As he stepped into the hall he saw the other men bending over the prone figures of his wife and Francesca. He brushed caution aside and moved forward, so intent on the scene that he never saw the man come up behind him.

He felt the cold steel of a knife between his ribs and tried to turn to face his attacker only to have his legs turned to scram bled eggs. He fell to the floor, smashing his face on the rug and breaking his nose.

Melo had been covering the back door for a possible escape when he saw Trout emerge from the cooler. Seeing blood pool around Paul's body, he stepped over him and went over to pat his brother on the back.

“Your suggestion to cover the rear was a good one, brother.”

“It seems so,” the other twin said, looking at the sprawled figure. “What should we do with him?”

“Leave him to bleed to death.”

“Agreed. We can take the women out the back way without being seen.”

He called to the man upstairs to come back down. Then they carried the unconscious women to a waiting Mercedes four wheel drive, stuffed them in the back, and drove off, followed a few minutes later by the fake DPW truck. The initial shock of the knife wound had turned to pain, and Paul regained consciousness for a few moments. Using every bit of strength at his command he dragged himself to the study, where he had a cell phone, and called 911. He awoke in a hospital bed.

His cursing wore him out, and he fell asleep again. When he awoke he was aware someone else was in the room. Through gluey eyes he saw two figures standing by his bed. He grinned feebly.

“What took you so damned long?”

“We hitchhiked with a couple of fighter planes out of Elendorf and came east as fast as we could,” Austin said. “How do you feel?”

“The right half of my body isn't so bad, but the left feels as if it's being pinched by red-hot pliers. And my nose doesn't feel great.”

“The knife missed your lung by this much,” Austin said, pinching his thumb and forefinger. “It will take a while for the muscle to heal. Good thing you're not a southpaw.”

“Figured it was something like that. Any word on Gamay or Francesca?” he said apprehensively.

“We think they're still alive, but they were kidnapped by the goons who did this to you.”

“The police have checked airports and stations, the usual stuff,” Zavala said. “We're going to start our own search.”

The pain in Paul's blue eyes was replaced by a look of steely determination. He swung his long legs out of the bed and said, “I'm coming with you.” The painful effort made him dizzy, and he stopped as his stomach roiled for a few seconds. He jiggled the IV tube. “I may need a hand here, fellas. Don't try to talk me out of this,” he said, catching Austin's concerned expression. “The best thing you can do is spring me from the joint. Hope you've got some pull with the floor nurse.”