This woman is beautiful. Her beauty was the polar opposite of Sophia Edgington’s glamour.
Where women like Sophia had heavily made up faces and God only knows how many enhanced body parts, Amanda was a breath of fresh air. The handful of freckles that were splashed across her petite nose only accented her startling green eyes. Her dark blond brows arched perfectly over her emerald greens and reached out to her temples delicately. When she reached over to place her Budweiser back on the table, he couldn’t resist and slid his arm around her. She smiled when her eyes met his, but as he pulled her closer, she took him in and her grin faltered.
He knew he looked serious. Frightening could better describe his look. The Rangers in his unit used to razz him about it. When Ryder focused his intent on a mission, he was two hundred percent into it; he never failed. He didn’t want to scare her off, but when he wanted something he was serious as hell. And he wanted her. So, he leaned forward to taste her. He knew he had to be gentle.
She readily lifted her lips up to meet his. Satisfaction filled him in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time. He slid his palms under her legs and lifted her onto his lap. Their mouths met. Pleasure and intense need took over his body.
Amanda moaned softly as they set in for a deep kiss. Sweet was the only way to describe her. Ryder brought her even closer and their chests pressed against each other. Crazy with need, his hands roamed. Hard palms skimmed up her calves, delving up the side of her legs. His fingers explored the back of her knees, tucking and stroking her soft skin with rough fingers until he gained another soft moan from her. While his lips were still latched on to hers, he formed a smile. Moving slowly upward, he savored the soft texture of her thighs. Since she didn’t have hose on, he could feel how soft her skin really was. His hands edged their way up and skimmed over the silkiness of her lingerie. Sliding both of his thumbs under her panties, she shuddered. Closer and closer he ventured until he was ready to push her on her back on the couch and―
“Mom?” a young feminine voice asked from upstairs.
Chapter 5
Amanda immediately stiffened and pulled her mouth away. “Yes, Sammie?” Turning her face toward her daughter’s voice in the stairway, her hair slid softly across his cheek.
That was when Ryder felt Amanda’s nails digging into his biceps. Shit! What was he doing for Christ sakes? Mauling a woman in her basement with her kids in the house, that was what he was doing. He gently lifted her off his lap and set her next to him on the couch. The warmth instantly left him. Amanda furiously batted her hair down and her face flamed pink. “What are you doing . . . ?” The young voice asked haltingly, “. . . down there?”
Amanda turned her head offering an explanation, “My daughter Sammie.” She ran her tongue up and over her top lip before she stood and walked to the stairwell. “Come on down, sweetie.”
“Okay.” Soft footsteps treaded down the wood basement steps and the young voice murmured, “What’re you doing? You never come down here, Mom.”
After they turned the corner he heard her youthful gasp. “Oh!”
“Honey, this is Ryder Stevenson,” Amanda explained. “I met him at Sophia Edgington’s dinner party tonight.”
Ryder stood up, waiting to see if he should introduce himself or not, she was so damn young.
“Oh. Did you see Zoe there?” A younger version of Amanda asked her mother while looking discreetly at Ryder.
“No, honey. Funny, Nick asked the same of Zane.” Amanda laughed lightly. “It was a dinner for adults only.”
“Oh. Okay” Sammie’s forehead furrowed and she looked hard at Ryder. “So what are you doing down here?” She pulled her eyes back up to her mother’s face.
“I did call out when I came home.” Amanda looked helplessly at her daughter. “But when no one answered I thought you were both busy studying.”
Sammie looked amused and smiled at her mother. “That’s okay, Mom, I did hear you, but I think I was on the phone. Sorry.”
Taking a step closer to the teenager, he offered his hand. “Sammie, I’m Ryder, nice to meet you.”
The little girl blushed just like her mother. “Hi.” She shook his hand briefly.
“I actually thought we could play some pool. Want to join us?” Amanda said.
Her daughter’s gaze instantly turned devious. “Yeah, you bet.”
“Looks can be deceiving Ryder, my little girl looks harmless enough, but she is a pool shark.” Amanda laughed when her daughter scowled at her.
“Mom!” Sammie shrieked. “There is no way I can hustle this guy now!”
“Uh huh.” As soon as Amanda looked at Sammie, they both grinned.
Ryder enjoyed watching them. It was refreshing to see a mother getting along so well with her kids. They were nothing like Sophia Edgington and her son and daughter. When he’d accompanied her to one of the kid’s plays, they’d all met up later after the show. There was tension everywhere you turned. Kind of like the dinner party they’d just left. Little snide remarks flew all over the place.
“Whaddya need, Mom?” Nick stomped down the stairs.
“Oh that’s right. Pool game will have to wait a moment, Sammie.” Amanda pointed to the sofa. “Everyone sit down. Ryder has a few things to ask you, Nickel.”
The young kid instantly narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “Oh yeah? What?”
“Honey, please. Ryder owns his own security business. He only wants to help.”
Ryder didn’t want to ruffle the kid’s feathers any more than he had to, but he was a tad bit more experienced in this stuff.
“So, what did the man look like that wanted to come in and check your phone lines?”
“Dark hair. Dark eyes. Dark complexion. Mexican or at least South American, I think.”
“Did he have on a uniform of some sort? Showing the cable company’s name on his shirt anywhere?”
“Well that one little absentee fact.” Nickel held up his index finger. “Which I noticed right away, was what concerned me.” He cleared his throat and waited for Ryder to ask him something else.
“Good eye, Nick.” Ryder was impressed with the kid’s judgment call. “You could have stopped a robbery or home invasion right there with your hunch.”
Nick nodded and pressed his lips together, obviously trying not to grin from the pleasure that showed on his face from Ryder’s approval. He pushed his glasses up his nose instead and ducked his head.
“Oh.” Amanda piped in, “Ryder, what I was going to tell you earlier.” She glanced at both of her children first. “I didn’t want to say anything, only because I didn’t want to worry you both, but I have seen men lurking around the street and―” she stopped abruptly and looked at Ryder. “I suppose I should just tell you later,” she muttered.
“Go on, Amanda.” Ryder knew immediately that she was holding something back, maybe so she wouldn’t scare her kids. “We need to know it all. You want your kids prepared don’t you?”
“Yes, absolutely.” She closed her eyes briefly then opened them. “Well, I’m not one hundred percent sure, but it seemed liked some things were out of place in our house.”
“Such as?” Ryder prompted.
“Well, like where I usually hang my purse on the hook in the mudroom. I found it later that day on the floor. And my cell phone. It was in the wrong compartment in my purse.”
“Could I have moved it, Mom?” Nickel asked.
“No, it was earlier in the day, when you were at school.”
“Mom!” Sammie’s eyes widened. “You mean someone else was in our house?”
“Did you get the letter?” Her dark eyes narrowed at Esteban. The burly man’s muscles twitched in his tight white T-shirt. Perhaps the idiot didn’t understand.
Looking out the window at the dark sky, she clipped out the
question in their native language. “¿Le dio la carta.” She huffed out a breath. “Estúpido imbécil” Stupid moron!
It was so hard to find good help nowadays.
Alejandro had only asked one thing of her. To recover this letter that Dr. Wayne Harris said he’d mailed.
“No. no lo he encontrado. intenté, pero el crío no me deja en!” For such a big man, Esteban sounded very small and whiny. His dark eyes pleaded with her to be lenient. But knowing El Jefe, the Boss, would be very unhappy with the outcome of Esteban’s last trip to Harbor Falls, she contemplated on what to do with him. He could not find the letter earlier when he’d broken into the house a few days ago. He tried to get in tonight, but the brat would not let him in.
Hmm. So Esteban’s face had been seen; he could be identified. Not good. Nodding to him, thoughts on what to do with the incompetent ass ran through her competent brain.
¿Qué tengo que hacer Think. Sighing, she was tired of killing, so another solution came to mind.
“I have one more mission for you. See if you can get into the house while everyone is asleep. If you do well―that is come back with some information we can use―then you can report to our office in Tampico. You screw up again and you will not be employed anymore, anywhere.”
Esteban just looked at her. Unbelievable. If only these estúpido folla would realize that they needed to learn the English language. But no, if they did, they could rise faster in the echelons and the ranks could be recast. And being in charge was good. More than good. Maybe the solution would be to just kill him now? No, they were losing too many men as it was. The best solution was to send Esteban to Tampico. One more chance. Let’s see how Esteban will do at night. No one will see his face. But this was his last chance; he’d die the next time he failed.
“Tienen una misión más para usted. ver si se puede entrar en la casa mientras todo mundo está dormido. si lo haces bien- que es volver con alguna información que podemos utilizar, a continuación, puede informar a nuestra oficina en tampico. usted de nuevo y que no sean empleados ya."
After dryly translating the decision as to the incompetent’s fate, Esteban nodded heartily.
Ah, so now he understood. She waved him off. Esteban nodded some more as he walked backward to the door. Was he scared he would get shot in the back? Well, he should be. At last the moron was finally showing some brains.
She ground her teeth together. What to do . . . What to do . . . Immediately she relaxed her jaw because she didn’t want to chip a tooth and these teeth cost her too much to ruin.
It just might be time to send in someone else now. It shouldn’t be too hard. But she limped. And limping. . . Limping was not perfection. But life wasn’t always perfect.
Así es la vida. Sacrifice was a part of life.
“Protect your family, Amanda. Tell them what you saw that made you realize that someone was in your house,” Ryder prompted by stepping closer to her. He placed his palms on her shoulders. Heat radiated off his body standing behind hers, like a big support post. She breathed in deeply.
With wide eyes, her children waited for her to speak up.
“It seemed papers were shuffled in the kitchen. And the bedrooms . . .” Amanda turned around to look at Ryder. “I could just tell things were moved.”
How had he become so important so fast? Such a mainstay when she’d just met him? Loud bells clanked a warning signal in her head. It didn’t make sense. Why was he here with her? Yet, he stood so firmly behind her, his hands cupping her shoulders gently while slightly massaging her muscles. Looking so casual, yet Amanda had the feeling that he was ready for anything at any moment.
“Go on.” His dark eyes encouraged her to continue. “Did it look like someone had messed up the rooms?”
“Yeah, but it was hard to tell in Sammie and Nickel’s rooms.” She laughed nervously. “I don’t know. Maybe I was imagining things.” She ran her hands through her hair because she didn’t know what else to do with them.
“No, I don’t think you were, Amanda. Instincts are very important. You have to listen to them.”
“So, Mom,” Nick pushed his glasses up his nose. “We won’t let anyone in we don’t know, okay?”
“Okay.” Her voice trembled. “I just don’t like any of this. And I don’t understand it either.”
“Could this have anything to do with Dad?” Sammie asked, “Yunno, how he died and stuff?”
Amanda walked over to her and put an arm around her daughter’s waist. “I just don’t know, honey.” She forced a smile. “How about a game of pool?” Needing to lighten the mood, she asked, “You game, Nickel?”
“Sure, I guess I have time to beat my skank-breath little sister,” he said softly into Sammie’s ear as he walked past her striding to the table. He picked up two pool sticks and examined their cue tips, waiting for her to catch up.
Little stinker taunted her by going for the pool stick she always used.
“Ha!” Sammie tossed at her older brother and sauntered over to their table. “That’s what you think, lizard face,” and confidently reached for her pool stick just in the nick of time causing Nickel to scowl.
Amanda couldn’t help but smile as they walked over to the Brunswick Ashbee nine-foot table; it was a beaut. Sure it was a nice pool table with the classic espresso stained frame, but it held so many wonderful memories of the whole family. Wayne was a really good pool player and he taught both the kids at an early age. Probably the only time their father spent time with them was playing pool. Well, quality time; and the kids ate it up. It was another side of Wayne. Amanda actually loved watching her then-husband play. Wayne was so methodical. Just as he approached everything in life, he’d analyze where the balls were scattered on the table and have so much fun meticulously dropping the shots into the pockets. He’d patiently explained the dynamics of pool to their kids.
After they divorced, it seemed this solid table was the only real way all three of them bonded. Sammie and Nickel excelled at the billiards even more than their father and that was why Wayne let the Brunswick Ashbee stay at the house. So having the pool table at her house enabled the kids to become extremely proficient at the game. She just hoped they wouldn’t beat Ryder too badly; it was hard on a grown man’s ego when teenagers whipped them at pool.
As Sammie gathered up the balls, Nick picked out another pool stick.
Ryder walked up next to him checking out the sticks that were left to use. “Not much to choose from.” After examining the cue tips of the remaining sticks, he grabbed two and rolled them on the table. Watching them wobble and turn, he finally declared, “I’ll take this one,” and picked up the left one. Lifting it straight up, he grabbed the small chalk cube and brushed the top of the stick.
Amanda stayed silently impressed, glad he knew what he was doing.
“Let’s let the ladies break, Nick,” Ryder said as Sammie racked up the balls.
Amanda knew how much joy playing pool gave Sammie. And now with Wayne gone, she knew that playing pool made both of her children feel closer to him.
Sammie skillfully set up the breaking shot, and bent down to strike. Two solid balls glided smoothly into the side pockets. Her next shot missed the pocket, but barely and Sammie grimaced.
“Good shot, Sammie,” Ryder said as he looked at his options left on the table. “You gonna play, Amanda?” Squinting his eyes for a few moments he hunkered down so he was eye level with the few balls left on the table before he turned back to her.
“Ah, no.” Amanda chuckled softly. “That is definitely my children’s area of domain.”
“Be my partner, then?” Ryder laughed. “Hey, I need some help here, woman.”
“I’m not sure how much help I’ll be, though,” she said lightly, then took a sip of beer.
Tipping his own beer up to his mouth, he smiled. “I h
ave a feeling you’re a tad bit edgier than I am. Look at your own kids. I’m meat on a stick here.”
Feeling sympathy for the man brave enough to take on her two children, she stepped up. “How can I refuse? With an invitation like that, I mean.”
Ryder glanced reverently upward. “I may just survive this. Thank you, Lord.”
This man just endeared himself even more to her.
“You start, honey,” Ryder said behind her shoving the pool stick into her right hand.
Feeling totally ambushed, but realizing she was more in her comfort zone than Ryder was at the moment, she nodded and readily grasped the stick, looking at what options she had to shoot at.
Two striped balls were easily within distance for her to sink them both into the side pockets, but she missed the shot. Frowning, she said to Ryder, “See? I knew you’d be sorry having me as a partner.”
“Nah, not sorry yet.”
Nickel looked at what he had for choices.
“So,” Ryder asked as Nick aimed the cue stick, carefully balancing the pool stick on the top of his knuckles. “Why does your mother call you Nickel? I just assumed that your birth name would be Nickolas.”
After jamming the stick against the cue ball with more force than he needed to, her son shot Ryder a feral grin. “Nope.” Standing the stick straight up in his palm, he kicked it once on the floor before he explained, “My parents named me after an element. Pretty cool huh?”
Invisibility Cloak Page 7
