“I’m taking her home,” Matt told the men. “I had a call earlier from her dad and her parents are worried sick.”
Matt was furious. He couldn’t believe the exchange he had just heard between Aaron and Amanda. What had Griswold meant? He almost pushed Amanda into the passenger seat after he opened the car door.
Angrily he strode around the front of the SUV and jerked open the door. He said nothing as he punched the key into the ignition. Before he started the engine, he turned and glared at Amanda.
“What was that all about? Did he touch you?”
“No, in fact, he totally changed his game plan. At first, I thought he had taken me to the cave to rape and kill me. We got into a conversation about the bats and he did a complete turn around. He told me he had never had a friend and he would like to try something new.”
“And what was that?”
“An experiment in terror, if you ask me,” she said, reaching out to touch Matt’s arm, to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. “Even though he was going to continue to keep me captive, he wanted us to be friends. He told me about his family and growing up in Illinois and I told him about growing up here in Boulder and about my store.” She paused. “How did you ever find me?”
“You can’t begin to know how I felt when Heller called me in Colorado Springs and told me Griswold had escaped. I called to tell you about Griswold and your phones kept going to voicemail. Then Jenessa called Heller and said you had failed to open the store. When the police found your bike and helmet…” He stopped for a moment and rubbed the back of his neck as though the stress had made it ache.
She rubbed his arm in a comforting gesture.
“I headed back to Boulder immediately. The next day when I went back to Heller’s office to see if they had discovered anything, he received a call from the security guard at NCAR who told him about a car that had been left in their parking lot overnight. He was afraid someone was stranded up in the mountains. Heller realized right away the car was registered to Griswold. I volunteered to check it out and as soon as I pulled in beside the car and climbed out, I saw your bracelet laying in front of one of the back tires. Good thinking, by the way.”
Amanda smiled as he took the bracelet out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her.
“Here’s my phone. You should call your parents and let them know you’re all right.”
She took the phone and dialed in her parents’ number. When her dad answered, she spoke to him for a few minutes telling him she was with Matt. That he had found her in Mallory Cave and Aaron had been taken into custody.
“I knew he would find you,” her father said. “You know he’s in love with you, don’t you?”
“I hope so,” she said, smiling at Matt.
“Well, call your mother and let her know you’re all right. She has been out of her head with worry.”
“I’ll call her as soon as I finish talking to you.”
After her conversation with her mother, she turned to look at Matt. She couldn’t believe he had been able to find her.
“Did he hurt you?” Matt asked.
Amanda knew what he was asking and she was happy to reassure him.
“No. But he certainly gave me an education on the value of bats to the ecosystem.”
“When I get you home, I’m going to educate you on something much more pleasant than bats,” Matt said, starting the engine and putting it into gear.
“I’ve been wanting to ask you, that night when we were dancing you whispered something in my ear. What was it?”
“I said, ‘This guy’s in love with you.’”
“And this gal’s in love with you,” she said, leaning over to kiss him.
Experiment in Terror (Koehler Brothers Book 1) Page 18
