Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (9 page)

“I do. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Tilley. I have bad news for you.”

Amanda covered her mouth with her hand. She looked at
Nathan. His expression became concerned.

“What is it, Officer?”

“The warden at Westchester County has just notified me
about something. An inmate attacked Hilbert Melendez. He was taken to the
hospital.”

Amanda gasped. She sat on the armrest of the sofa.
Nathan stood up and walked to her side. She looked at him, eyes wide.

Rebecca was pouring a glass of wine in her apartment.
She smiled. Her plan was going well, albeit a little slowly. It was necessary.
One could never be too careful.

Walking to the window, Rebecca looked outside. The sun
was already setting. As she looked toward the trees, Rebecca thought that she
was being too good to Amanda. She shouldn’t have given her anything in return
for taking everything away.

Rebecca sat down, starting to sob. She wondered what
hardships Hilbert must be going through in jail. Rebecca was paying the best
lawyers in New York to get him out fast.

Just as she downed the rest of her wine, Rebecca’s
phone rang. She grabbed it from on top of the table and answered the call.

“What is it?” she asked. Rebecca knew who was on the
other end.

“Ms. Jenkins, I have just caught wind of something
that happened.”

Rebecca stood up, her forehead creasing.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m really sorry, ma’am. My sources have just told me
that Mr. Melendez suffered an attack in jail. They say he’s in grave
condition.”

Rebecca did a double-take. She began gasping for breath,
taking some steps back. Rebecca stopped at the wall and slid down until she was
sitting on the floor. She shook her head. Tears started to stream down her
face.

No. No. No. NO! This can’t be!

“Is he going to make it?”

“I don’t know, Ms. Jenkins. That’s all the information
that I was able to gather.”

Rebecca dropped the phone. She then covered her face
with her hands.

“No. He can’t die. He can’t. Hilbert must live.”

Rebecca pulled at some of her hair, dropping to the
floor. Then she let out a scream.

“No!”

Rebecca hammered the floor without hurting herself.
She sobbed.

“You will pay for this,
Amanda. You’ll be sorry. I’m done being gentle with you.”

Nathan and Emmy looked at Amanda as she paced. She had
her phone to her ear.

“Come on, answer,” she muttered. The line picked up a
few seconds later.

“Hi, Amanda. How’s your—”

“Kellan, I—something’s just happened. You have to know
it.”

“What is it?”

“Marissa’s brother just let me know that Hilbert is in
the hospital. A convict attacked him.”

“What?”

“Yes, it happened last night. Officer Velásquez  told
me that they’re investigating the incident.”

“Jesus. This is unexpected.”
There was a pause as Kellan assimilated the news.
“Has
this made the news?”

“Not that we’re aware of.”

“If he dies, this is going to provide a field day for
the media. People became outraged when they learned about the lengths of
Hilbert’s depravity. Remember?”

“Like yesterday.”

Amanda sighed.

“Have you told anyone else?”

“Only Nathan and Emmy know. We just found out about it
right now.”

“Thanks for telling me this, Amanda. I’ll look into
things and see if you need protection.”

“Hilbert’s hurt, Kellan. I’m safe.”

“It’s better to be sure. I’ll call you later, all
right?”

“Okay, Kellan. Thank you.”

“Stay safe,”
he
said, and hung up.

“What did he say?” Nathan asked.

“He’s shocked, just like us. And he thinks I might
need protection.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

Nathan took Amanda’s hand, kissing the top of it.

“I think you should call your family,” Emmy said. “Let
them know about what happened. It’s better if they don’t find out through the
news.”

“You’re right,” Amanda replied with a nod. “I’ll give
them a call.”

Amanda pulled out her
phone again. She dialed her mother’s number.

Days passed. Amanda waited for more news from Officer Velásquez
. On Saturday morning, he finally called with updates. A doctor declared
Hilbert dead the day after the attack. The culprit confessed that he murdered
Hilbert as retaliation. One of the models Hilbert sexually harassed was the
convict’s ex-girlfriend.

Nathan felt glad that Amanda was finally safe. He was
optimistic about the prospect of a happy, peaceful life from them on. Nathan
went to Amanda’s apartment at noon to have lunch with her.

“How do you feel?” he asked when they were at the
table. Amanda had made spaghetti and chicken parmesan. It was good for a
distraction.

“Relieved. I can’t lie. I’ve been worrying that
Hilbert might do something to me to make me pay for sending him to jail.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. Besides, I trust you to
keep me safe.”

“It’s nice to hear you say that. Still, I don’t think
you should keep worries like that to yourself.”

“I’m safe now. We’re going to be happy.”

Nathan and Amanda continued eating. At one point,
there was a sound from the living room. It was Nathan’s smartphone. He’d left
it on the coffee table.

“Excuse me,” Nathan said. He walked to the living room
and answered the call. “Hello?”

Amanda remained in the kitchen while Nathan took his
call. She waited for him to return. He did so in a minute. He was smiling.

“Who was it?” Amanda asked.

“I’ve got a call back from a job I applied to. They
want me to go to an interview on Monday.”

“That’s great! What job did you apply for?”

“Assistant to a local attorney firm. They deal with
personal injury, accidents, and trusts. That’s not what I’m studying, but at
least it’s related to my field.”

“It’s good enough, Nathan. Look at me. I’m a model, which
I never dreamed I would become. It is completely unrelated to what I want to
be, an architect.”

“You still have quite a bit of study left to finish.”

“I know. But all in good time.”

Nathan thought about something while Amanda picked up
their plates. She set them on the sink.

“How about we go enjoy ourselves tonight?”

Amanda looked at Nathan, curving an eyebrow.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Bowling. We can go tonight. And while we’re at it, we
could invite Ashton and Grecia.”

“That’s a nice idea. It’ll be a good way to get our
minds off things for a while.”

“And celebrate that you’re finally safe.”

“That, too.”

After washing the dishes, Amanda went to the living
room and sat in the sofa. Nathan looked at her. He’d already been sitting.

“Don’t feel like homework today?”

Amanda shook her head.

“There’s still plenty of time. We didn’t get much to
work on.”

“I can think of a way to pass the time.”

Amanda turned her head toward Nathan.

“What would that be?”

Nathan closed the distance between them. His hand lay
above Amanda’s shoulder, tugging at the sweater to reveal some skin. He leaned
toward her to kiss her bare shoulder. Amanda closed her eyes. She then felt
Nathan’s lips on hers.

Nathan snuggled closer to Amanda, slipping his hand
under her clothes. He touched her chest.

“Do you know who I see every night when I sleep?”
Nathan asked Amanda.

“Who?”

“You. You’re always in my dreams. I can’t believe it’s
possible to love someone so much.”

“Me, neither. You’re my life.”

“I’m serious,” Nathan said. “I’d cover a bomb with my
body if it would keep you safe.”

“I strongly doubt you’ll have to go to such an
extreme. And I shudder to think of it,” Amanda replied. Her eyes closed. Nathan
was kissing her neck.

“I was just making a point.”

Amanda breathed softly
as Nathan continued kissing and caressing her body. He pushed her against the
sofa. Amanda grabbed Nathan by his shirt collar and pulled him to her. They
kissed.

That evening, Nathan and Amanda went to the bowling
club with their friends. Ashton and Grecia went. The latter invited Kayla too,
so she accompanied them.

“Let’s get that table over there,” Grecia said. The
five of them walked to the table and sat down. Nathan opened a chair for
Amanda. Ashton did the same with Grecia and Kayla. They thanked him.

“Do you all want food now?” Nathan asked. Grecia and
Kayla exchanged glances.

“Yes,” the former said.

“Okay. Ashton and I will go buy it.”

After the girls told them what they wanted, the guys
left. Amanda and Grecia looked around the room.

“I read your interview in the
InStyle
magazine,”
the latter said to Amanda. “So you go for guys of intellect?”

“That’s my type. I’m more impressed by brains than
mere brawn.”

“I prefer muscles…as long as the guy isn’t dumb.”

Kayla and Amanda laughed.

“My friend here goes for adventurous types, right?”
Grecia said, looking at Kayla.

“Yes. I want a guy who’ll like to travel. As a writer,
I’d love to visit the places that I write about.”

“What country would you most like to visit?” Amanda
asked her.

“Scotland. I’m not sure why. There’s just something
about it. I’ve read a couple of books set in Scotland and I became intrigued.”

“Book boyfriend, right?” Grecia asked. Kayla scoffed.

“I haven’t been there. When I traveled to Europe, I
only visited Paris and London,” Amanda said.

Ashton and Nathan returned with the food. The five of
them ate their dinner while talking a bit.

Once they finished, Grecia and Ashton were the first
to go bowling. Nathan surreptitiously looked at Amanda and Kayla. Things didn’t
feel too awkward. Kayla seemed at ease.

“Excuse me,” Amanda said, standing up. “I need to go
to the restroom.”

“Okay,” Nathan replied. He watched Amanda walk away.
Then he turned to Kayla. She gave him a rather shy kind of smile.

I wonder why she’s treating me much the same way she
did when we met.

“Would you like anything else?”

“No, I’m fine. Thanks.”

Kayla grabbed a napkin and wiped her lips. She then
set her hands down and fidgeted.

“Is something troubling you?”

Nathan looked into Kayla’s eyes carefully when she
looked up at him.

“Not troubling. It’s just a little tedious to set up a
book tour. It takes more work than I anticipated.”

“I—we can help you with stuff if you need.”

“Thanks. Grecia is helping me. I have yet to finish
the tour dates.”

“How many cities are you visiting?”

“At the moment, only five.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows.

“You’re doing all that flying in spring break? That
could give you quite a bit of jet lag.”

“That’s one thing I’m afraid of,” Kayla confessed.
“I’m considering stretching the tour to two weeks, at least. I don’t have
classes Friday to Sunday.”

“A three-day weekend? That’s something.”

Kayla drank some water from the bottle she ordered.
Then she looked up when Amanda returned.

“Let’s go join those two,” she motioned toward Grecia
and Ashton. “They look about ready to make out.”

“There aren’t that many people around, but still,”
Kayla said.

Amanda and Nathan agreed to play against Grecia and
Ashton. The two of them had been playing against each other. Kayla stood by to
watch the games.

Amanda went first. She threw the ball, sinking more
than half of the pins. Nathan congratulated her. He then prepared for his turn.