Page 70 of Keeping Amanda
“Be safe. I’m fine, Nash. A little shaken up by everything, but good now.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Nash, you can’t be by my side at all times.”
“I know, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be. I hate that you had to go through that today by yourself.”
“I had Rain.”
“Which I’m grateful for, but a dog isn’t the same as having a pissed-off Night Stalker by your side or at your back.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Drive safe. Don’t get a ticket or anything.”
He chuckled, and Amanda was glad to hear it. He was still stressed, that was obvious, but the fact that she’d been able to make him laugh, even a little, made her feel good.
“I won’t. I’ll call if I find out anything before I get home.”
“Thanks.”
“See you soon.”
“Okay.”
Nash hung up, and even though Amanda didn’t have any answers yet, she felt better now that he was looking into things. It felt weird to rely on someone else like she was on Nash. She’d always been super independent, had to be. But having him on her side, being able to call him for help…or heck, just knowing he was upset on her behalf and willing to leave work immediately to get to her if she needed him…felt awesome. As if she wasn’t quite so alone in the world.
Things between her and Nash had moved fast, but they felt right. Their time in the jungle had sped up their relationship tenfold. And she wasn’t upset about it in the least.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
As soon as Buck disconnected with Mandy, he dialed Tex’s number. He’d planned on leaving a message, but to his surprise, the man himself answered the phone.
“Tex here.”
“It’s Buck. Nash Chaney. I’m calling about Guyana.”
“Right. Actually, I was going to get in touch with you soon about that. I’m still looking into the school, but I’ve found out some unusual things. At least, Ithinkthey are. First, according to emails I’ve hacked into that have gone back and forth between volunteers who are still working at the school, it sounds like Blair has moved one of the children into her room at the school. I haven’t been able to find any paperwork saying that she intends to adopt the child, but maybe the little girl was having a hard time adjusting to everything after being kidnapped?”
“Bibi?” Buck asked.
Tex sounded surprised when he answered, “Yes. How did you know?”
“She’s obsessed with that girl. At least from what I saw. I’m calling about something else though.” Buck quickly explained what happened to Mandy this morning. About the searchwarrant thanks to an alleged “tip” about drugs in her apartment. He also told Tex about her phone call with Desmond. “She’s worried the rebels are back and holding people hostage there at the school or something. I’m hoping to find out if that’s the case or not. If everyone is all right.”
“I’ll find out where the tip came from and get back to you on that. It’ll be easy enough to hack into the DEA database to find the notes on the call. On the other issue, as of this morning, things seemed to be fine at the school. Staff emails were being sent and received, and phone traffic seemed to be normal, as well. I don’t have eyes down there, as they have no video monitoring devices, but electronically, there’s been no unusual activity. But I can do a deeper dive, see about getting my military connections to check on the orphanage.”
“I’d appreciate that. As would Mandy.”
“I did find out some interesting details about the director though.”
“Such as?”
“She’s been in and out of mental hospitals for years. Since before her husband passed away.”
“For what?”
“There haven’t really been any firm diagnoses that I can see. Lots of words bandied about…borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar…you name it, doctors have considered it.”
