38. 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.”
She shrugged.
“Why are you sneaking away in the middle of the night?”
“Why are you skulking around a parking garage in the middle of the night?”
“That’s easy. I was waiting for you.”
That gave her pause. “Why?” she blurted, then followed that up with, “You know what? It doesn’t matter. Thank you, for everything, but I have to go.”
“Do you?” he pressed. “Why?”
She did turn around then. “Because it’s not safe for me here,” she said with fire flashing in her eyes. “Because I’m essentially an escaped convict. Because?—”
“Wait. No one told you?” he interrupted.
“Told me what?”
Matt cursed. How could they not have told her? “That Eddie Campbell confessed to everything—switching the meds, lying about the watch, setting you up by stashing all that stuff in your room. All charges have been dropped, Anna. You’re a free woman.”
She blinked at him. “I’m what?”
“Cleared of everything.”
She looked down at the ground as if the eye contact was too much for her. After a moment, she asked quietly,. “What about … what about the guy who kidnapped me?”
“Falco? He’s been dealt with accordingly.”
“What does that mean?”
“How about you let me accompany you back to your room and I’ll tell you?”