Amanda's Touch [D.A.R.E.ing Women] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by LeeAnn Masters

  Capturing her lips with his, he gave her a deep wet kiss. “Thank you for organizing everything for me. You’ve saved me a lot of trouble,” he stated simply. There was no way he was going to draw attention to the fact that she innately seemed to know what he would have chosen to pack for himself, just as a wife would.

  Chapter 19:

  Best Laid Plans

  July 11

  The next morning, when Amanda arrived with Zack at the office, she was met with an excited chorus of greetings from her coworkers and realized that she’d missed them all terribly over the past month or so. Allison quirked an eyebrow at her and tipped her head minutely in Zack’s direction in inquiry. What the hell was going on? She wanted to know. She gave Amanda a womanly smile that told her she’d picked up on the fact that they’d arrived together. Amanda shook her head slightly and gave her a look that told Alli she’d better keep it to herself. While Zack immediately headed to his office Amanda took a few more minutes to inquire after everyone’s families and to catch up on gossip. It was good to be home!

  On the way over she and Zack had discussed the work dilemma and she’d told him that she wasn’t ready for anyone there to know about them. He hadn’t been a happy camper but he’d agreed that he didn’t want her reputation slandered in the workplace for “sleeping with the boss.” He’d told her he’d keep quiet, for now, but that fairly soon things would become obvious to anyone who looked at her and wanted to know how she wanted to handle it then. She’d told him she planned to buy in as his business partner before they announced their relationship or pregnancy. She wanted to be an equal in every way before they got engaged, let alone married, which institution she knew he’d continue to push. I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it, she thought.

  Following the heartfelt greetings from her work buddies Amanda retired to her office. She and Zack had work issues to resolve via phone and email before taking their impromptu vacation. About forty-five minutes later Allison knocked on her open door, pausing in the doorway. Amanda lifted one finger telling her she’d be right with her and completed her conversation with Jared. She was smiling hugely because she’d gotten him to agree to a date with Cara, now she just had to tell Cara. She hoped she hadn’t over-stepped her bounds but, really, the two of them were ideal for each other. She hoped they’d see so, too. Hanging up, she motioned for the other woman to enter.

  Allison shut the door quietly behind her and told Amanda excitedly to “spill!”

  Amanda considered the woman for a moment, weighing the import of her words and trying to figure out how much the older woman already knew. As if Allison could read her thoughts she told Amanda, “And don’t you dare tell me nothing is going on between you two! I could almost feel the sparks myself! And, suddenly, Mr. Grayson is telling me he’s taking a week’s vacation just when you are!” Her soprano voice climbed higher and got squeaky with her excitement and Amanda cringed.

  “Okay, okay! Yes, we’re seeing each other.” Amanda’s voice was low and confidential. “Alli, you cannot tell anyone, do you understand me? No one would understand and I won’t have my reputation dragged through the mud here, and Zack would lose a lot of credibility. I can’t have that, are we clear? I’m planning to buy in as an equal share partner in the company before we announce anything to anyone.”

  Allison looked offended at her words. “Amanda, I wouldn’t tell anyone. You know better! I’m the only one here who knows everything about everyone’s lives. There’s a reason for that. I can keep things to myself.” She made a show of zipping her lips and locking them with an imaginary key before tossing it over her shoulder and crossing her heart in a double pledge of silence.

  Amanda giggled in girlish camaraderie at her actions. Gosh, it felt good to talk to someone about it! She suddenly realized that she had a strong urge to talk to Diane, to fill her in on the pregnancy and everything else going on in her life. She was ready to share with her best friend. Zack was right, she’d just needed a couple of days to come to grips with everything but she was good now. It helped that she was looking forward to having alone time with Zack and that she was leaving soon to see her grandparents. In her own mind she was already on vacation so she was feeling less stressed about everything.

  “How long?” Alli asked.

  “Huh?”

  “How long have you been seeing him?” she clarified impatiently.

  “Oh!” Amanda had to think about it and was startled when she responded, “Not quite two weeks.” That couldn’t be right. Her brows knit together and then rose in astonishment when she realized it was. Her entire world had been turned upside down in a matter of days!

  “Whoa!” She and Allison responded similarly at the same time, and then laughed at each other.

  Allison studied Amanda carefully and saw a remarkable change in her looks and personality. She hadn’t laid eyes on her in over a month. The last time Amanda had been in the office was when she’d come in directly before taking the McGinty project on, and she’d looked like hell then. Mr. Grayson had told her that Amanda was out on sick leave for the week prior to that and Amanda had sure as hell looked like it when she’d come in that day. Now she was happier, had put on a little much-needed weight though she still had a ways to go, there was color in her cheeks, and a sparkle in her eye.

  “You’re in love!” Allison exclaimed loudly and unthinkingly.

  Amanda turned pink in response. “Shhh! Keep it down!” she said, holding a finger to her lips and stood up to grab Allison’s arm to keep her in check. Zack’s office was directly across the hall from hers and she didn’t want him to hear this conversation.

  “You are!” Alli, even more excited, began to dance a little in the middle of her office space. “Oh Amanda, I’m so happy for you! You have no idea how hard I’ve been praying for you to be able to move on and find someone new to love. You deserve all the best, honey, and there’s no doubt in my mind that Zack is the one who is best for you.”

  She grabbed Amanda’s hands and squeezed them in hers, then began a lengthy quizzing session. “Are you two serious? Are you going to get married? Has he told you he loves you? Have you told him?”

  “Wait! Wait! Slow down!” Amanda laughed at her. “Jeez, you’d think you were my mother!”

  Gathering her thoughts Amanda responded, “I…I well…yes, I guess you could say we’re serious. As far as getting married, I’m not sure. I know Zack would probably like that, eventually. He’s intimated as much anyway. I’m just not sure I’m ready to even think about it. Yes, he’s told me he loves me.”

  She stopped there because she couldn’t remember if she’d ever told him as much. She’d said she wanted to be with him, that she was committing herself to their relationship, such as it was, that she really enjoyed sex with him, that they belonged together, and that she was indeed his, when he’d needed a boost of self-confidence. She’d told him that she cared about him, and that she worried about him. Had she ever said she loved him? Oh jeez, this was going so incredibly fast! Could she trust her feelings considering the short time they’d been together?

  She dropped her head and rubbed her face with her hands as it finally came to her that she had told him she loved him, but that she’d been inebriated at the time. No wonder he felt so insecure with her! Mentally, she gave herself a kick in the ass.

  “I uh…well, I suppose I haven’t exactly been as forthcoming as Zack has in declarations,” she admitted to Allison.

  “Don’t you think he has the right to know?” Alli quizzed her.

  “Yes, he does.” Deep in thought Amanda chewed on her lip and wondered if Zachary didn’t already know. He could read her emotions right? That didn’t mean that he didn’t need to hear it though. Everyone wanted to hear the actual words. She needed to remedy that, soon.

  There was a sudden commotion in the hall and Amanda worriedly pushed past Allison to open her office door. The voice raised in anger sounded all too familiar and she knew before she opened the door who was on the oth
er side. The chickens had come home to roost. Wow! How could he have found out so quickly? she thought incredulously.

  Jonathon Tabott was murderously enraged, his face nearly purple in his heated anger. His voice, raised in fury, assailed all ears in their suite and Amanda didn’t doubt that other businesses on the same floor heard him as well. The well-groomed man she’d met with on Friday was gone, and in his place stood what appeared to be a crazed psychopath. His clothes were rumpled, his breath smelled strongly of alcohol, and his hair was corkscrewed from dragging his fingers through. His eyes blazing with outrage, he strongly reminded Amanda of the rabid dog she and Zack had encountered.

  “Where is he?!” Tabott demanded grimly. “Where is that rotten bastard?!”

  With Allison away from the front desk Jonathon had shown himself in and was searching for Zachary. Glancing searchingly across the hall Amanda was relieved to find that Zack was not in his office at the moment. Looking down the hall she noted the conference room door was wide open, too, so he wasn’t in a meeting either. Well, no matter, she had never been so glad he was in absentia as she was at this moment.

  “Jonathan, hello! Why don’t you come in and sit down?” she offered calmly and politely in an attempt to counter the man’s upset. She grabbed his hand under the pretense of shaking it, to get a read on him, and was flooded with the man’s bloody intent. She gulped. Oh Christ! Thank God Zachary wasn’t here! She began to shake when Tabott grabbed her wrist in a death grip.

  She looked to Allison and jerked her head toward her door and pushed her, whispering, “Get out! And for God’s sake do not allow Zachary to come in here!” Allison’s face paled when she read the dread on Amanda’s own and she finally stepped across the threshold of the door when Amanda jerked her head harder with firm insistence for her to leave.

  Tabott smiled evilly at Allison, saying, “By all means please do send Grayson in. We have much to discuss.”

  Allison closed the door softly behind her with trembling hands and immediately heard the lock engage. She stood just outside with her ear pressed against the door, staring numbly around her at the employees gathered in the hall.

  “What’s going on?”

  “What’s happening?”

  “Is Amanda okay?”

  “Who the hell is that?”

  She was bombarded with questions and shushed everyone, waving them away from her as she listened, shaking, to the death threats aimed at Amanda behind the closed door. Allison heard enough. She sprinted down the hall to the front office and with shaking hands picked up the phone to dial 911. Building security would in no way be equipped to handle this situation. Where the hell was Mr. Grayson?

  * * * *

  Tabott locked her door and glared at her viciously “And you! You bitch! This is just as much your fault! You had to ruin me, didn’t you? I’m going to fucking kill you for doing this to me!”

  “Jonathon, I don’t know what you’re talking about but, if you’ll let me, I’ll try to help you.” She was going to have to bullshit her way through this as best she could. Her knees began to tremble in reaction and she stiffened them. She couldn’t let him see her sweat or he’d eat her alive, or rather shoot her dead. Either way she figured he was planning to kill her, did it matter which way she went? She tried to control her completely chaotic thoughts and bring herself back to the present. She was going to have to play the role of her life if she wanted out of this alive.

  “Where is Grayson?” Tabott’s voice dripped with venom. “He and his family got me fired and my wife’s father has the D.A. investigating my practices! But if he, or you, think you’re going to control how this ends, you’re wrong. It’s going to end my way…” She watched him reach into his suit coat and blanched.

  Again the same random thought ran through her mind. Wow, that was fast! The information she had garnered on Friday seemed to have been enough to cause questions by his employer who appeared to have brought their information to the district attorney’s office. Becca must have gone straight to Tabott’s father-in-law. She thought it would have been nice if Becca had let her in on the fucking secret! If she lived through this, she decided, she might commit a murder herself. She hoped Zack wasn’t particularly fond of his baby sis.

  Tabott pulled out the shiny new handgun Amanda had just seen in her vision and, grabbing her by the arm, pointed it at her head. This time the picture in her head changed. It wasn’t Zachary sprawled on the floor of his office with blood pooling around him. That was good. However, now it was her. That was bad. Oh shit!

  * * * *

  Zack had had to run over to meet with Rachel who had called to tell him she thought she might have located Amanda’s birth parents and that there was trouble. She’d begun investigating the adoption immediately following their initial phone conversation a week ago, despite her original naysaying.

  A search for her birth parents had flagged the authorities and initiated contact by both the police and a Private Investigator. By late Friday she was pretty sure she’d stumbled across Amanda’s family and had spoken with them over the weekend to double check birth information without divulging Amanda’s name or whereabouts. Amanda was an adult so they could hardly force Rachel to reveal confidentialities, but she’d been strongly encouraged to send Amanda their way. The parents and the authorities wanted a DNA sample from her. Zack felt a horrid sense of foreboding come over him. It couldn’t be! Really… Amanda couldn’t be! And, if she was, where was her twin?

  “Christ Almighty, Amanda. What will this do to you?” he pondered aloud. His chest tightened because he already knew the truth. DNA be damned, this couldn’t be a coincidence! Amanda already knew her parents.

  Rachel had handed him a sealed envelope with everyone’s contact information and with details that Rachel was not allowed to disclose to him and legally shouldn’t have handed over to him at all. He hadn’t opened it. He’d already overstepped his bounds. The rest was up to Amanda. Of course she already knew he was pursuing her biological parents, hence one of their arguments a week ago. She hadn’t brought up the subject since.

  He’d only been gone for an hour and a half so he was taken aback when he arrived at the office building where his business was located to find it crawling with security and police officers. He suddenly realized why his cell phone had buzzed like crazy so many times while he’d been out. Not at all out of nowhere, terror settled in on him.

  No one would answer his questions and he was required to produce ID. When he did he was told to stay on the ground floor and that someone would be over to speak with him soon. He was not allowed to go up to his office because the building was being cleared.

  Someone grabbed his arm and he turned to see Allison’s tear-stained face at his shoulder.

  “Would you tell me what the hell is going on?” he demanded. “Where’s Amanda?”

  Allison began sobbing and Zack took her by the shoulders and shook her, in no mood for her melodrama. He had a bad feeling, a really bad feeling, and was suddenly aware that the terror he’d felt upon arriving was not his own, it was Amanda’s. Sweet Jesus, what was happening?

  “Where the hell is Amanda?!” he demanded again, much louder.

  Allison tried to gather herself. “Jonathon Tabott barged in about an hour and a half ago…he was looking for you, saying you got him fired, that he is being investigated…” Allison began to explain the situation and what Amanda had said and done and how she’d made Allison leave. How she’d heard the door lock.

  “He’s holding her hostage, Mr. Grayson. I’m pretty sure he has a gun. And he said he’s going to kill her!”

  Allison’s sobs erupted again as Zack stood there frozen and fearful. Concentrating on Amanda he could clearly pick up on her intense fear and anxiety, but there was no physical pain—that was good. That was one bright spot, at least that’s what he told himself. The nightmare he’d been worried about had come true and if he ever got his hands on his sister again, God help her.

  “Are you Zach
ary Grayson?” Zack turned to a silver-haired man in tactical gear.

  “Yes, I’m Zachary Grayson. Could you please tell me what’s happening with Amanda?” He hated that his voice broke painfully on her name. She’s still alive, she’s still okay. He kept repeating the mantra in his mind.

  “I’m Commander Jackson. I’m in charge of the SWAT team.” The commander’s voice rang with authority as he told Zack he was needed to answer a few questions. “Follow me.” Jackson gestured to Allison and Zack and led them to the security desk.

  “Ms. Davis.” He gestured to Allison. “Has already given her statement but I’d like her here to fill in any gaps. We really need some information from you about Amanda Hall and Jonathon Tabott and what might have led up to this. We need to know everything there is to know about both of them.” He called over a professionally dressed middle-aged woman with short dark hair and an understanding face. “This is Darlene Hodges. She’s our hostage negotiator.” Zack began to sweat and his stomach twisted nauseatingly. Oh my God! Oh my God!

  Zack launched into as clear an explanation as he could regarding his sister’s investigation into Tabott’s embezzlement. Jackson had another team member take down Becca’s number and within a minute the man was back telling them she’d be there soon. Zack quickly informed the commander about shifting his entire family’s investments and how that had probably led Tabott to assume it was his family who had caused his problems. What else could he tell him? He’d never believe that Amanda was psychic!

  He was asked to describe the office design, especially Amanda’s office, and phone system for when the team tried to make contact. “Do you mean to tell me that no one has been in contact with Amanda for almost two hours?!” He began to lose it.

  “Calm down, Mr. Grayson, we’re doing everything as quickly as we can. We’ll get your employee out in one piece but you’re going to have to keep it together.” He was told firmly and given a no nonsense look.