“Amanda?”
With a soft gasp, she whirls to me, seeming to search for words. “A-are you Tanner Kirk?”
I stare at her bare face and her pouty, parted lips. She’s beautiful and wary. And she looks so fucking young.
“Yeah.” I stick out my hand. “Hi.”
She folds her much-smaller palm against mine. At the contact, she stiffens. I do my best to ignore the lash of heat that singes my palm and snakes up my arm. Any chance she’s feeling this crazy reaction, too?
“Thank you for coming. Nice to meet you.”
I nod. “Likewise.”
To stop myself from gawking at her soft face and even softer blue eyes, I turn my attention to the boy. He has a sharp jaw that’s nothing like Amanda’s…and a headful of pale curls that are. He stands in the middle of a playpen with red cheeks, glowering green eyes, and little fists.
“That’s Oliver, my son.”
“You’re not happy, big guy?”
The boy rears back at me with an angry furrow between his brows. “No.”
Beside me, Amanda sighs. “It’s one of the two words he knows right now.”
“What’s the other?”
“Ma ma.” He holds out his arms to her.
“No.” She shakes her head softly. “Sleep.”
The boy gets angrier, stomping his foot and huffing.
“I don’t think he’s going to take no for an answer,” I remark.
“He’ll wear himself out eventually. I hate to leave him because I don’t want him to be afraid.”
“Do you think he understands what happened here earlier?”
“No, thank goodness.”
But she’s terrified. Oh, she’s trying to be brave. I can tell by the way she squares her shoulders and lifts her chin. If she wants comfort, it doesn’t show. I admire that, even as I want to put my arms around her and tell her I’ll take care of everything. I don’t for two reasons. First, Ellie resented my “macho BS.” And second, I just met Amanda. But after my reaction to her, if I’m going to protect her I have no business touching her.
“We can stay and talk here, if that makes you more comfortable. I’d just like to ask you some questions.”
She shakes her head. “If we stay, he’ll never sleep. Do you mind if we talk in the next room? I’ll be close enough to hear him, but…”
Far enough away that her son won’t be distracted. “No problem. Lead the way.”
“Come here, little man.” She bends to him again. When he lifts his arms to her, she folds him against her chest and holds him tight for a precious moment, kissing the top of his head before stepping away. “Now go to sleep. Or no trucks when you wake up.”
He stomps his foot again, but to her credit she ignores his tantrum and heads for the door, turning off the recessed lights overhead and ensuring his nightlight snaps on to illuminate the shadows.
“Ma ma!” Oliver sounds mad.
“Sleep tight,” she croons. “Mama loves you.”
When I file out, she breezes into the hall and guides me to the bedroom next door. Her bed looks barely slept in, and I wonder how exhausted she must be. Her suitcase sits in the corner on a luggage rack. Other than that, it appears as if she’s hardly stepped foot in here.
“Thank you for coming so quickly.” She sits on the edge of the bed, then gestures me to a plush chair nearby. “And thank you for your patience.”
She’s unfailingly polite. Have tonight’s events rattled her…or do I make her nervous? Either way, I need to set her at ease now or we’re going to have a long few days together. But that won’t be easy. Every time I look at Amanda, I think things I shouldn’t. There’s something about her I’ve never encountered. She’s so soft and female—seemingly vulnerable—but I’m seeing that when it counts, she’s strong.
And the way she’s looking at me, like I’m the answer to her problems, only makes the tug of attraction between us stronger. Or maybe that’s in my head?
“I’m just sorry things got so out of hand that you need me here,” I say as I sit.
“I didn’t expect that. I’d had this problem in California, where my son’s father ruined more lives than mine. But now that he’s gone…I seem to be the next best target. I never imagined these people would follow me across an ocean.”
Since I have no idea who her son’s father was or what’s going on, I have to ask. “I hate to make you tread old ground, but do you mind clueing me in? When Trace called me, he was short on details. To protect you, I need to understand the threat.”
She gives me another of those oh-so-polite smiles. “I figured this was coming. Do you know who Barclay Reed was?”
“Sorry. No.”
“Head of Reed Financial. He was an investment broker to a lot of wealthy people. I was his assistant for a couple of years, starting right out of college, though I’d known him most of my life. Our fathers were, I thought, the best of friends.”
“Your father?”
“Douglas Lund, head of Colossus Investment Corporation.”
I’ve never heard of him either, but clearly she grew up wealthy. “Go on. And Barclay Reed fathered your son?”
“Yes.”
If he was her father’s best friend, how much older was this guy? “I see.”
“Just like I see you doing the mental math. Everyone does. I was twenty-four when I got pregnant. Barclay was fifty-seven. How it happened is a long story. I won’t bore you.”
A long story…how? “Did he rape you?”
She presses her lips together. “You’re not the first person to ask. No. Unfortunately, I was naive and very willing.”
I can’t imagine how or why this beauty would have allowed a man more than twice her age into her bed, but it’s none of my business. I’m here because she and her son are in danger, so I shelve my curiosity—and my more than vague sense of annoyance that this guy touched her.
“What do the attacks have to do with Barclay Reed?”
“In a nutshell, he swindled all of his clients out of their fortunes and was arrested for it last June. He left them all virtually penniless. I had no idea what Barclay had done. When the FBI raided his offices, I was recovering from childbirth. But Barclay had let me go months before that. Shortly after I told him I was pregnant, in fact. Still, I’d been his most recent mistress, so when he was arrested, the media had a field day with our ‘salacious’ affair.”
“He was married at the time?”
“Yes. He had been for nearly thirty-five years.”
She doesn’t bat an eye. Doesn’t blink. In fact, nothing Amanda says tells me how she feels, but disillusionment and heartache simmer under her surface. She cared about Barclay Reed. Despite the fact he stole from others, cheated on his wife, and used her, she had feelings for the scumbag.
Why?
I don’t understand, but it’s not my place to judge. I need to stop letting this sudden, stupid interest blindside me and do what I promised.
Amanda sends me a tight smile. “I see what you’re thinking. It’s what everyone thinks. How could you sleep with a married man your father’s age? I had my reasons. They’re my own. I also have sins I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. And if I had a do-over, no. I wouldn’t change a thing because Barclay gave me Oliver. He’s my world now. But I would like the peace of mind of knowing I can keep my son safe.”