“Yes. Amanda’s money was stolen,” Judith told him. “The thief dropped the purse a block away.”
Florence looked around.
“Where’s Nathan, by the way? I found it strange not to see him.”
Claire braced herself. Harold narrowed his eyes.
“He’s coming here soon,” she said. Claire didn’t want to make it look as though Nathan didn’t care. She hoped to hear news from their friends soon.
A short while later, Kellan showed up. He walked into the waiting room where Judith, Claire, and the Tilleys were waiting.
“Kellan!” Florence said when she saw him. The others stood up.
“Hi,” Kellan said. He hugged Judith, and then shook hands with the rest of the group.
“Thanks for coming,” Florence told him.
“No, thank you for letting me know. I flew in as soon as I could.”
They all sat back down.
“So, what exactly happened?”
Once again, Judith and Claire recounted the events from hours ago. Kellan wanted to know every detail.
“You say the perp attacked Amanda first?”
“Yes,” Judith replied. “The woman beat Amanda up and almost kills her if not for Emmy.”
“How did Emmy end up there?”
“She noticed that people were starting to seem nervous about something. Then she heard screams. So Emmy went to check what was going on. I waited for Claire to return from the restroom before following.”
“What did the perp want?”
Neither Claire nor Judith was able to answer that.
“Most likely, it was just a random mugging,” said Claire. “What else could it be? The thief happened to attack in that place at that time.”
Kellan didn’t look too convinced. Sure, a mugging could happen to anyone. He still found it hard to believe that Amanda’s attack was a coincidence.
“Judging by the events, I’m inclined to think that the perp wanted to kill Amanda.”
Mildred gasped. Ryan’s eyes widened.
“What makes you think that, Kellan?”
“Judith just said that the perp would have killed Amanda if it weren’t for Emmy.”
“It’s possible that the attacker tried to kill Amanda for fighting back,” Claire mused. “The attacker got mad and so decided to end things quickly.”
“I’m not sure how likely that is,” Florence said. “My daughter is wealthy. Why would she resist a robbery?”
“That’s what I thought too,” replied Kellan.
“I guess we won’t get to the bottom of this until we talk to Amanda,” Ryan said.
The group waited for a bit longer. Harold looked up when he noticed a doctor approaching.
“Family of Amanda Tilley?”
“I’m her mother,” said Florence. She stood up with Ryan. “These are her grandparents, and her brother.”
“She’s asking for you. Mr. Tilley’s already with her.”
“How’s the other girl, Doctor? Emmy Crenshaw?”
“She’s in observation. Ms. Crenshaw is out of danger already. We expect her to wake up in a few hours.”
Florence looked relieved. She looked at Harold and Mildred. They nodded at her. Florence then put a hand on Ryan’s shoulder. The two followed the doctor to Amanda’s room.
Ryan became visibly alarmed when he walked into the room. Amanda had bandages on the left side of her head. Apart from that, she was pretty banged up. Ryan tried to compose himself to avoid perturbing her.
“My child!” Florence said, walking up in front of Amanda’s bed. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m all right, Mom,” Amanda replied. She looked at her father, who was sitting next to her.
“Amanda will be fine in a few days’ time,” William told them. “Her injuries aren’t serious.”
“What happened to her face?”
“They’re just a couple of superficial scratches. What I’m more worried about is the deeper cut on her head. It’s still nothing that a good plastic surgeon can’t fix.”
“Have you arranged for that?”
“Yes. I wanted to send the girls to New York, but Rochester was closer. With Emmy’s condition…” William didn’t finish the sentence. “I wanted to disturb her as little as possible.”
“Thanks, Dad, but it’s not necessary,” Amanda said. “The plastic surgeons here already saw me.”
“But, Amanda, you might be left with a scar,” Florence told her. “Your career—”
“I don’t care. It’s always been my ambition to be an architect, not a model. I was one just for the meantime.”
William and Florence exchanged glances.
“I never fully understood what people see in me. I’m pretty, but not as much as people seem to think.”
“You’re the most beautiful girl to us, sweetheart,” William said. He squeezed Amanda’s hand.
“Anyway, where’s Nathan?”
“He’s—”
“Not here yet,” Ryan cut across his father. “His friends will let him know what happened.”
Amanda’s eyebrows furrowed. She thought it was very strange that Nathan wasn’t there.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Claire and Judith are outside. If anything comes up, we can ask them.”
Amanda took a deep breath, pretending that the answer satisfied her.
The sound of footsteps woke Nathan up. He stirred in bed, wondering what time it was. There was some light coming in from the window.
Nathan rose up in bed. It took him a few seconds to realize he wasn’t in his own bedroom.
What on Earth am I doing here?
Someone appeared on the doorway. Nathan saw Erika there. She was wearing a sheer black robe, along with soft pink lingerie.
“Erika, what am I doing here? Why haven’t you dressed yet?”
“Relax. You got tired last night and fell asleep. I tried to take you to my bed, but you’re a tad heavy. I had to wake you up a little.”
Nathan’s cheeks reddened.
“I don’t remember that.”
Erika laughed.
“Obviously. You were dead on your feet.”
Nathan ran a hand through his hair.
“Did we…sleep together?”
Erika looked at him, expressionless. She nodded.
“Oh, shit. We didn’t…you know,” Nathan hesitated.
“Go at it? No. I’m not that kind of girl, Nathan. I like my men fully conscious and alert.”
Thank God, Nathan thought.
“Why are you dressed like that, anyway?”
“I sleep in my undies, you know. It’s early, so I haven’t gotten ready for the day yet.”
Nathan didn’t know what to think. He felt that Erika was trying to seduce him.
“What time is it?”
“Eight fourteen.”
“Hmm. Early enough.”
Nathan stood up from the bed. He was glad that he was at least dressed, except for his shoes. “I need to get back to my place.”
“Sure. I’ll brew some coffee, if you like.”
“Thanks. And…”
Erika remained at the doorway. She’d been about to turn and leave.
“Sorry for not taking you anywhere yesterday. It was impolite of me to doze off on you.”
“Don’t worry. We can always make up for it some other time.”
“Yeah,” Nathan said. He watched Erika walk away. Then he stood up.
Coffee? Nathan thought, breathing on his palm. Hell no. I always brush my teeth in the morning before eating.
Nathan found his shoes at the foot of the bed. He put them on and then checked himself on Erika’s full-length mirror. He needed to freshen up.
When he walked into the living room, Nathan searched for the way to the kitchen.
“About that coffee, maybe another time,” he called to Erika. “I have to go.”
Erika walked in from the kitchen.
“You want to leave already? Stay. A
t least have breakfast with me.”
“I’m sorry. Another time, okay? I must leave.”
“There’s no school today.”
“I know. I just…don’t have a toothbrush.”
Erika smiled, thinking that’s all you’re worried about?
“You should have told me, Nathan. There are spare brushes in the bathroom that you can use. Really, what’s the hurry? Can’t wait to get rid of me?”
“No! Of course not.”
“Then stay. I’ll make food.”
Nathan relented. He walked to the bathroom.
“Phew,” Erika muttered to herself. She went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
When Nathan was ready, he joined Erika in the kitchen. She had made scrambled eggs with ham, plus toast and refried beans.
“Trying to impress me,” Nathan said to announce his presence. Erika turned to him.
“I could be.”
Nathan walked in. He was glad that she was at least dressed now. She’d only thrown on a blouse, but it was something.
“Let’s talk a bit, since we didn’t have much of a chance last night,” Erika said. She and Nathan were already sitting on the table with their food.
“What would you like to talk about?”
“I think random stuff is fine.”
Nathan nodded.
“Do you hang out a lot?” Erika asked.
“My friends and I get together from time to time. We like having lunch together, in particular.”
“So you guys are close?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I didn’t have that many friends back where I came from.”
“And family?”
“I did. They’re not here.”
Nathan and Erika continued to talk while they ate. When they finished, Erika offered to wash the dishes.
“I need to go now,” Nathan said. He was back in the living room with Erika. “If you want, we can hang out later tonight. You decide where to go.”
“I’m not familiar with this city, remember? So you should decide.”
“Oh, right.”
Nathan grabbed his jacket from the sofa.
“See you later.”
Erika nodded. She watched Nathan go, her lips pursed. Sighing, Erika went back to the kitchen.
After she put away the leftovers, Erika heard knocks. She turned back to the living room.
“Erika, I forgot my phone.”
It was Nathan. She opened the door.
“I left my phone here,” Nathan said. He looked around the room. “Have you seen it?”
“No.”
Nathan looked for his new smartphone on the sofa. He looked under the throw pillows, putting them back. Then he checked the coffee table.
“Maybe it’s in my bedroom,” Erika suggested.
“I’ll go check.”
Nathan went there. Erika waited. He came back a few seconds later.
“It was on the bedside table,” Nathan said. He tried to switch it on. “Apparently, it’s out of battery.”
Erika smiled in amusement.
“Okay. See you later, Erika.”
“Bye,” she said. Nathan left again.
Once he returned to his apartment, Nathan set his phone to charge. Then he went to the bathroom to take a shower so he could change.
When Nathan was in his bedroom, he heard knocks on his front door. He put on a shirt and went to answer it. Nathan was surprised to see a relieved-looking Kayla standing outside.
“There you are. Where have you been?”
Nathan stared at Kayla, bewildered.
“What’s going on? You’ve been looking for me?”
“Yes!” Kayla said. “Ashton, Grecia, and I have been going through the whole town trying to find you.”
“Why?”
Kayla just stared at Nathan.
“You seriously don’t know?”
Nathan shook his head.
“Amanda is in the hospital.”
Back at the hospital, the Tilleys were still in the waiting room. Claire, Judith, and Kellan were with them. Emmy’s family had arrived the previous midnight.
Emmy woke up near the crack of dawn. Danielle, her older sister, and Mikayla, her mother, were in her room. Sebastian had gone out for some coffee.
“How’s Amanda?” Emmy asked.
“She’s okay,” Mikayla replied. “It’s possible she’ll be back home by tomorrow morning.”
“That’s good news. I thought that madwoman was going to kill her.”
“What you did was brave,” said Danielle. “You still scared us out of our wits, though.”
“I couldn’t let anyone hurt my best friend.”
Danielle took Emmy’s hand. She squeezed it lightly.
“Are you still in pain?”
“I’m fine. It only throbs now. But I won’t lie. It hurt like a bitch when I woke up.”
The corners of Mikayla’s lips turned up.
Sebastian returned, carrying a couple cups of coffee. Judith accompanied him. She carried another two cups of the drink.
“Hi, friend!” Emmy said when she saw Judith.
“Good morning, sleepyhead. I’m glad to see that you’re back.”
Sebastian handed a cup of coffee to his wife. Judith handed another one to Danielle. It had hot chocolate instead, as she wasn’t fond of coffee.
“Did they catch the attacker?” asked Emmy.
“No. Some cops questioned Claire and me last night, though. We told them all that we know.”
“Do we have to go back to Ithaca if they have any more questions?”
“Relax. The detective will call me if he needs more information, or if he has updates.”
Emmy gave a pursed smile.
Sometime later, two people showed up at the waiting room. The Tilleys and their group turned to see who had just arrived. Judith recognized Christopher, Amanda’s newest friend. Behind him was coming a tall, African-American guy. He had buzz-cut hair and seemed to be in his mid-thirties.
“Christopher, what a surprise,” said Judith. “I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“To be honest, I didn’t think I’d wind up here today, either. I just heard about Amanda and wanted to see how she’s doing.”
“Who’s your friend?”
“I asked him to come. He’s Joe Caldwell,” Kellan said. “Grayson is on guard duty already. Caldwell and I will be in charge of Amanda’s security now.”
“Is it necessary?” Claire asked.
“We don’t want anything to happen to our daughter,” Florence said. She looked at William, who agreed. “We asked Kellan to return as Amanda’s bodyguard.”
“I assure you that your daughter will be well protected,” said Caldwell.
“Caldwell was SWAT before entering private security. He’s got extensive combat training and could shoot a nickel from a mile away. Trust me, anyone stupid enough to trifle with us will regret it,” Kellan told them.
“If you excuse us, we need to see Ms. Tilley,” Caldwell said to Florence and William.
“Go ahead. She must be awake by now.”
Kellan and Caldwell excused themselves.
“Who told you about Amanda?” Judith asked, looking at Christopher. She seemed suspicious.
“No one. I heard it online.”
The Tilleys and Judith raised their eyebrows. Ryan and Florence exchanged glances.
“That was fast. I didn’t expect the media to catch wind of this so fast,” William said.
“How could they have found out?” Judith asked.
“Someone must have recognized Amanda. She’s quite well known already,” said Ryan.
“It’s not in the media…yet,” Christopher said. “I found out on Twitter.”
Claire’s eyes widened.
“You were on Twitter this early?”
“It was a fluke I found out. While I was waiting for my breakfast to cook, I killed some time on my phone.”
Claire checked the time. It was almo
st ten forty. Christopher must have been really worried.
“I’ll look for the doctor to ask if I can go in and see Amanda,” he said. Then he walked away. Just then, Claire’s phone beeped once. She checked it.
“Nathan’s finally on his way,” she said. “Kayla sent me a text. They’re a half-hour away.”
“Where has he been all this time?” Ryan asked.
“I have no idea. It seems fishy that this guy found out about Amanda’s attack before Nathan did.”
“How much do you know about him?”
“Almost nothing. Grecia and Kayla told me that Amanda introduced him the other day in the bowling alley. He’s a transfer student, apparently.”
“I’ve talked to Christopher a few times,” Judith said. “He’s quite charming. I can tell he has a protective side.”
“Well, that explains some of it,” said Claire.
Nathan and Kayla arrived later in the morning. He came in walking in a hurry.
“How’s Amanda?” he asked. The group turned to where Nathan was standing. Judith glared at him. The Tilleys seemed glad that Nathan was finally there—except for Harold. Ryan was the only one looking at Kayla. He blushed, but she didn’t notice.
“She’s okay,” Claire said, standing up. She walked toward Nathan. “Emmy didn’t fare as well, but she’s also out of danger.”
Harold stood up. He looked at Kellan, and nodded. The two of them walked toward Nathan.
“I’d like to talk to you in private,” Harold said.
Nathan’s eyebrows furrowed. Kellan walked past him and toward the exit. Nathan looked at everyone. Most of them gave sympathetic looks. Kayla put a hand on his shoulder. Nathan took a deep breath, and had Harold escort him outside.
Kellan was waiting at the side of the hospital. He turned toward Nathan.
“Where have you been?”
During the walk, Nathan had thought about how best to answer that question. Admitting that he’d spent the night with a woman would not be a great idea.
“I went shopping, got a new phone, and then went to other places. I felt tired, so I crashed.”
Harold narrowed his eyes. Kellan rubbed his chin.
“Claire said your friends were looking for you all over,” the latter said. “They couldn’t find you at your place. Where were you?”
“I wasn’t in my apartment until this morning.”
Harold was looking more and more suspicious.
Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) Page 11