Page 24 of A Soldier's Pledge
Steele nodded. They’d discussed their observations, and he’d agreed with Ethan after he’d met him. But if he was involved, why kill him? Did he want out? Maybe he got scared they were going to be caught or too greedy, and the rest of the group took him out. For now, they had a lot more questions and a lot fewer answers.
They were still going through the house when Ethan’s phone rang. He expected it to be Anna. Instead, it was the uniform he’d sent to her house.
“Sir, I think you need to get over here. The garage door is up, and the car is in there, and the door to the house is open. There’s no sign of Ms. Taggart but her keys and purse are on the garage floor, and there’s blood.”
“Damn. Don’t touch anything.”
“No, sir.”
“Stay there, and don’t let anyone in or out until we get there.”
“No problem.”
“What happened?” Steele asked concern etched on his face.
“It looks like someone’s grabbed Anna. C’mon we need to get over there. You call CSU, and I’ll grab the LT away from the press.”
Steele didn’t bother to reply just pulled out his phone and started dialing. When they arrived at Anna’s house, CSU was already there, and the uniform was standing guard. They ducked under the yellow crime scene tape, and he fired questions at the crime technician. “What have you got?”
The tech looked up at Ethan and shrugged. “Not a hell of a lot. We took samples of the blood and some mud we found on the floor, but there’s not much else here. The place is clean. It looks like she was surprised by the way everything is on the floor.”
“Do you think they killed her?” Ethan didn’t want to say the words out loud, but he had to know. He wasn’t the expert, but the tech in front of him was.
“No, I’d say there’s a good chance she’s alive. Not enough blood for a major injury. If I had to guess, I’d say she was knocked on the head.”
He and Steele exchanged glances. They’d just come from another crime scene with a similar MO. It looked like Ethan’s theory was proving itself.
Chapter Ten
Darkness. And pain. Deep throbbing pain. Unable to see, she tried to move, but she was tied to something. Even the littlest movement triggered a wave of nausea. She struggled to hold back the saliva and gagging.Where the hell was she?She tried to think, but it made her head hurt. Shit. Someone had been at her house, and she’d let them in when she opened the garage door. That had to be it. But where was she now? She probably only had two options. Don’t move and pretend she was still unconscious or call out and hope someone would come to her rescue before whoever took her came back. Unless they were still there and watching her. Fear raced down her spine followed by another wave of nausea. She was well and truly screwed.
“I know you’re awake, bitch.”
Okay, that answered that question. Obviously hostile.Think, Anna. What did your class teach you—figure out your surroundings.Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart. She’d get out of this, Ethan would find her, right? Except he’d told her to stay home and probably didn’t even realize she was missing. It was anyone’s guess how long he’d be stuck at the crime scene. It could be tomorrow before he got back and realized she was gone.
She was on her own. It’s okay, she had the skills. At least that’s what the certificate hanging in her office said. She’d already figured out that her arms were tied together by rope—not handcuffs—which was much better. There had to be a blindfold around her eyes, that would have been easier than making sure the whole room was dark. If she couldn’t see, she couldn’t identify them, so maybe they weren’t planning on killing her. A spark of hope ignited. She just needed to keep fanning the flames and figure out how to get the hell out of there.
“I’m talking to you, bitch. What, you think you’re too good to talk to me?” Without any warning, something hit her hard on the side of her face. After the intense pain and wooziness subsided, she realized he’d punched her. Nice.
“Way to go. Oooh, a macho man. Hitting a woman who’s tied up and helpless. I’m so scared.” Either she was crazy, incredibly brave, or a little of both. She wasn’t sure. But she’d rather be killed fast rather than deal with slow painful torture if that was his intention.
The room smelled weird, something she’d encountered before but she couldn’t place it. It had to be a large open space from the way his voice echoed. Then she heard another voice. “You really shouldn’t antagonize him. It’s a good way to end up dead.”
That voice she recognized, she should, she’d heard it often enough. It had to be a mistake. Had she been forced into it? There’s no way she would have done this on her own, would she? Either that or Anna really was a terrible judge of character.
“She’s right. But I’d love to teach you a lesson or two. Fucking stuck up bitch. Think you know everything. Well, we showed her, didn’t we, girl?”
Another clue.They knew each other? Was it Mr. Creepy Pants who’d taken her?
“Yup, we did. And I’d say she had no idea. Probably thought they were pulling a fast one and we didn’t know what she and her boyfriend were up to.”
“What do you want? Why am I here?” Anna hoped if she got them talking maybe she’d be able to figure out an escape plan, or something,anything,to help her get out of there before it got worse.
“You haven’t figured it out yet?”
“No. Why don’t you tell me?”
Laughter, harsh, and scary echoed all around her. The throbbing in her head got worse. She probably had a concussion, but she doubted that would be what killed her. The more they spoke, the less hope she had about getting out of there alive.
