Page 58 of Home Team Advantage
Sean and Shane clasped their hands and helped them up.
“Fuck, that’s nasty,” Sean said, wiping the sludge on his pants.
“You good, man?” Shane asked.
Matt nodded, though in truth, he was shaken. The fear of finding Anna secured—and dead—had rocked him to his core. Now, that fear was turning into something else. A realization that he wasn’t ready to acknowledge.
“While you two were exploring your inner Jacques Cousteau, we found some tracks over here.”
Matt accepted the towel Kieran tossed him and saw what Sean had been referring to. A short distance from where the van had gone in was a flattened area that looked like a teenage party spot. Boards propped atop broken blocks of concrete to form benches. The remains of a fire in a rudimentary pit at one end. Sticks and bottles and wrappers and cans littered the area.
Judging by the state of things, it had been a while since anyone had partied there. But the tire prints on the edge were fresh.
“What happened here?” Shane mused. “A Good Samaritan saw the accident and rendered aid? Or was the ditch and switch the plan all along?”
“The van went rogue, and there were no 911 calls. I think we can rule out the helpful citizen theory,” Kieran said.
Sean crouched and examined the prints. “SUV, based on the width and depth of the tracks. That fucking narrows it down, doesn’t it?” he added with sarcasm. “Seventy-five percent of the county owns an SUV.”
Matt listened to them speak. Half of his brain was on them and what they were saying. The other half was raging, shouting out things like, Find her! Save her! and, Kill every fucker who ever laid a hand on her!
“Someone clearly wanted to get their hands on Anna,” Kieran said.
“The mob?” Sean guessed.
Shane shook his head. “I don’t think so. This whole snatch and grab, it lacks finesse. I don’t think a pro did this.”
“Hmm. Who else do we know who might want Anna out of the way?” Kieran asked.
Matt got back with the program. His voice was deceptively calm when he said, “I think it’s time we paid Eddie that visit.”
Chapter Thirty-One
ANNA
Anna woke up as she was being dragged feetfirst out of a vehicle. She tried to move, but not only were her hands and feet still cuffed, but she was also wrapped up burrito-style in a thick blanket that covered her from head to toe. Oh, and something was stuffed into her mouth.
She didn’t know what time it was or how long she’d been out, but she sensed it had been a while. Her head was pounding, and her bones and muscles were stiff.
A heave, a lift, and a grunt later, she was draped across her abductor’s shoulder in a fireman’s hold. Her sight, her voice, her sense of smell, and her freedom of movement were compromised, but her hearing worked just fine.
A vehicle door closed, and he began to walk. His labored breathing grew even heavier when they climbed a set of steps. Wooden ones, if the creaks and groans were anything to go by.
“Manny? Is that you?” called out an elderly female voice.
The man paused and let loose curses under his breath that included the phrase nosy old bat. Louder, he called out, “Yes, Mrs. Davidhauser, it’s just me.”
“Good. I was about to call 911. Can’t be too careful these days. You didn’t bring a lady friend home with you, did you? You know I don’t condone that sort of thing.”
“No, Mrs. Davidhauser.”
He resumed his climb, paused, and then unlocked a door. A moment later, the door closed behind them, and he dropped Anna onto something soft, like a couch.
“You’re heavier than you look,” he grunted.
Or you’re more out of shape than you think, you opportunistic piece of shit.
He unwrapped enough of the blanket to expose her head. She squeezed her eyes shut against the light, which felt like knives piercing into her brain.
