Chapter Twelve
D ante couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t. Never in a million years would he
have thought Amanda would’ve been keeping her involvement in a police matter a secret.
Especially from him.
He listened quietly while she spoke. Half of him wanted to pull her close and comfort her while the other half wanted to shake her. Instead, his hands remained jammed in his pockets as he stood by the sink and observed.
“I still can’t believe you never told me Lyle was missing or that your apartment got ransacked,” Emily said after Gabe folded his notepad and shoved it in his pocket.
Dante’s stomach was still clenched tightly over that detail. No way was this ransacking a coincidence. Everything revolved around this Lyle guy.
Amanda sighed. “It’s like I said before, it all happened over there. Many months ago. And the DI told me it had nothing to do with me and that I was cleared to leave. I just had to give him an address.”
He scratched his temple. “How did you give him your address if you didn’t know it?”
She blinked at him, her gaze dark and exhausted. “I didn’t. I gave them Emily and Holden’s.” She stiffened, her eyes going wide as her skin paled. “Oh my God. They have your address, Emily. If whoever is doing this got my address from that police file, then they already have yours. What if they try to harm the animals?”
“Relax.” Holden stepped close to set a hand on Amanda’s shoulder. “We have top of the line security measures in place.”
“Yeah.” Carter smirked. “My equipment. Just like here at Dante’s.”
He watched Amanda turn to her sister. “I’m really sorry I brought you into my mess. I had no idea this would happen.”
“It’s okay.” Emily pulled her to her feet and into a hug.
Dante’s already tight chest tightened. He should be offering Amanda comfort, but he was still processing her deceit. No, it wasn’t exactly that. More like her omittance.
A secret.
“I don’t understand what he’s looking for,” she said. “And it’s not like he even visited my apartment over there. We went to lunch once, and a picnic the second time. All in public. That was it.”
“Just because you didn’t invite him to your place doesn’t mean he didn’t go there,” Dante told her.
She sank back down. “You think he broke into my apartment and planted something?”
“People do it all the time. It’s a safe way for them to get the product out of the country and off their radar. Then they have another point of contact on the other side ready for pick-up.”
She groaned. “So, in other words, I was used as a jackass.”
Emily snorted. “Think the term you’re looking for is a mule, Amanda.”
She shook her head. “No, I was a jackass. How damn vulnerable could I be?”
“There are a lot of international victims,” Gabe told her.
His stomach gripped tight. Gabe was right. She was a victim.
“My vulnerability has put everyone at risk.” She sucked in a breath and stiffened again. “Noah…Oh my God. What if Lyle and whomever he is working with had known I was here last night?”
Dante’s heart lurched and he gripped the counter behind him as his mind flashed many gruesome crime scenes through his head.
“I unintentionally put him at risk.” She lifted a tortured gaze to his. “I’m sorry, Dante. I had no idea that trouble had followed me. I’d never do anything to hurt him. You have to believe me.”
He did believe her. But that didn’t change the fact she was right. She had put his son at risk.
Christ, his chest was so tight he could barely breathe, and it increased when he watched a single tear slide down her face.
She looked away and exhaled. “I should’ve stayed in London.”
“Don’t say that. Don’t do that.” Emily strode to Amanda and set both hands on her shoulders. “Don’t give this jerk that power. He or she is responsible, not you.”
“Sure feels like me.” Amanda hiccupped.
“Well, you’re not responsible.” Emily glowered. “So, get that out of your head.”
Amanda shrugged. “Can’t. Because it’s the truth.”
Emily muttered a curse and then glanced at him. “Dante, tell her she’s wrong.”
Torn between what he wanted to do and what he should do, he hesitated a second then opened his mouth to say what? He had no idea, but his son chose then to call down from upstairs.
“Daddy, are you having a party?” Noah asked.
The kitchen grew quiet.
He walked toward the stairs and looked up. “No, little dude. Go back to bed.”
It was half past three.
Noah frowned down at him. “How come you aren’t?”
“I’ll be up soon. Go back to your room.”
“Can I sleep with you?”
Exhaling he nodded. “Okay. Go on and get in my bed. I’ll be right up.”
Thankfully, that was enough to get his son to disappear from the gate. He turned around to find the others gathering their things.
“Amanda, I’ll need you to come to the station in the morning.”
“We’ll bring her there,” Emily said, setting a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “She’s going to stay with us.”
Shaking her head, Amanda moved away from her sister. “No way. I’m not going anywhere near the sanctuary. Thanks anyway.”
“Well, you can’t go back to your place.”
He nodded with the others.
“I know that.”
“Then where will you stay?” Emily glanced at him. “With Dante?”
Again, Amanda shook her head. “Absolutely not. I must put distance between Noah and me. I don’t want to be anywhere near him.”
He met Amanda’s gaze and noted the same inner turmoil gripping him with an unrelenting force reflected in her eyes. Try as he might, he couldn’t tell if she was waiting for him to agree with her or protest.
“In a hotel,” Amanda answered.
“Hell, no,” Holden said, and the others agreed. Even Dante.
Carter rose to his feet and began packing his equipment. “No one here is thinking straight. It’s obvious that Amanda should come back with me. We have a perfectly good safe house apartment at ESI that is currently unoccupied.”
A murmur of approval sprang from the others.
Dante let out a breath. “You’re right.”
Carter shrugged. “Usually am.”
Holden snorted. “Humble, too.”
Any other time, Dante would’ve joined the banter but at the moment, he was too tied up in knots to do much more than watch everyone clean up and head for the door.
As the others started to leave, Amanda grabbed her purse and laptop case from the coffee table and slung them over her shoulder.
She stopped in front of him and the urge to grab her and crush her close was so strong, he had to shove his shaking fists into his pockets. “I’m sorry about all of this, Dante.” She inhaled. “I think it’s best if I stay away. Take a step back to keep Noah safe.”
The pain, remorse, and longing swimming in her darkened gaze nearly brought him to his knees.
But she was right. He had to think of his son. Think of Noah’s safety.
This Lyle bastard wanted something from Amanda and had no regard for her feelings or her property. It wasn’t a far stretch to assume the guy would use her feelings for his son as leverage.
Dante could not… would not lose control.
Sniffing, she adjusted the straps on her shoulder and headed for Carter, who waited by the open door.
“Don’t worry,” Carter said, hooking his arm through Amanda’s while he looked at Dante. “She’ll be safe.”
He nodded. “Run Lyle through the system.”
“Already started.” Carter grinned, patting his laptop case with his free hand. “Accessed my girl remotely. Ole Bertha will find out stuff even Lyle didn’t know about himself.”
Carter loaded an entire room at headquarters full of servers and computers he built from scratch that could backdoor into any system in the world.
“Stop by tomorrow,” Carter said. “She should have a complete history of goodies to share.”
Dante nodded, unsure if he’d actually go, though. Tomorrow was Saturday. Noah would be with him.
“Ready, Amanda?” Holden asked, reappearing in the doorway with Emily. “We’re going to follow you to make sure you’re not followed.”
“Well, if you’re following us, then doesn’t that mean we’re being followed?” Carter asked with a grin.
Holden shook his head and groaned. “Let’s just get in our cars and go. It’s been a long night. I’m sure Amanda is tired.”
She glanced at Dante. “Keep Noah safe.” She swallowed. “I’m sorry.”
Before he could reply, she stepped into the night with Carter on her six, and his door shut behind them.
With his chest tight and the world askew, Dante locked the door and armed his security system, then walked woodenly up the stairs to his room where he heard his son softly crying.
He rushed over, concern now ruling his breath. Noah looked so tiny in the large bed all curled up under the covers. “Hey, little dude. What’s wrong?”
His son turned over and his wet face shimmered in the glow from a nearby nightlight. “Miss Amanda doesn’t want to be by me. She said it. I heard her. She don’t wanna be anywhere near me.”
Dante’s heart squeezed tight.
“Oh, Noah.” He sat on the bed and hauled his son onto his lap. “That isn’t what she meant, though.”
Big, brown watery eyes blinked up at him. “It isn’t? But I heard her.”
“I know. But what she meant was that she doesn’t want you to get hurt because of her.”
Noah pushed back to stare into Dante’s face. “She would never hurt me.”
“I know she wouldn’t.” He exhaled, trying to figure out how to phrase the situation so his son would understand. “You know those bad guys who took the mayor’s purse on the TV?”
“Mayor Goodway?” Noah nodded. “Yeah. They weren’t nice.”
“No, they weren’t,” Dante agreed. “Well, there are some bad guys that want something from Miss Amanda, and she is afraid if she’s with you, then they might hurt you. That’s why she is going to stay away. Not because she wants to, but because she has to. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Noah nodded. “Bad guys want Miss Amanda’s purse, and she don’t want me wid her when dey take it ‘cause I might get hurt.”
Close enough.
“Yes. She’s only doing it to keep you safe.”
Noah’s eyes filled again. “But who is gonna keep her safe?”
“She’s with Carter. You remember him, right? The man who installed our television and outside cameras?”
“Yeah, but you said he was an idiot.” Noah’s bottom lip quivered. “I don’t want an idiot taking care of Miss Amanda.”
Damn, he really had to start watching what he said around Noah.
“Carter isn’t an idiot when it comes to keeping people safe, though,” Dante corrected. Man, he couldn’t believe he was defending the…idiot. “He’s kind of like Ironman. You know, he makes all the gadgets and things?”
A bit narcissistic. Extremely smart.
“Yeah.” Noah rubbed his eyes. “Dillan says he has a wab .”
Dante lifted the front of his shirt to dry his son’s cheeks. “Yes. So, you see? Miss Amanda will be safe.”
“Okay.” Noah yawned. “Maybe we can visit her in da wab tomorrow.”
Dante placed his son back under the covers, relieved to see his eyes were already drifting closed. He quietly got ready for bed and slipped in next to Noah, knowing sleep wouldn’t come for him that easily, if at all.
***
E ight hours later, Dante parked behind the strip mall that shared the alley with ESI and got out. As expected, he hadn’t slept much, just visualized one horrific scenario after another that had haunted his waking hours.
This business of staying away from Amanda was not going to be easy. Especially with a son who insisted on seeing her.
“Come on, Dad, get me out,” Noah whined from his car seat in the back of his extended cab. “We gotta see Miss Amanda and tell her to keep her purse safe.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, Dante felt his lips twitching.
His son came out with some doozies.
Using his key card, he entered the building through the door next to the bay door that was currently closed. Noah let go of his hand as soon as he spotted Amanda, Mel, and Rylee and her baby, sitting on some chairs while Dex and Carter cleaned the gigantic, man-size bird cage.
“Miss Amanda!” he shouted, rushing straight for her.
Her eyes widened, and she glanced from his sprinting son to Dante and then back to Noah again.
Dante’s heart stopped for a beat as he worried that she was going to shy away from the boy.
Christ, that was the last thing the poor kid needed.
But he needn’t have worried. She smiled and knelt with her arms open, and Noah rushed right into her. A bracelet dangled on her wrist, and he silently commended Carter for putting the tracking device on her even though she was safely in the building.
“Miss Amanda! You’re okay!” His son smiled. “You need to keep your purse close. Don’t want da bad guys to get it.”
“Bad…guys…whatcha gonna do ,” Lex the cockatoo chanted as he bobbed his head.
“Okay,” she said, bewilderment and adoration flashing through her gaze.
Noah drew back and frowned. “You said some not nice things.”
“I-I did?” Her gaze shot to Dante as he neared.
He lifted a hand to rub his son’s head. “Someone overheard you last night. He thinks you want to stay away from him.”
Remorse flickered through her eyes and her brow wrinkled. “Oh, sweetheart. What I meant was, I want you to be safe, so I need to stay away.”
Noah nodded. “I know. Cause of da bad guys. Daddy told me.”
Her gaze met his again and he shrugged. “He’s a persuasive guy.”
“Crystal blue…persuasion…” Marilyn the cockatoo crooned out.
Everyone laughed.
“And Carter’s only an idiot when he isn’t watching people,” Noah told her.
Amanda bit her lip and Mel, Rylee, Dex, and Carter all glanced at him. Then Mel and Rylee nodded.
“Sounds about right.” Dex smirked.
Carter frowned. “Wait a minute…” Then shrugged. “Yeah, that’s true.”
Dante wanted to ask what the computer uncovered about Lyle, but not in front of his son. He was hoping to be able to draw the guy aside once Noah was preoccupied.
The bay door started to open, and Noah drew away from Amanda, who was fishing her phone out of her pocket. His son’s eyes widened with amazement at the huge door lifting to the high ceiling. Then Mac rode in on his motorcycle.
Noah scooted over to lean against Dante’s legs and covered his ears but continued to watch with wide eyes. When Mac cut the engine, Noah lowered his hands and smiled.
“Wow, Mac. Dat’s cool.”
Mac grinned. “You wanna sit on it?”
Noah glanced up at him. “Can I, Dad?”
“Sure.”
“Yay!” Noah grabbed his hand and pulled him along.
Once there, he lifted his eager son and set him on the seat in front of Mac. Noah smiled as he leaned forward with Mac’s help and grabbed the handlebars.
Dante had the feeling there might be a bike in his future.
His son was still smiling when he picked him up. “Dat was fun.”
He nodded. “Don’t forget to thank Mac.”
“Thank you, Mac,” Noah said. “Dat was fun.”
“Anytime, Noah.” Mac winked. “Anytime.”
His son turned to him and frowned. “Isn’t Miss Amanda sposta stay inside?”
“Yeah.”
“Den where is she going?” Noah asked, pointing to Amanda currently rushing past his truck and other vehicles in the lot behind the strip mall.
“Amanda!” he hollered but she didn’t turn around.
He set Noah down near Mel and started off after Amanda. She stopped at the other end and appeared to be talking to someone standing in the shadows.
Shit. It looked like Lyle.
“Amanda!” he yelled again, and she turned to look at him.
But a black van appeared out of nowhere, and two armed men jumped out. Dante drew his weapon but couldn’t get a clean shot because the men grabbed Amanda and Lyle and shoved them inside, then the driver burned rubber before he reached them.
Mac, Dex, and Carter rushed up on his six.
“Shit,” he ground out. “What the hell, man?”
“Why the hell did she walk out?”
“And where did Lyle come from?” He turned to Carter. “And why didn’t your system alert us about her leaving?”
He turned to Dex. “Didn’t you see her leave?”
“Calm down,” Mac said, his voice steel-stern. “There’ll be time for ass-chewing later. Let’s get inside, re-group and find out who they are and where they’re taking them.”
“Sorry, man. I don’t know why it didn’t alert, but I aim to find out,” Carter said, falling into step next to him as they jogged toward their building. “And she has one of our bracelets on.”
He nodded glancing sideways at him. “Did you show her how to use it?”
Carter grinned. “Absolutely. So don’t worry, the computer is collecting data on their trek right now.”
Dex flanked his other side. “We’ll get her back.”
Dante blew out a breath as his heart lurched. “Damn right we’ll get her back. I already lost one woman I loved. I’m not about to lose another.”