Invisibility Cloak (8 page)

“Seven o’clock sharp.” Now she sounded downright giddy. ”It’s formal. Do you own a tuxedo?”

“
God, no
.” Maybe that was his way out. But now that Amanda was going, he had a feeling she needed watching over, whether she liked it or not.

“A nice suit will do as well.”

“That I got. I’ll be at your place at seven next Tuesday.”

S
ammie sauntered into her bedroom and sat down at the edge of her bed. “I like him, Mom.” She wore her pajamas with teddy bears on them, the ones Amanda gave her on her thirteenth birthday just six months ago. Her kids were growing up too fast. Sammie had grimaced when she first opened up the present, but was sure it was because her friends were over; maybe slightly embarrassed because the nightwear wasn’t sophisticated enough. In any case, she did receive a hug from her afterward. Sammie wanted her three best friends to spend the night.

Sophia’s daughter, Zoe was one of the little girls who stayed over. She seemed like a sweetheart and oh so pretty. Zoe’s dark brown eyes and gleaming brown hair really made her a stunning young lady. The other two little girls were Sarah and Megan, who Sammie had known since she was a tot. Amanda did her best to keep them entertained by renting the three movies Sammie requested and buying loads of pepperoni pizza, ice cream and cake.

Oh yes, and she actually popped popcorn on the stove. No microwave bags at this house. The memories of that night brought a smile to her face. Amanda made popcorn all night for those girls loaded with butter. Sammie’s friends all seemed to act so much older than her. Kids today grew up so fast. It seemed they barely had a childhood; well, like the one she grew up in, anyway.

Amanda’s parents were still happily married and lived in Ft. Collins, Colorado, where she grew up. When she drove up to visit them, it usually was a two-day drive. They were heart-broken when she divorced Wayne and when he died, they took it hard. Her ex-husband’s parents died about a year after they got married. Her own parents treated Wayne like the son they never had―since Amanda was the only child―they cherished their relationship with him. She really thought her and Wayne would be just like her parents, happily married and growing old together. But life sure had a way of twisting and turning one’s ideals. At least she got two wonderful little people out of the union.

“Mmm, I’m glad, sweetie.” Amanda plopped back onto her pillow, still in an afterglow of being with Ryder. The intensity of their physical attraction was something she’d never felt with Wayne. But maybe she did and just never recalled it because it was so long ago?

All she remembered now was the betrayal. When Wayne started messing around and partying all night, well, maybe shocked was more the word to describe her emotions way back then. But she was so young. Wayne was the first man she ever did . . .

She swallowed. Wayne was the first in so many things.

He swept her off her feet when she first met him and she was a virgin. It still hurt her heart to think of the way his life ended because for all he did, he really didn’t deserve that.

Okay enough.

It was late and she had to get ready for bed. Pushing away the covers, she padded into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wipe off her make-up. Sammie snuck underneath the covers as soon as she left the bed. Looking back at her daughter, she asked, “Hey, do you want to sleep with me tonight?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Her daughter’s blond head snuggled up against one of her pillows as she tugged the comforter up over her shoulders.

It would be kind of nice to have her daughter cuddled up beside her, especially since she stopped snuggling years ago. Who knows when her plucky thirteen-year-old would ever want to cuddle again; she had to grab these moments when they surfaced, sporadic as they were.

Turning back into her bathroom, her eyes caught an image in her mirror that spanned across the double sinks.
Ah!
Was that her? Amanda stopped dead in her tracks. Gone was the reserved, sedate scientist and in her place was a flushed, wild-haired woman looking back at her in the mirror. Her green eyes sparkled with an excitement she hadn’t known for years; if ever at all. A feminine grin slowly stole across her face. Grabbing a washcloth, she cleaned her make-up off and envisioned the tall, dark man she’d just passed a few hours with.

His attentiveness to her caught her slightly off guard. He always seemed to be right there beside her so she wouldn’t trip. The few men that she was around after her car accident which caused her foot drop actually seemed put-off to have to extend an arm in case she needed some help. He was really good with her kids too, and teenagers can be rough to be around.

Get a grip. So I spent a few hours with him.
Amanda picked up her toothbrush and splatted some paste on it.
I’ll probably never see him again.

So, what caused such a startled look from him as he waited at the top of the basement stairs for her to get the phone?

She turned on the water faucet with her left hand and see-sawed away at her mouth with the other. Was it because he really saw her for who she really was? The Amanda Harris with the limp and weak left foot and was turned off? A lump formed in her throat.

Maybe he didn’t realize the extent of her physical limitations earlier in the evening and thought she just had a hurt leg or foot. Her eyes filled with tears and she shut off the water faucet.

I’m such a fool.

He was a little too good to be true. Well, she could probably kiss seeing Ryder good-bye in the future. Her heart ached at the thought of him being that shallow. Her train of thought took another direction when she grabbed her hand towel and slowly wiped her mouth.

Aha!
Maybe Ryder knew it was Jeffrey Smeth on the other end of the phone line? She snorted at her reflection in the mirror.
Yeah, right
. Who would have ever thought she’d have two guys chasing after her at the same time. Amanda smirked at her reflection.

Jeffrey Smeth
. Jeffrey was really more her type. Her reasoning darted up against the phone call she’d received just as Ryder was leaving and abruptly stopped.

Crap
.
Jeffrey.

She almost forgot
.
The Dinner Dance at Jeffrey’s club slid through her mind. She’d told him she’d go with him on Tuesday night. Groaning, she wondered why.

Oh heck, I know why.

Maybe because the time she spent with Ryder tonight had lost some of the shine when Jeffrey told her Sophia was taking Ryder as her date. And okay, she was surprised. But then that discovery turned into anger and then slid right into that ugly green monster.

Jealousy.

Ick.
She hated this feeling, not knowing if someone was being genuine or not. She reached for her moisturizer and squirted some on her palm and delicately applied the lotion to her face.

All the while, her stomach did a few turns as she rolled around the feelings of betrayal. But honestly, why was a guy like Ryder Stevenson interested in her? The nauseated feeling returned with intensity as she wondered if she was being played by Ryder or anyone else tonight.
Let’s face it . . .

She was the outsider with her face smashed up against the glass window, peering in at a place she’d never belong. And that was definitely okay with her. She’d never yearned for the excesses in life like a lot of other people.

Never had that intense need for money and power.

All she wanted was to live a comfortable life and to provide for her children. It would be nice to pay their college costs, so they wouldn’t need to pay back any loans. It’s hard enough to make your way in life without a mountain of school debt following you. Her parents allowed her that privilege, by sacrificing when necessary and living a conservative way of life and that meant so much to her. The people she mingled with tonight would never have to worry about the college tuition burden like she did. Financially they were way above her and knew she’d never fit into Sophia Edgington’s world.

It was nice to be included with the beautiful society people, but man, it was stressful. She had her close friends she’d known forever and really didn’t see them as much as she’d like to. But when they did get together, it was like they just saw each other yesterday. They were good people; sure they were nerds like her, but she’d trust them with her life. Shaking her head, Amanda picked up her hairbrush again. Some of the stuff that happened tonight at the Edgington’s place was downright mean. Just how good of friends were they? It seemed as if they just didn’t genuinely like each other, but still hung out together anyway. Where did Ryder fit into Sophia’s mix?

Her silver bracelet moved up and down her arm as her brush followed the blond strands from the top of her head to her shoulders.

Even though she’d just met Ryder tonight, she’d felt an instant connection― like she’d known him much longer. Was that even possible? And was that feeling mutual?

Focusing on her shimmering bracelet in the mirror, her brain dissected the information she had. The shiny round links on her wrist sparkled underneath the bathroom light. She just loved this piece of jewelry.

As soon as she saw it in the store downtown she had to have it. The delicate circles in various dimensions that were linked together on the chain were so symbolic to her. Just from her science and math background alone, the circle represented infinity or containment of a function in certain sets; all relative to the range, of course. Smiling at that thought, it always surprised her at how mathematics threaded through her head.

Circles have no sides or corners; no beginning or end. It was her coming of age gift to herself when she turned thirty years old because it seemed so fitting for her. Words floated through her mind as she admired the small glittering circles on her arm in the glass.

Uniting the polarities
.

Eternity.

Completion.

And all the pieces fell into place.

Chapter 6

S
ophia must’ve asked him before the dinner tonight. Yes that was it. She didn’t want to distrust him without finding out why he was taking Sophia to the dance, because he did make the point of being with her tonight. And it did seem like Jeffrey tried to discredit Ryder. In an obscure way, Jeffrey insinuated Sophia was dating Ryder and they were an intimate couple. But Amanda knew that simply wasn’t true.

So, she’d place her faith in Ryder until he proved untrustworthy. That decided, she pulled on her sleep T-shirt and shut off her bathroom light. Trying to be as quiet as possible, she slid under the covers only to hear Sammie snoring softly. Too wound up to sleep, she batted at her feather pillows and flopped down again. And stared up at her ceiling and grinned.

Remembering earlier that evening when Ryder had crushed her against his chest; cloaking her in the warmth of his body. Turning to her side, she slipped her hands underneath her pillow and lowered her lids. Even though it was the weekend, she still needed her sleep. She’d already stayed up later than she usually did. A few hours later, Amanda was in the midst of a nightmare.

Her legs ached from running so fast. Bending over, she panted and gulped air into her lungs. Her throat was so parched it felt like she swallowed sandpaper and feared she’d die of thirst. But the fear of dying from a gunshot kept her running and running, until she slammed into a cement wall. Letting out a wail of anguish, she flung her arms up and pounded on the barrier. She had to keep going.

Had to get away.

Her eyes flung open as her heart thudded heavily in her chest. Absolute terror radiated through her body.

To calm the pounding of her heart, she placed her hand on her chest and turned on her side staring out in the dark to get her bearings. The small clock’s red neon numbers on her night side table blinked . . .
1:00 . . . 1:00 . . . 1:00 . . .

She’d never had nightmares; at least until now. But something else lingered in her perception. Her eyes flew around her room taking silent inventory. Nothing seemed out of place.

Finally her breathing evened out and she looked around. Why in the heavens was she having bad dreams? Did she have too many glasses of wine at Sophia’s?

Sammie’s lumpy mass huddled under the covers, comforted her somewhat. Her eyes strayed to the window, again. So, what was it that woke her? Thirst? She reached over to her nightstand slowly, so she wouldn’t disturb her daughter and took a sip out of the water glass she’d brought upstairs earlier.

Ah, much better
. Her throat immediately was soothed. Sliding back under the covers once again, she closed her eyes; or tried to anyway, until her lids jerked back open.

Nope, she wasn’t going to easily go back to sleep.
Crap.
When that happened, she’d usually flip on the light and read a few pages in her current book she was into at the moment to help her get back to sleep. But Sammie was in bed with her and she didn’t want to wake her, so she pulled herself back up. Grabbing her pillow, she mushed it around again before laying her head back down and burrowing both hands under her pillow. But her eyes flipped open once again and she looked out at the room. Nope, it wasn’t going to work, seems she’d be up for a little while longer.

She gazed out the bedroom window at the black night. Since her bedroom was on the second story with her kids, she usually left her wood blinds slightly open allowing the morning sunlight to wake her up for the day to get ready for work.

She enjoyed her job at Verdant Laboratories and that provided motivation enough to haul herself out of bed to get there. But it wasn’t even remotely close to six o’clock in the morning, yet. And then she remembered that tomorrow or today rather, was Sunday.

So . . . no work.
I could sleep in
. Her lids closed.

Thump. Thump
.

She jolted and her eyelids flew open. Was that from downstairs? In the kitchen? Lifting her head up from her pillow, she tilted her ear up to see if there were any other weird sounds.

Kitz, tinkle
.

Now, it sounded like someone knocked over some objects on her floor downstairs. Her stomach squirmed.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Now, that was
from downstairs. Okay, a spider couldn’t do that. Maybe a mouse? She grimaced at the thought of a mouse in her house.

Tap. Tap
.
Tap.

Those were footsteps. Someone was downstairs! A person was downstairs in her home!

Her heart pounded painfully in her chest as panic coursed through her. Amanda bit down on her lower lip, trying desperately to remain calm.

Someone is downstairs.

What should she do?
Nickel.
She needed to get Nickel. Jack-knifing out of bed, she looked wildly around. Trying not to make a sound, she slowly lowered one foot, then another on her carpeted bedroom floor. Softly treading into her son’s room, she knelt next to his form in bed and touched his shoulder. “Nickel?”

His lids fluttered, then sprang open. Slapping her hand over his mouth, she tapped her index finger in front of her lips, so he wouldn’t speak out-loud. His eyes widened in confusion, but he’d nodded letting her know he understood she wanted him to be quiet. Pulling himself into a sitting position, he mouthed, “What?”

“Someone is downstairs, Nick.” She grabbed his hand and they crept back to her bedroom. They were all together. But now she needed a phone to call the police and her cell phone was plugged-in downstairs in the kitchen being charged.

Crap!

Clueless as to what to do now, she eased her door closed and whispered to Nick, “Bring that chair over from my desk, will you?”

He nodded and lifted the wooden chair up with both hands and strode back over.

“Here.” Amanda indicted the area beneath the door knob. “Anchor it under the handle.”

As Nick jammed the top of the chair under the handle, the bed covers rustled and Sammie poked her head up.

“Mom?” her daughter asked groggily.

“Get up now!” Amanda whispered through gritted teeth. Walking over to her, she pulled her up.

The covers tumbled over her waist as Sammie looked around bewildered. “What?”

With her heart thudding franticly she leaned over and hissed in Sammie’s ear, “Someone is in the house, Sammie.”

Pointing to her bathroom, Amanda whispered harshly, “You two get in there. Hide in my closet.” Fear roiled in her gut.

That would be the best place; her large walk-in closet. Past her bathroom, that was definitely the farthest place from the danger. They’d played hide and seek in there since they were toddlers, so they knew all the nooks and crannies to hide in. She pulled her brows down. “Go!”

“No!” Nickel and Sammie whispered simultaneously.

“Are you crazy, Mom?” Nickel whispered harshly.

Amanda pulled her gaze back to her children’s faces. They were stamped with a stubbornness she knew all too well. The little stinkers weren’t going to listen to her and
Oh God!
If they got hurt, she would just die.

“Please!” she whispered through gritted teeth. “Now!”

R
yder had no idea what possessed him to drive back by Amanda’s house after he circled Sophia Edgington’s two times. He didn’t see the dark SUV that was there earlier. But his gut told him to take a drive by Amanda’s place. Was he one of those creepy stalkers, the ones he protected people from himself? Amanda flipped a switch on inside of him, and he didn’t know if that was a good thing or not.

First, he watched her walk to the gym for her rehab work-outs―which she had no idea about―and now this. What purpose would it serve to peer in her windows?

And to what?
Get a glimpse of her walking through the house? He was turning into a softhearted jackass.

Damn it
, he needed to just go home. Maybe crack open another beer and brood. He clenched his teeth together because he knew what this was really about―Smeth.

Just when in the hell had Smeth ask her to a damn dinner dance? Scowling, he thought back on the evening and realized he’d always been around her at Sophia’s house; those two were never alone. After kissing her tonight, she was his, damn it.

He’d wanted to slowly strip her little white dress off her and finish what they started on her basement couch. Ryder adjusted himself in the car seat just thinking about her. Rounding the corner that would take him to her house, he smiled as he remembered the way she launched herself at him in the basement. She looked so damn demure, but he sensed a little tiger lurking beneath, just waiting to be let loose. His smile widened even more at the thought of him unleashing her. He unconsciously cleared his throat when her house came into view. The Escalade wasn’t where it was earlier.

Good. Maybe it could’ve been a fluke that a car resembling the one that was outside the Edgington house was parked curbside at Amanda’s earlier.

He was fooling himself now. Maybe he was obsessed with the woman; or else a stupid love-sick fool. Turning his head to look at Amanda’s darkened house, it looked like everyone was asleep.

Well, hell they should be since it was around one o’clock in the morning for Christ sakes.

His grumbling was cut short when his phone buzzed and he picked it up on the first ring, recognizing Jeremy’s number.

“You still up?” Ryder laughed. “Got anything for me, buddy?”

“Hey, Ry,” Jeremy’s deep baritone voice rumbled. “The fricken’ plates were a doozy to track down, but here’s the shit. The car’s registered to a small restaurant outside Columbus to an area bus―”

Ryder jumped in, “What? I thought it was an Arizona plate. I saw the buzzwords under the I.D. Number! The Grand Canyon State was blazing.”

“Yeah, I thought so too, dude, but it had an unbelievable convoluted trail. Someone wanted this to be a challenge to track down.” Jeremy sounded pretty damn puffed up that he’d traced it―as he should. Jeremy was a computer whiz; if someone was hiding anything he’d figure it out.

“Wonder why?” Ryder speculated out-loud. From the corner of his eye, Ryder caught a blur of movement. Narrowing his eyes, he focused back on Amanda’s house. “What the . . .?” Searching the surrounding homes as well, a dark shadow caught his eye. “Shit,” he muttered under his breath. A black figure darted around the corner to the back of her house. Keeping his eyes glued on her house, he barked out, “I gotta go, Jer. Hey thanks, I owe ya one.”

“All okay? You need some back-up, Ry?”

“No, thanks I’m good.” Keeping his gaze fixed on her house Ryder leaned under his car seat and pulled out his Glock 17. “But I do have to go,” Ryder said quietly and disconnected. Stealthily exiting his jeep, Ryder took the longest route to where there was a break in landscaping between the houses. Making a wide circle, he needed to get a good look at what he was heading into. Were there more men somewhere? From what he could see so far, it looked like the dark figure worked alone. He glanced further on down Amanda’s street.

Shit
. There was the Black Escalade he saw earlier. He crouched over and stayed low to the ground following the bastard that was breaking into her home.

Broken shrub branches and depressed grass blades marked the path the intruder took. It was a piece of cake to follow this yahoo. The jimmied window, the point of entrance, was even still open. He slipped inside the house and followed loosely behind the big, dark figure as it maneuvered through the first floor. He barely tamped down his fury. Thoughts of him deciding not to drive back by Amanda’s place hit him full throttle. She would have been alone to fight off this perp. And the thought of her or her kids being vulnerable or hurt, made his blood boil.

Loosen up.
The last thing he needed to be right now was riled up. Internally he flipped the emotive switch and focused. He needed to wait for the right time to grab this inept joker. Should be an easy pull down since Ryder was trained for this type of stuff. He was definitely in his element here. The Army spent a tidy sum making him the soldier he was today.

The perp was not light on his feet at all. Ryder would’ve been surprised if Amanda didn’t hear the guy clomping around the first floor already. As the large figure rounded the hallway in between the kitchen and living room, he knew this was the opportunity he needed.

Grabbing the guy by the hair, he thrust out his right foot hitting the back of the perp’s knees and his legs buckled underneath him instantly. Brimming with anger, Ryder held his head back with a handful of hair in his fist and hammer-fisted his trachea. Gasping for breath, the perp tried to recover and reflectively brought a hand up to his neck. That was when Ryder kneed him in the back. When he heard a cracking sound, satisfaction rumbled through him. He hoped the guy’s spine was broken. The perp was down and incapacitated.

Mission accomplished. Ryder looked around for something,
anything
to tie him up with. But there was nothing.

Stalking into the kitchen, he flipped on the small light over the sink and threw open a few cupboards looking for
something
to bind the perp’s hands with. All he found were plastic supermarket bags. Yanking open another set of doors underneath the stove stop, he noticed skillets and casserole dishes and more plastic bags!

Why would anyone save used grocery bags? Well, he couldn’t tie up the perp’s wrists with pots or pans so the damn bags would have to do until he got upstairs and saw Amanda and she could tell him where she kept some rope.

Ripping a few white bags with the local supermarket’s name blazed on them until they resembled a thin tie, he wrapped them around the big man’s hands and feet. Although he’d fashioned a semblance of restraint, it looked like a weak deterrent. Knowing it wouldn’t hold a man this big for long, he had to get moving and find Amanda. Jumping to his feet, he glanced down at the perp one last time and the man’s eyes fluttered open.

Can’t have that.

Ryder bent down and smashed his fist square in his face. The intruder grunted and fell back in an unconscious stupor. Ryder staggered back in a wobbly stance and looked over the scene. Perp down and caged. Well, as confined as he could manage at the moment. A large man had plastic grocery bags wrapped around his extremities and it looked absolutely stupid. But hey, he was working on the fly here. Now, he needed to make sure Amanda and her kids were unharmed.