Page 81 of Keeping Amanda
For the first time since hearing the news about Bibi, Amanda studied the man she was clutching as if he was the only thing keeping her from floating away in a ball of misery.
He looked just as shocked as she felt. And sad. And the anger reflected in his eyes mirrored her own, as well. He’d never met little Bibi, had only seen her from afar when they’d returned to the school after getting out of the jungle, but he seemed just as upset as she was. It was a testament to the kind of man he was. Agoodman.
“What now?” she whispered, wanting to comfort him the way he was doing for her, but not knowing how.
“We stay vigilant. Blair is on her own now. And NorthCarolina is way too close to Norfolk for my liking. Since the coroner estimates Bibi died four days ago, Blair could be just about anywhere…most likelyhere. If she’s had a complete mental breakdown, there’s no telling what she could do.”
“If she’s that bad, how would she be able to think and strategize enough to find me?” Amanda asked.
“I don’t know. But I’m not going to take any chances. Not with your safety. I can’t lose you, Mandy. Ican’t.”
“You aren’t going to,” she said softly.
“Damn straight. We’re going to live a long and happy life. We’ll be old and gray and will walk around holding hands, making people roll their eyes at how ridiculously happy we are. Maybe we’ll take up cruising as a hobby, see the world from the deck of a boat. Stuff our faces with food, drink good wine, sleep until noon. I don’t know. But I want that more than I can express. With you.”
“I want that too,” Amanda whispered.
“Good. So watch your back. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Trust no one. That last one sucks, but I wouldn’t put it past Blair to hire someone to grab you or hurt you.”
A shiver ran down Amanda’s spine. Never in a million years would she have thought the woman who’d seemed so kind and smart would end up on the run…killingone of the children she’d devoted her life to. And apparently so filled with hate, she was hunting Amanda down. It was unfathomable.
“I’m ready for a more boring life,” she blurted, gazing up at Nash. “I thought my life as a teacher wasn’t that exciting, but now I’d do anything to get that back.”
“You’ll have it. I’ll do whatever it takes to get that back for you.”
He pulled her into his embrace again, and Amanda soaked in the feeling of being cared for, of not being alone during this scary time in her life. If Nash hadn’t been here for her, hadn’t taken her in, hadn’t used his connections to help find outinformation about what was happening, she’d be completely clueless. He was her world, and without him, she’d feel as if she was adrift on a big scary ocean without any oars.
She felt him take a long, deep breath seconds before he pulled back. “Casper gave me the rest of the day off. I want to take you home. How does a long hot bath sound? You can finish the new book you bought, I’ll make us something to eat, and we can cuddle with Rain on the couch and watch a movie or something.”
That sounded amazing. But Amanda felt guilty. “I thought you and your team were preparing for a mission?”
Nash shrugged. “We are. But nothing is more important than you and your mental health.”
“I’m not sure Uncle Sam would agree,” she said lightly.
“You just learned some awful news,” Nash replied gently. “Casper knows how that feels. How it feels to have the rug pulled out from under your feet. He’ll deal with the colonel and bring me up to speed on anything I missed.”
“Will you get in trouble with your boss?”
“No. Colonel Burgess is a good man. Tough but fair. He won’t have a problem with me taking the rest of the day off.”
“Okay. What you suggested sounds perfect…although to be honest, I feel pretty lazy just sitting around all day. I’m not used to it.”
“I think it’stimeyou slowed down a tad. Besides, when you start teaching again, you’ll make up for the downtime you have now, I’m sure.”
He wasn’t wrong. Teaching wasn’t a seven-to-three kind of job. It was all-consuming, at least for her.
Nash kissed her forehead gently, then took her hand. He leaned down and grabbed Rain’s leash and headed for the exit.
Amanda waved at Laryn—who waved back, giving her a concerned look—then focused on nothing but the way Nash’s hand felt in hers. She was pretty sure later tonight, she’d breakdown again while thinking about poor little Bibi, about how things had ended for her. And there’d be many more tears in the days to come.
But right now, she was back to feeling…numb. Disbelieving.
Her life had taken such a strange turn, and it looked like the roller coaster she was on, the one she thought she’d gotten off when she’d exited the jungle, was actually still going full speed. She wanted off, but it didn’t seem that was going to happen anytime soon.
Her only hope was that Blair was found. It was hard to believe, in her mental state, that she’d be able to stay under the radar for so long. Someone had to recognize her soon. If not, it was likely this limbo Amanda was in would continue. And that sucked.
She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Blair wasn’t found before Nash and his fellow pilots had to leave on the mission they were planning.
