GrowingOlderHopeWiser

The boss was furious; he paced back and forth, wringing his hands. Steve and Julian stood before him, heads down. “You had him, and you let him go? What is this? Kindergarten?” The boss ranted on. 

“What about the girl? Did you let her go too?”

“She bit my hand; it all happened so fast,” Julian said.

“I want him alive; now get out there and find him!” the boss said.

“What about the girl?” asked Steve.

“Find her too!”

Anna Taylor emerged from the alley and staggered toward the police station, one arm wrapped tightly around her ribs. She was twenty-eight, tall and slender, with chestnut-brown hair that normally fell in smooth waves past her shoulders. Now it clung to her face in wet, tangled strands. A bruise darkened her left cheek, her lower lip was split, and angry red marks circled her wrists where the ropes had cut into her skin. Her cream-colored blouse was torn at the shoulder, and her expensive black slacks were streaked with mud. One shoe was missing.

Despite her battered appearance, Anna carried herself with the same quiet determination that had helped her survive in her father’s demanding world. As the only daughter of Walter Taylor, one of New York’s most prominent real estate developers, she had grown accustomed to attention, privilege, and the occasional threat. She had never imagined anyone would be bold enough to snatch her off a public street.

The O’Reillys had been watching her when she left the library earlier that evening. A dark van pulled alongside the curb. Before Anna could react, two men grabbed her from behind. One clamped a hand over her mouth while the other dragged her into the vehicle.

She fought from the beginning.

Anna drove her elbow into one man’s ribs and tried to kick open the rear door, but Julian struck her across the face. Steve pinned her arms while Julian bound her wrists and shoved a cloth gag between her teeth.

“Your old man has plenty of money,” Julian told her. “If he wants you back, he’ll pay.”

They drove for nearly an hour before stopping on a deserted service road near Central Park. Rain hammered the roof of the van, and thunder rolled over the city. Julian opened the rear doors while Steve climbed inside to pull Anna out. A second van waited nearby with its engine running.

That was when Gabe appeared through the curtain of rain.

“Let her go.”

Julian spun around and reached beneath his coat. Gabe charged before he could draw his weapon, slamming him against the van. The gun flew from Julian’s hand and skidded across the rain-slick pavement.

Steve released Anna and lunged at Gabe. The two men crashed into the side of the van, rocking it on its suspension. Gabe drove a fist into Steve’s stomach, but Julian grabbed him from behind and locked an arm around his throat.

Anna twisted her wrists desperately. One loop of rope had loosened during the drive. She pulled until the cord burned through her skin, then tore one hand free.

Julian saw her moving and reached for her.

“Get back in the van!”

He caught her by the arm. Anna whirled and sank her teeth into the fleshy part of his hand.

Julian screamed and released her.

She ran.

Barely able to see through the driving rain, Anna plunged into Central Park. Mud sucked at her shoes as she stumbled down the embankment. One heel snapped beneath her, sending her sprawling onto her hands and knees. Behind her, men shouted. A gunshot cracked through the storm, followed by the metallic slam of a body striking the van.

Anna kicked off her broken shoe and scrambled upright. Branches whipped her face as she forced her way through the trees. She slipped again, struck her shoulder against a stone wall, and nearly blacked out from the pain. Still, she kept moving.

Behind her, Gabe fought with the desperation of a man who knew he could not allow either kidnapper to follow her. Steve rushed him with a tire iron. Gabe ducked the blow, caught Steve’s wrist, and drove him face-first into the side of the van. Julian charged from the darkness, blood streaming from his bitten hand. He tackled Gabe, and both men crashed into a flooded gutter.

The rain blinded them. Fists, knees, and elbows landed in the darkness. Gabe tasted blood but refused to go down. Every second he kept them occupied gave Anna another second to escape.

She did not stop running until the shouts faded behind her.

By the time Anna reached the police station, she was soaked, shivering, and fighting to remain conscious. She pushed through the front doors and gripped the desk for support.

The desk sergeant rose sharply.

“Miss, what happened to you?”

Anna lifted her bruised face. Her voice was little more than a ragged whisper.

“My name is Anna Taylor. The O’Reillys kidnapped me.”

She glanced fearfully toward the doors.

“And there’s a man still back there, fighting them alone.”