He needed to sleep, knew his strength had not yet fully returned, but he knew Amanda and Ron were tired, too. Easier to convince them, perhaps, if they were weary. He shook his head, but laid his head back and closed his eyes. And told them of Max and Sam talking things out, without mentioning that Max was comatose at the time.
“So what does that have to do with nearly getting killed tonight?” Amanda asked.
“Ah. Sam called me from St. Louis to say he has relatives here in California who aren’t pleased that he’s embracing a new heir. They apparently believe I’m in on some scheme to defraud him. Sam is doing all he can to protect his son, but frankly, I’m glad they came after me and not the boy.”
“Will they be arrested?”
“I don’t know. Sam will pursue things with the authorities,” he said. “Now, it’s nearly dawn, and while I enjoy your company, I must get some rest. Amanda, may I see you home?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to sit with Ron for a few minutes more.”
Tyler hid a sudden sense of disappointment. “Of course I don’t mind.”
“Oh,” she said, watching his face. Then she turned to Ron and said, “That is, if you aren’t too tired, Ron?”
“I’m the only one who has had any sleep tonight,” Ron said. “I’m fine.”
“I’ll give you some privacy, then,” Tyler said. “Only-promise me you won’t walk home, Amanda. One of the guards will drive you back whenever you’re ready.” He indicated the phone next to his chair. “Just use the intercom line and dial seven. That will put you through to Alex.” He found a notepad near the phone and wrote a number on it. He gave it to her. “This is my cell phone number. I keep the phone with me, so if you see strangers lurking near you or you feel worried about any of this, please text or call me.”
“Thank you. I hate to be such a bother-”
“Not at all.”
When Tyler rose from his chair, she stood also. She came toward him and studied his face again for a moment, then said in a low voice, “Are you sure you won’t see a doctor? I’m worried that if you have a concussion and fall asleep…”
“If it will make you feel better, ask Alex to check on me in a few hours.”
“All right, I will.” She surprised him with a hug and a quick kiss beneath his ear. “Good night, Tyler.”
“Good night, Amanda. Thank you again.”
He wished Ron a good night and called to Shade, who followed him from the room. He forced himself to give them the privacy they so clearly wanted. Let them be, he told himself sternly. You have no business pursuing her in any case.
Still, he thought of how Ron and Amanda sat near, but not too near each other. There was nothing quite loverlike in the way they interacted. Loving, yes. Devoted, yes. But were they lovers? Or friends?
None of your business, he told himself.
She had kissed him.
Just an L.A. thing. People in this city are always exchanging peu baisers. Don’t be a fool.
He called down to Alex, requested that Amanda be given a ride home and seen safely inside. “If she’ll allow it, please check the house over, too.”
He undressed and made sure to plug the cell phone in the recharger on his nightstand. He crawled into bed and listened to Shade settle near him. He reached for the dog and scratched his ears and chin in a manner that earned canine sighs of pleasure. “You’ve saved me again, Shade, and while I’m really not especially grateful for that, I do appreciate your dedication. And, most especially, your companionship.”
But the dog suddenly seemed distracted-in the next instant he came to his feet and held himself alert, his ears pitched forward. He moved to the French doors that led to the deck surrounding most of this level of the house. The deck was, Tyler thought, the dog’s favorite feature of the house-he could sun himself or survey the canyon from it. “At this hour? All right.”
He got up, donned a silk robe, and opened the doors. Shade immediately began patrolling the part of the deck in front of the bedroom. Tyler looked down at the place where Amanda’s house stood. Only a small porch light was on.
Shade seemed disinclined to come back in. The night was warm, so Tyler left the doors open.
What did he have to fear?
Nothing. He would survive anything that might come through that door.
Which was, he thought, the pity of it all.
15
I saw what I saw.”
“You had been in an accident,” Ron said gently. “And for someone who survived a really horrible car wreck just eight years ago, that must have been traumatic.”
“I didn’t even think about that-I swear I didn’t. I was too worried about him. Besides, you know I don’t remember anything about that other accident.”
“All right. But tonight, you might have been a little dazed. The airbag went off, right?”
“Yes, but-”
“And you had just seen something awful, and then these assholes came over to your car and terrified you, right?”
“I admit I was scared, but-”
“And to top off everything else, a big dog comes loping up to you. Don’t you think all of that could have caused you to be a little confused?”
She paced across the room, then back. “He stopped breathing. He had no pulse-no heartbeat. His skin was cold and gray. His wounds weren’t bleeding.”
“What wounds? There’s hardly a mark on him.”
“I can’t explain it. That’s what I’m telling you!”
Ron sighed in exasperation.
“He was dead!”
“Which is how he just had a conversation with us.”
“Ron!”
“Okay-which was why you began CPR. You thought he was dead. One hundred percent croaked. Total goner.”
She had no answer to that.
“Look, Amanda, maybe you’re right. Maybe he was dead, briefly. But you obviously revived him.”
“But how did he recover so quickly?”
“How should I know? Just exactly what are you getting at, Amanda?”
“I don’t know. None of it makes sense to me.”
“Well, then, that’s two of us.”
“Sorry.”
“You’re tired. You’ve been through a lot. Maybe in the morning…”
“Yes.”
“Don’t get that look.”
“What look?”
“The one that is supposed to fool me into thinking you are docile.”
She brooded for a few minutes, then tried another tack. “Okay, tell me this-how old is he?”
“I don’t know. He looks about our age, maybe a little older. Somewhere in his twenties anyway.”
“Have you listened to him talk? He doesn’t sound like anyone our age.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed he’s not like anyone we went to school with. Neither am I, so it’s really nice to find someone weirder than I am.”
“I’ve been replaced, huh?”
“Ha, ha. And if this is jealousy, no-of course no one has replaced you, Amanda.”
“It’s not jealousy.”
“Good. But you seem to have some problem with Tyler. Other than not acting his age and rising from the dead, I mean.” He suddenly grew serious. “Did he…hurt you in some way? Try to put a move on you?”
She blushed. “No.”
“Oh, ho! So that’s the problem!”
“No!”
“Hmm.”
“Don’t ‘hmm’ me.”
“So you don’t find him at all attractive?”
“Oh, for-yes, he’s attractive. Very attractive. Satisfied? And he doesn’t have the slightest interest in me, which makes him like half of the men I meet. The other half know I have money.”
“That’s so untrue-”
“Let’s not argue about it.” She smothered a yawn. “I should go home and get some rest.”
He hugged her and said, “I really do think you’ll feel better about all of this after you’ve had some sleep.”
“You’re probably right.”
She sat in the chair Tyler had recently vacated, pressed the button on the intercom line, and dialed seven. A woman answered, and Amanda asked for Alex.