Page 15 of Saving Grace

“It’s beyond my expertise to know how to stitch this all together,” Colt admitted. “But I know who can. I just need to give their analysts this footage and they can track them from there.”

“Probably be a good idea to check which area hospitals and rescue squads have missing ambulances starting with Halifax,” Matt suggested before turning to the EMT. “We owe you, man.”

“No problem. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to stop Ms. Levinson’s abduction.”

“You’re helping us get her back.”

And Matt wasn’t stopping until she was safely in his arms.

It took another two excruciating hours before they had an address. The ambulance disappeared into a bank building’s basement parking and it had never emerged. It was also only a couple of blocks from Colt’s condo. There were cops and uniforms everywhere, which probably explained why the ambulance was laying low. If it had been reported stolen, heavy traffic would foil their escape from the city.

Something wasn’t adding up. It seemed far-fetched that the bombing was used to abduct Grace. No. She had witnessed something possibly connected to the bombing and was taken so she couldn’t talk. Four ambulances were reported stolen in the past week. Halifax Emergency Response had reported that it had one that had never checked back in that afternoon after being dispatched to the airport bombing. The driver of that vehicle was EMT Mario Diaz.

“That’s the building.” Colt pointed to the structure before them.

Just when they were about to cross the road, Colt received a call.

“Montgomery.”

Matt scanned the area while his friend talked on the phone. People were still milling around and the sports bar beside them was full. Everyone was riveted on the news channel though. So far there were forty-one dead and two hundred injured. The suspects were at large, but had been caught on surveillance videos before the bombing. No one had claimed responsibility yet, but all signs pointed to radical Islam.

“What? … Okay ….” Colt said. “Send the feed to my phone and don’t lose her.”

His attention snapped to Colt. “They found her?”

“Yeah, come on.” Colt jogged across the street as Matt followed suit. “Someone’s after her,” Colt said shortly. His friend’s phone buzzed and its screen lit up, showing a woman fast limping through a crowd.

Grace.

Adrenalin surged through Matt’s system. He looked up ahead to see if he could identify her location. On the screen, the walls behind her were brick and up ahead of them was a row of brick buildings.

“A few blocks up,” Matt said under his breath. He and Colt weaved in and out through the crowded sidewalk.

“She just passed a cop,” Colt muttered, glancing at his phone. “Why didn’t she ask for help?”

“Probably because the person who abducted her was also a first responder. Trust is not high on her list right now.” But she would trust a familiar face. Even if she hated him right now, Matt was her best bet for safety. He’d make sure of it.

“She entered a convenience store … fuck, the two guys from the ambulance just followed her in.”

Matt’s pulse roared in his ears as he and Colt broke into a dead run. They needed to get to her fast.

He needed to get to her.

It probably took them two minutes to get to the store, but it felt like an eternity. Matt burst through the automatic sliding doors, his eyes searching frantically for Grace. Something made him look at the convex security mirror located at the furthest aisle. Sure enough, his girl was being herded into the corner by those two douchebags.

Pointing to the mirror and to the end of the aisle, he motioned for Colt that he should approach from behind Grace’s abductors.

Matt approached from the aisle before the last one so he could put himself between those men and his woman. Before he made the turn, he reached for his gun tucked behind his waistband. Drawing it out, he swung around the aisle, startling Grace and her kidnappers and shielding her from them. Matt didn’t have the luxury of taking in her condition because he had to eliminate the threat first.

“Stand back, you fucks,” he growled while pointing his gun at the two men in EMT uniforms. “You okay, Grace?” he asked without looking at her.

No answer.

The shuffle of feet behind him made him turn his head and was shocked to see Grace running away from him.

What the ever-loving fuck?

She disappeared out a side door.

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