Page 69 of Home Team Advantage
Emotion welled in her chest, even as her eyes filled with tears. “What?”
“It’s not important. Now, do you want the story or not? Wait … I think we’re going to need some ice cream for this. Nurse Nancy let me store a bunch in the freezer in their staff lounge as long as she and the other nurses could have some. Don’t go anywhere now,” he said with a grin.
Anna watched him go, the oddest feeling fluttering around in her chest, buoyed by the thoughts whirling through her mind. Not only had Matt not walked away, he was still watching over her. Even more surprising, she was letting him.
Her eyes flicked to the door. Last chance, she thought once again. But she remained exactly where she was.
Matt returned with several small cups of ice cream, the kind that came with a flat wooden paddle to be used like a spoon. “Michael says only soft stuff for a while. This definitely qualifies.”
He raised the head of her bed so she was sitting up, tucked the covers up around her waist, then wheeled the bed tray over. She watched him do it all, never taking her eyes off him. He was genuinely the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. A real-life knight in shining armor who had saved her. It was hard not to appreciate that.
He settled himself in the chair next to her. “Okay, where shall I start?”
She wanted to hear about what had happened to Manny, but she figured they could work their way up to that. “Eddie.”
“Right. So, it turns out that Elsa’s grandson got himself in deep shit. Like, way deep. His solution was to get control of Mrs. C’s assets to try to dig himself out. Then, you showed up and foiled his plan. He set you up in an attempt to discredit you and get things back on track.”
Anna had already figured that out for herself, but it was good to hear it confirmed. “He almost killed his grandmother.”
“He claims he didn’t mean to. He’s not the brightest bulb in the box, but he’s not a murderer. He doesn’t have the stones for it.”
“So, what are you saying? That Eddie had a sudden attack of conscience and turned himself in?”
“Ah, yes. Well, my uncles and I paid Eddie a visit and convinced him that it was in his best interests to unburden his soul.”
“How did you do that?”
Matt grinned. “We can be very persuasive.”
“I bet,” she murmured.
“Once Eddie confessed, the charges were dropped, and Shane made sure your criminal records were expunged.”
“How—”
“Like I said, we can be very persuasive. The details aren’t important.”
Okay then. Clearly, he didn’t want to go into specifics. An old saying echoed in the back of her mind, something about not looking a gift horse in the mouth.
“The man who took me … how does he tie into all this?”
Matt exchanged her empty cup for a full one. She hadn’t even realized she’d eaten the whole thing.
“His name is Manny Falco. He was a cop for the PRPD, but a shady one. Eddie hired him, promising him a cut of Mrs. C’s estate if he got you out of the way.”
“I see. And where is he now?”
“Manny Falco was found dead just a little while ago.”
Anna’s eyes lifted and met Matt’s silvery-gray ones. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear they were glowing.
“He’s dead?”
Matt nodded. “It’s the strangest thing. Apparently, he stole a vehicle from the DOC and drove off the road and right into the Tawannock River. He’s gone, Anna. You don’t ever have to worry about him again.”
Chapter Forty
MATT
