Page 67 of Home Team Advantage
Again.
She had no idea what had happened to Manny. Had he gotten away? Had he reached out to DiGiorgio? The only thing Anna knew for sure was, as long as Manny was alive, he was a threat to both her and her brother.
There wasn’t much she could do about that. She wasn’t a killer, and even if she were, she wouldn’t know the first thing about how to find him. Hiding she was good at. Seeking? Not so much.
Conceivably, Manny could use the pictures on his phone to extort DiGiorgio, but that would only get him so far. DiGiorgio would demand proof, and without her, Manny had nothing to bargain with.
The night shift wasn’t as diligent about checking on her as the day shift had been, though by the sound of things in the hallway, they were having a busy night. After a vitals check shortly after midnight, Anna eased out of bed. A quick look up and down the corridor found it empty. Even the nurses’ station was unattended.
Anna stepped into the hallway, dragging her numb right foot behind her—the nerve damage a result of the zip ties cutting off circulation. She knew from prior experience that some hospitals had changing facilities for staff on each unit or floor. Hopefully, Pine Ridge was one of them.
She spotted two on-duty nurses wheeling their laptop carts from room to room, working their way down the corridor. The nurses’ station was still unoccupied.
She moved as quickly as she dared, away from the room checks, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the STAFF ONLY sign.
Bingo.
Toilet. Shower. Half a dozen lockers. And shelves of personal care products and scrubs.
Anna helped herself to a pair of scrubs, as well as a mask to cover part of her battered face. It would have to do. A quick search of the lockers netted her a hooded jacket and a pair of sneakers. She felt bad about taking them, but what other choice did she have?
She might even be saving lives, she rationalized. If word had gotten to DiGiorgio, he’d probably send people to the hospital, looking for her. Surely, a jacket and a pair of sneakers were a small price to pay to keep everyone safe.
Anna exited the changing room and looked both ways, pleased to find the coast clear. She made it to the bank of elevators, hood up, head down, and pressed the button. Stairs were the better choice, but with her foot as uncooperative as it was, she didn’t trust herself not to fall.
The car was empty when it arrived. Anna stepped in and pressed the button for the parking garage. She was less likely to be spotted there than the first-floor lobby.
Once there, she walked to another bank of elevators and took one down to the ground level. Only when she stepped out into the darkness did she take a full breath.
And promptly froze.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
MATT
Matt remained in the shadows and out of sight as he watched Anna make her escape. She was moving better than she had been the last time he saw her. The swelling had gone down significantly, but the bruises had blossomed.
The urge to kill Falco rose up again with an intensity he was becoming accustomed to.
She slipped in and out of the changing room, no longer in her hospital johnny, but in a set of scrubs. She’d even managed to get ahold of a hoodie and treads.
He took the stairs instead of the elevator, anticipating her next move. Parking garage, not lobby. The lobby was too open, too public.
He was right. She appeared on the parking deck a minute after he did, delayed by her slow gait, which made him mental. It wasn’t enough that Falco had beaten the shit out of her; he’d had to pull the zip ties so goddamn tight that he cut off the circulation. Michael had said it was only temporary, that she’d regain feeling in her foot again, but it never should have happened in the first place.
Anna exited the elevator and hobbled over to another. She’d take that down to the street level and then disappear from his life forever.
He wasn’t going to let that happen.
As she waited for the elevator to arrive, he booked it to the steps and went down that way. He was waiting in the shadows when she emerged. She walked right by him, and then … she paused.
“I know you’re there,” she said softly without turning around.
He thought about denying it, but what was the point? He stepped out of the shadows. “What gave me away?”
“I don’t know. I just knew you were there.”
“Most people can’t, you know. Sense me, I mean.”
