Chapter 22
Tanner
Amelia comes into the kitchen, putting an end to the conversation we’re having. I frown as I look her over, an action that causes the others to turn to her as well.
“Are you all right, Amelia?” Rueben asks worriedly, moving away from the stove.
“Yeah, you don’t look so hot there,” I say. Rueben turns to me with a glare, but pauses when he sees that it is not my usual banter with her. I genuinely am worried for her.
Her eyes are droopy, with dark circles surrounding them. She stands there, one arm folded over her chest, and nods.
“Yes, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about me,” she says, maintaining a distance.
Her words do nothing to stave off the worry that I feel. There’s no way I won’t worry when she looks like she could be ill, and from the looks of the guys, we are clearly all on the same page.
“Did you not get enough sleep last night?” Josiah asks, sitting up.
I walk toward her and pull her towards the kitchen, but her face scrunches up as she looks at the pan.
“Is something the matter?” Rueben asks. “Do you not want eggs? I can make something else for you.”
He moves toward the fridge, but she puts out her arms, stopping him before he can open it.
“No, it’s fine. I mean, I don’t want to have eggs, but you also don’t have to make me anything else,” she says.
“Nonsense. You need to eat. You don’t have to worry about me making you a meal. I’ll make whatever you want. I promise it’s not a problem,” Rueben insists.
“Are you certain you’re all right, Amelia?” Josiah asks once again. He walks up to her and feels her head for her temperature.
“Hmm… I suppose you’re slightly warmer than normal, but you don’t appear to be sick.”
His face still doesn’t let go of its worried expression, not that it’s surprising. She isn’t usually the type to reject her meal.
Amelia brushes his hand off and smiles at him. “That’s because I’m not ill. I just miss having tacos and I want that instead.”
I snort as Rueben finally breaks into a small smile. “Whatever you want.”
“All right, since the others will be busy today, I suppose I could take you. Wouldn’t want our princess to not satisfy her cravings, would we?” I tease, my usual grin back in place now that I know there’s nothing wrong.
She rolls her eyes at me and turns away, going to the room to get dressed, although not before I see the smile on her face.
“Something’s up with her,” I say to the guys, and I can see that they also feel the same way.
“Right?” Josiah asks, casting his gaze at the door to see if he can see her as she heads to her room.
“What do you think it is?” Rueben asks me, and I sigh.
“I can't figure out exactly what it is yet,” I respond, as several thoughts flap through my mind like the pages of a book.
We hear her approaching footsteps, and seconds later, she rounds the corner and rejoins us.
We are quiet by the time she gets back. Amelia looks at us as we look back at her.
“What?” she asks, almost shocked by our stares. It is obvious that the way we are looking at her is a little disturbing. But we're just worried.
Josiah opens his mouth to say something how we all feel like she's not all right, but Rueben immediately pinches his arm right before those words fall out of his mouth.
It was not a good thing, what Rueben did. I think she has made it clear from her actions that she's comfortable with us asking her that question or talking about the issue. We didn't have to risk upsetting her.
“Why are you guys looking at me like this?” she inquires, and we stand speechless before her. “Do I have something on my face? Is my dress torn somewhere—is it too much—is it too casual…?”
The words burst out of her in a nervous rush, so fluent without so much as a stutter as she speaks.
I look at Josiah, and he's subtly smiling. There is something about her fast-paced speech that is just so cute.
“...Is it the wig? It's the wig, right?”
“Hey…” Rueben's soft tone laced with affection punctures the air, and her voice immediately falls silent.
He walks over to her with a smile and takes her hand. “You look beautiful…as always.”
She grins faintly and exhales.
“Is that right, guys?”
“Err…right,” I say, scratching the back of my head.
“Of course,” Josiah chips in.
She heaves a sigh and says, “All right. I’m ready.”
She’s dressed in a simple t-shirt and trousers, with her blonde wig and glasses on to maintain her anonymity.
I smile after taking in her appearance. Rueben is right, and my response was in no way sarcastic. She’s so beautiful, even when she’s dressed so simply.
“Well then, we best be on our way,” I say, heading for the door.
She hurries to the other guys, giving them both a kiss on the lips before following after me.
“Keep her safe, man,” Rueben says to me as I lead her out.
“I will,” I reply, and open the door for her. “After you, ma'am.”
She knits her brows at my sudden gentility.
“That's weird.” She squints and steps out.
“Well, don't get too used to it.” I follow up behind.
She laughs lightly. “Now, that's classic Tanner.”
We head over to my car, and again, I open the front passenger door for her.
“Hmm.” She grins. “You know, I could get used to this.”
“Hey. What did I just say?” I tease, and she laughs as I shut the door.
I circle back to the other side and get in. She's adjusting her shades and looking at the side mirror to check if they do a good job concealing her identity.
I shut the door and start the engine.
“Please don't drive too fast,” she says, turning to look at me like she had just read my mind.
I want to object, but I let it go and do as the lady asks.
The drive to the food truck is short, and I soon park by the sidewalk near a spot I’ve visited a couple of times myself, seeing as they have some of the best tacos I’ve ever had.
“Hmm.” She draws in a deep breath, enjoying the aroma of tacos filling the air. “They smell good.”
“They taste even better.” I unbuckle my seatbelt, and she does too.
“Err… What are you doing?” I ask, because she can't possibly be thinking of coming with me.
“I'm coming with you.” She looks at me.
“Like hell you are.”
“But…”
“No ‘buts’, Amelia.” I sigh, “Look, keeping you safe is our number one priority right now. With Flames of Hell out there looking for you, it's not even safe for you to be outside. So, don't make me regret not asking you to stay at home.”
She looks at me and says, with her arms across her chest, “Well, you wouldn't have been able to keep me down against my will even if you wanted to.”
I snort. “That's beside the point. You're staying right here while I go get them for you,” I say with finality.
She stares at me with raised brows, as though she is reminding me that I am not talking to a child. She obviously doesn't appreciate my tone.
“I didn't hear you say ‘please’.”
“What?” I can't believe my ears. This is someone I'm simply trying to keep out of harm's way. “You're kidding.”
“Do I look like I'm kidding?” She stares at me with a deadly expression.
Yeah, she's not kidding, pal.
It takes all the strength in me to attach the word to the others.
“Please…stay back in the car…”
“I'm sorry, what was that?” She cuts me off and leans closer, as though she didn't hear me the first time.
Now, she's just being a…
I frown and swallow hard.
“I said…please, stay back in the car while I go get you some tacos.” I grit my teeth, trying to stay as calm as I can, but she's loving it. She's loving the way I fight to bury my pride just so she has her way.
“See? That wasn't so hard.” She smiles and clasps her seatbelt back on.
With a very heavy sigh, I leave the car to join the line, cussing silently at what she made me do just to keep her safe in the car.
Thankfully, the line is a short one, and it’s not long before I have tacos for two in my hands.
I head straight to the car to return the favor by asking her if it was hard staying out for only a few minutes. Bending over to her window, I stick the brown bag in.
“Here you g—”
A frown forms on my lips as I check the car for her, and then look around nearby. The seat I left her in is empty, with no trace of her ever being there.
“Shit!” I angrily kick one of the front tires. I toss the bag in through her side of the window.
My hands reach my head faster than my brain can process it. I smooth my hair backward and think for a moment.
My lips open to call out to her, but I stop myself. We hadn’t come up with a name to use in a situation like this, but that was because I never imagined we would be in a situation like this.
Damn it, Amelia. Where have you gone?
My throat tightens as panic swells in my chest. So many questions run through my mind. Questions I never wanted to think of.
What if she’s been spotted and taken?
Do I call the guys and inform them? No. Not yet.
I look around the busy street, trying to at least catch a glimpse of her in the crowd of pedestrians.
“Oh God, Amelia,” I murmur under my breath as I search for the familiar blonde wig and long legs. “Please be all right.”
I'm hit with a dose of confusion, as I don't even know where exactly to start looking.
I pace back and forth by the car, holding out hope that she will soon turn up.
She still hasn't.
“Fuck!” I begin my search for her, conscious not to venture too far in case she returns and looks for me. I haven't stepped too far away from the car when I spot her from behind, amid the crowd on the other side of the road.
“There she is,” I mutter in relief as I cross the road, almost getting knocked down by a vehicle.
“Watch it, asshole!” the driver yells at me, but I ignore him and rush over to her as she walks. I push through the crowd with a fast pace and the closer I get, the more clearly I see her blond wig.
I get to her and grab her arm from behind.
“Hey,” I call out softly.
She stops in her tracks and whirls around to look at me. Shit! It isn't her.
“What the fuck?!” The woman, clearly repulsed by a stranger's touch, snaps at me. But the moment our eyes meet, that attitude of hers flies out the window.
She smiles and pushes some hair strands to the back of her right ear.
“I mean, hi.” Her voice is much calmer now, and her eyelashes are batting at me. She drools over my perfectly framed body.
“Sorry,” I apologize, struggling to keep the mild disgust from my face. “I thought you were someone else.”
“I can be…anything you want. Anyone you want.” She bites her lower lip, her eyes on my groin, probably imagining its size.
Creepy.
I move on and continue my search for Amelia. Why the hell didn't we think of getting her a burner phone? That could have come in handy right now.
My body is tense and alert for any activity that can be construed as suspicious as I keep my eyes peeled for any sign of her.
In the last few minutes, I've spotted a lot of women that looked like her for a split second, or walked like her; however, none of them were her.
I've never been confused and worried at the same time before, especially not over a woman. I stand in the street, scouring the environment for her, but there's still no sign of her.
My heart is racing faster than a galloping horse, my head is on fire, and I'm really sweating.
Rueben had reminded me to keep her safe moments before we left the house. What am I supposed to tell him? We had agreed to protect her at all costs, to not put her in harm's way, not on our watch.
How the hell am I supposed to explain to them that she was in the car when I left? I hate the fact that she's missing, and it was on my watch. It was I who lost her.
I ruffle my hair, blaming myself for letting her come with me. I should have just left her back at the house, where she has been safe all this while.
I can't go back home without her. I shudder to think of what the guys would do if they found out I lost her when I should have been paying close attention to her.
I shut my eyes as pain tears through my chest at the thought of her in the arms of those who have been searching for her, knowing that only torture is meant to follow if she doesn’t give them what they want.
“Come on, Amelia, please be safe,” I say a silent prayer under my breath, even as any hope of finding her begins to wane quickly.
I return to the car in hopes that she is still going to show up. Then a thought hits me: What if while I was away looking for her, she'd actually come back and had met my absence? What if she is out there looking for me too?
“Fuck!” I exclaim. “I swear to God, if I see you, I'm going to…” I speak the words too loudly.
“You're going to what?” A familiar voice speaks from behind me as a tap on my shoulder pulls me away from the terrible thoughts that had begun to cloud my mind. I whirl around sharply, eyes widening when I see Amelia standing there, looking up at me.
“Oh, thank goodness.” A wind of relief blows across my face.
I hug her to me, breathing calmly as I let go of all my worries and embrace her in my arms.
“First, you open the door for me back at the house; then you open the car door for me seconds later, now you're embracing me so tightly,” she says as she giggles. “Who are you and what have you done with Tanner?”
I let go of her and clear my throat, getting my composure back.
“Where were you? Are you hurt? Did anyone come near you?” I throw questions at her, trying to find a solution to whatever it is that might have caused her to disappear.
“I-I took a stroll,” she says in a small voice. Her eyes hold guilt and she looks down.
“You…took a stroll?”
I stare at her incredulously.
She took a stroll.
A short bark of disbelieving laughter escapes me, and she shrinks under the weight of my anger.
I turn away and run my hand down my face in exasperation, trying my best not to explode on her.
“Here I am, looking all around for you and wondering where the fuck you could have gone to or if anyone had taken you captive while I was turned away from you, but you mean to tell me that you were taking a stroll?”
My voice shakes with anger, and I pause to calm myself.
“Have you forgotten what’s at stake? Or do you no longer care for your safety?” My tone is softer this time, although it still holds a residue of anger.
“I’m sorry. I should have let you know before I walked off. It’s just been a while since I could truly walk around without looking behind my back, and I thought I would return before you finished,” she explains, shifting on her feet.
A sigh escapes me. I can’t stay mad at her for long, especially since I understand what she must be going through. It can’t be easy to lose your freedom so quickly with no hope in sight of regaining it.
“It’s dangerous to walk off on your own, no matter how much you desire to be out again. Let’s go. You can have the tacos at home.”
She nods, following me in silence. The car ride is quiet and my eyes drift to her every few minutes. It would have been the perfect end to our outing to go to a movie or have fun, whatever she wanted to do. However, I have a feeling she wishes to return home.
I sigh once again, focusing back on the road.
“I’m sorry for snapping at you. I could have handled the situation better, but I’d thought the worst and it just—” I cut off my words, frustrated by how today had turned out.
She nods and turns to me. “It’s all right. You don’t need to apologize. I should have told you where I was going.”
She smiles at me; however, it doesn’t reach her eyes. She’ll feel better when she gets home and eats.
Her stomach growls, and I smile.
“Good thing we’re already on our way back. You can have your food and get some rest.”
She blushes and holds her stomach before looking out the window.
My attention is drawn to the rearview mirror, and a frown settles on my face. I hadn’t given it much thought as a result of the guilt I felt for snapping at her like that. But I’d seen the black car that was currently behind us before.
Suspicious, I swerve to the right, overtaking a car just ahead of us to see what will happen.
Amelia turns to me with a confused look on her face, obviously wondering why I’d just increased our speed.
“Tanner, I specifically told you, no speeding.”
“Sorry, love. Can’t have you hungry for too long now, can I? I have to make sure the princess is fed, otherwise the others will not be happy with me,” I say, plastering on a smile.
She rolls her eyes at me before turning back to her window to look at the passing cars.
I focus back on the car, and much like I suspected, it drives past the car I overtook, keeping us in sight.
Shit! Shit! Shit! I should’ve known it was a bad idea to continue to indulge her desire to go out.
My hands tighten around the steering wheel. She can’t find out about this. It’ll only make her worry and feel guilty, especially after I just yelled at her about this.
I need to find a way to get us out of this situation before it becomes unavoidable.
“There’s something I need to take care of back home, so I’ll have to drive faster,” I warn her just before increasing my speed.
I weave in and out of traffic, discreetly looking at the mirror to confirm that I have indeed put some distance between us and them.
The headlights of the black car are visible in the mirror when I look back again.
Not enough distance between us.
I can't afford to be cut off by Flames of Hell right now, as that would only put Amelia on the spot, and after what happened at Rueben’s bike shop, I don’t think she’s ready to be near another one of them.
She’ll never be near them if I have my way.
My jaw clenches as I drive faster until I’m finally free of them. I slow down a little to make sure that I lost them before driving in the direction of the safe house.
I must be going crazy, worrying about someone so much that I let it affect my decision making.
In no time, I lose them and get us back home safely.
I look at her as I park the car and she gets out. I have never let myself be so bothered over anyone before, and yet, her safety has been the only thing on my mind.
I follow her into the house, where the guys are sitting on the couch.
“I was beginning to think you had gone missing,” Josiah says with a smirk that quickly drops from his face when Amelia squirms and looks at me before scurrying off to her room.
“What was that about?” Rueben asks.
I bat away their curiosity. Much like me, I doubt they’ll be able to stay angry at her, or even be able to muster the energy to be angry.
“It’s nothing. Something did happen though,” I say, and they sit up straight. “I think Flames of Hell might be on to us.”
Rueben frowns. “Why do you say that?”
I shake my head and collapse on the empty seat. “We were followed.”