Page 75 of Vanishing Legacy

Ziva’s lips curved back into a menacing grin that turned his stomach. “That’s better. I want you to perform the apheresis session to extract the stem cells from Penny. Once that’s done, you’ll place the required central line in my chest and administer the stem cell transplant.”

Cash’s heart rate quickened. What she was asking him to do was ludicrous. He only had a vague idea of what was required for a peripheral blood stem cell transplant. But he’d keep her talking, keep her believing he would help her, and in the meantime, he’d figure out how to get a message to Detective Williams or Bailey. “And if I do this procedure, then what?”

“Well, you’ll keep your mouth shut about anything you see or hear while you’re here, and we’ll let you both return home.” Ziva’s eyes narrowed. “And if you don’t...well, let’s just say you won’t be seeing your daughter again.”

Cash swallowed. “The donation process will take days?—”

“You’ll do it in one.” Ziva rose to her feet and began to walk away.

Taking Penny off his lap, Cash stood. He crossed the room and caught Ziva by the elbow, spinning her to face him. “She’s too little,” he said in a low voice. “She doesn’t have enough blood. Especially if you want enough for a follow-up procedure in the future.”

Ziva’s eyes studied him. “Fine.” She jerked her elbow away. “You have two days.”

“You know I’m not an oncologist, right? This isn’t my area of expertise. I’ve never done this procedure before.”

“Two days,” she hissed.

His jaw muscles tensed. As much as he wanted to lash out at the evil woman running a cartel, Cash had to keep his cool and buy time. Someone had to know he and Penny were missing. They’d come looking soon enough. As long as Ziva needed his daughter’s blood for a transplant, Ziva wouldn’t hurt her. Cash, on the other hand…well, she could kill him and find another doctor.

He stepped back and lifted his chin. “Bring me all your charts and medical history. I need to see everything before we begin. Penny needs bloodwork too. One filgrastim injection may not have boosted her white blood cells enough. And she needs to eat before we even think about starting the donation, so whatever she wants, she gets, you hear me?”

“I’m not your waitress,” Ziva spat.

“But you have one, so get her in here,” Cash bit back. “Oh, and I’m not leaving Penny cooped up in that tiny room for eight hours, so get your goons to bring the chair and all the equipment in here.”

That last part was pushing it, but he didn’t want to risk being locked in the room. At least here there were multiple exits if given the opportunity to escape.

It was clear Ziva didn’t like taking orders from Cash. Her dark eyes bore into him, but she snapped her fingers and Ramón jumped into action. Ziva sat on the couch across from Penny and crossed her long legs.

“Well, Penny, my dear. Looks like you’re going to be the little hero who saves your auntie’s life.”

TWENTY-ONE

Bailey’s recon knowledge of the superyacht proved invaluable to Alana as, together, they made their way through the ship. The small gun provided some protection, but Alana would rather have her SIG Sauer P229 when they encountered the guards with assault rifles. Between Bethany and Joan, help should be on the way. But Bailey insisted they couldn’t sit around and wait. She didn’t need to convince Alana. They had to find Cash and Penny.

“The wheelhouse is the central hub of the vessel. From there, the captain has full control over everything, including communication systems. If we can gain access to the comms inside, we could call for backup, then find Penny and Cash.”

They’d made it to the stairs leading up to the top level when Alana heard the distinct thwop-thwop-thwop of helicopter rotors. Joan had come through. Backup had finally arrived. She put a hand on Bailey to get her attention. When she turned, Alana cupped her ear with one hand and mouthed, Listen.

Bailey paused, then nodded. “There,” she whispered.

On the horizon, Alana saw the familiar red-orange of the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter approaching. She shot a look to the roof deck, where an armed guard had a radio to his mouth. Two more gunmen appeared. One with a heavy machine gun, the other with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher resting on his shoulder. “Oh no. Bailey, look!”

Bailey’s eyes widened as she saw the weapon, and she took off sprinting up the outside steps to the roof deck. Alana was right behind her. Her heart pounded in her ears as she ran. Machine-gun fire sprayed the side of the helicopter hovering a hundred yards out.

Then Alana heard the piercing whoosh of the rocket’s exhaust gasses and the ignition of the rocket motor. A trail of smoke and flame chased the rocket to its target. The grenade blasted through the cockpit glass. A fiery explosion lit up the sky.

Alana’s chest tightened as she focused on the helicopter, now billowing smoke from the shattered front window. The chopper whirled in a one-eighty before it nosedived toward the yacht. The helicopter crashed into the water with its rotor still spinning, sending up plumes of spray and foam. Metal screeched against metal as the spinning blades scraped into the hull and ripped it apart.

The force of the impact knocked Alana off her feet. She landed hard on the deck. A sharp pain exploded in her tailbone and stole the scream rising in her throat. Bailey stumbled into the railing and fell overboard.

“BAILEY!” Alana pulled herself to her feet and ran to the guardrail. Where was Bailey? She clutched the rail and searched the churning water for any sign of her. Nothing.

The twisted metal of the helicopter’s blade was wedged into the side of the yacht. The hard edge had cut through the hull. The tail of the helicopter jutted out of the water. The yacht creaked and groaned as it began to tilt to one side, the weight of the sinking helicopter dragging it down.

Alana scanned the water, but all she could see was a swirling mass of foam and froth. “No, Bailey, no. Not you too.” Her breaths came hard and fast. She slid her hands along the rail and ran past the helicopter, still looking overboard. Then Bailey broke through the surface of the churning waters, coughing and gasping for air.

“Bailey! Hold on, I’ll save you!”

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