Marco motioned toward Liz. "Or you know what will happen to your friend. You certainly don't want her to pay the price for your big mouth."
    He held the gun to Liz's head, and Sabrina closed her eyes and bit her tongue. She knew it was a test. For now, she'd be willing to play along.
    Marco smiled, looking pleased by her complacency. He nodded in that I-knew-that-would-work kind of way and handed the gun to Evan, who placed it in a holster under his jacket.
    " It's time to leave," Marco said.
    " Home?" Liz squeaked out the word like a two-year-old would after a long day away. Emotionally frayed and physically exhausted, Liz appeared to be near the breaking point. While her hands shook, her voice trembled. And she looked to be about ten seconds away from bursting into bone-racking sobs.
    Sabrina willed the poor girl a hint of composure by grasping her hands, trying to convey a measure of control with her touch. Liz 's eyes remained downcast as she twisted at Sabrina's fingers. 
    " But I thought you hated your life. You wanted adventure and to see the world. Now you're crying to go home." The mocking tone in Marco's voice rippled in the air. Sabrina didn't have to be psychic to recognize his words hit their intended target, effectively cutting off any further pleading by Liz.
    A vivid fantasy of grabbing Marco by the throat and bouncing his head of the cool concrete floor kept Sabrina from acting irrationally. Besides, this was a waiting game. Her time would come sooner or later. And it was all about timing.
     
    *  *  *
     
    A Mercedes sedan awaited them at the bottom of a series of cobblestone steps. Ironically, the exterior of Marco's house resembled a home from a fairy tale, with its cottagey appearance surrounded by a forest of trees. She could envision Little Red Riding Hood paying a visit any minute now.
    A s picturesque as the setting might be, any hope for an immediate escape was dismissed when she recognized they were in the middle of nowhere with mountains on all sides. Definitely not an easy way out that she could see so far. Running through the forest hampered by mountains was not a recipe for success.
    Given the presence of the moon, and the miniscule amount of light, Sabrina guessed the time was close to three, maybe four in the morning. Once the terrain became more visible she might have a few more clues as to their location.
    Based on the abundance of mountains, the house had to be in the southern half of Austria. By US standards the acreage was miniscule, but by getting-out-of-Dodge standards, it was as vast as the Pacific Ocean. They might be close to Italy if in the southwest, Switzerland or Germany if