Takedown Twenty (Stephanie Plum 20)

“You’re okay,” he said. “You’re safe.”

I nodded, unable to speak.

He stepped back and looked at me. “Anything broken?”

I shook my head. “N-n-n-no.”

“Do you need to get checked out by the EMS tech?”

“N-n-n-no.”

“I need to take care of things here,” he said. “I’m going to have Tank take you home. You can talk to the police after you’ve had a shower and gotten into dry clothes.”

“It was M-m-moe and Shorty,” I said. “Damn, I can’t stop shaking.”

“Adrenaline burn-off,” Ranger said. “It’s normal.”

“Why aren’t you sh-sh-shaking?”

“I’m not normal.”

ELEVEN

TANK IS APPROPRIATELY named. He’s big and indestructible. He’s second in command at Rangeman, and he’s the guy Ranger trusts to watch his back. A while back he dated Lula, but Lula was allergic to his cats, and Tank wasn’t giving up his cats for love or money or Lula.

“Your messenger bag is on the backseat,” Tank said. “We found it in the Lincoln. Good thing they threw it in with you, or we wouldn’t have been able to track you down.”

“Did you capture Moe and Shorty?”

“They took off in the SUV, and Hal and Gino and five police cars went after them.”

I retrieved my bag from the backseat, found my cellphone, and dialed Lula.

“Where the heck are you?” Lula asked. “I’ve been standing here by the car, waiting for you.”

“I sort of got kidnapped and thrown in the river, but I’m okay now. Tank is driving me home.”

“Say what?”

“It wasn’t a big deal. I’ll tell you about it later. Did you find Kevin?”

“No, but there was some homeless guy eating Kevin’s lettuce. I gave him five bucks for a bottle of wine and he left.”

“Are you going to Bingo tonight?”

“I’m gonna pass. I got a date.”

“Does your date involve standing on a corner?”

“Maybe for a moment.”

I disconnected, and Tank looked over at me. “Seemed to me that it was a big deal.”

I leaned back against the headrest and closed my eyes. “I’m trying to forget.”

“Don’t forget too much or it might happen again.”

The very thought made me shudder.