Stolen Lives: A Detective Mystery Series SuperBoxset by Roger Hayden, James Hunt Page B

loud crash rattled the ceiling. It seemed as though the man had just turned over a table. Allison winced and wrapped her arms around Ana, hiding her face.
    “It’s okay,” Ana said, brushing back the girl’s blonde hair. “Don’t be scared.”
    All the commotion and yelling suddenly stopped. Ana kept her head tilted up, staring at the ceiling. They remained in the corner near the mattress, with the side of the stairs in view. Upstairs, the man paced and continued talking. Ana could recognize his harsh voice as belonging to the large man who had hit her and thrown her down the stairs, and every time he talked, she got chills.
    “Okay. Take the other girl to her. This whole thing is messed up beyond belief.”
    “Then what?” another man asked.
    “Once she lets her guard down, you get that bitch and bring her to me.”
    “I don’t understand why you’re wasting your time with this broad. You have half the damn state looking for you right now.”
    “Excuse me?” the man shouted. “I’m not paying for your worldly advice, I pay you to act.”
    “All right, Phil. Damn, man. I get it.”
    Their conversation ceased as footsteps sounded outside. Ana remained still, so still she could hear her own breathing. Allison had buried herself in Ana’s side. Who were they talking about up there? What did any of it mean?
    “Next time anyone comes down here, we have to try to make a run for it,” Ana said.
    Allison looked up. “How?”
    “He’s big. We can outrun him.”
    Allison studied Ana’s bruised face and nervously broached the question. “Did he do that to you?”
    Ana paused and nodded. “Only because I hit him on the head with a shovel.”
    Ana smiled. “You did?”
    “Yep. And I almost made it out, but the door was locked.”
    There was a shared confidence between the two girls. They were complete strangers, but in that moment, Ana felt closer to her than any other girl she had ever known. Footsteps suddenly sounded. The same thumping boots Ana knew belonged to the bad man. To their immediate despair, they heard the basement door open. Allison squeezed Ana tightly, and began to sniffle and cry.
    “Shhh,” Ana said. “Don’t be afraid.” It was hard advice to follow considering her own creeping terror. A pair of black boots came trudging down the stairs, followed by someone wearing sneakers and blue jeans. Ana tried to stand, but Allison was clinging to her. “Come on. We have to make a run for it.”
    Allison shook her head, her eyes clenched shut and tears rolling down her cheeks. It was too late. The man had reached the bottom of the stairs, holding a tote bag in his hands. Any signs of Bobby were gone, replaced by the man’s reddened, leering face.
    Ana looked up, making eye contact with him, against all her better instincts. For a moment he just stood there and stared, saying nothing. The top of his head was bandaged with a blood-stained cloth that ran across his graying hair, giving Ana a brief moment of satisfaction.
    He walked over to the huddled girls and tossed the tote bag onto the floor. Looking at Ana, he spoke. “I took these clothes from you room, but plans have changed.”
    Ana looked away, saying nothing as Allison buried her face into her chest.
    “You there,” the man said, pointing to Allison. “What’s your name again?”
    Allison didn’t respond beyond a few faint whimpers.
    “Her name is Allison. Now what do you want?” Ana said with as much anger as she dared to muster. It was what he mother would have told her to do: show strength.
    The man disregarded her insolence and squatted near them, knees cracking. “Allison,” he began in a calm tone. “I need you to change into the clothes in this bag.” He pulled out a Hello Kitty shirt and held it up. Ana noticed dirt stains all over it that weren’t there before.
    “What’d you do to my clothes?” she asked.
    “We have to make sure that Ana looks the part,” he responded.
    “She’s not going anywhere,” Ana