Forsaken (The Secret Life of Amy Bensen #3)(61)

“Tellar Phelps,” Jared murmurs, watching him discreetly taking in his surroundings. “They don’t seem like men who believe they’ve negotiated safety. Maybe someone warned them we might show up,” I comment.

It’s in that moment that Amy steps out of the Bentley, her long blond hair lifting in the wind over the collar of some sort of trench coat. My hand that was resting on my gun goes to the door.

Still holding my arm, Gia settles a second hand on my shoulder. “She’s safe. That has to be enough right now.”

I inhale a hard-earned breath and force it out, watching as Liam pulls her to him, possessively kissing her hard on the lips, before Tellar offers her his arm. Tension travels up and down my spine and I ball my fist over the door handle. Liam remains unmoving, watching Amy and Tellar until they enter the building. Once she’s assumedly safely inside, he rounds the hood of the car, coming fully into view, his suit and his carriage screaming regal, rich bastard, a little too like Sheridan for my comfort. Once he’s at the driver’s door, he opens it, but he doesn’t disappear into the car as I expect. Instead, he pauses and scans the area around him again, his eyes running over our car, stopping, and lingering a moment before his attention shifts.

Gia lets out a loud breath. “Did he see us?” Gia asks. “He seemed like he knew we were here.”

“No,” Jared insists as Liam slides into the driver’s seat, pulling into traffic. “He’d never leave Amy if he knew we were here.”

“At least now we know he drives himself to the bank,” I observe, running my hands down my legs and relaxing marginally. “A flat tire at the bank on Thursday would be well timed.”

“So you’re going to just steal her away from Liam?” Gia asks, her voice thick with disapproval.

“I’m going to do whatever feels right after I finish making my observations,” I reply.

“You can probably pay some kid in the area to stick a nail in his tire or pull some wires discreetly,” Jared suggests as if Gia hadn’t said a word.

“A stranger isn’t reliable,” I say, watching the computer screen as Tellar enters the elevator with Amy. “Fuck. The man is stuck to her like glue.”

“The coffee shop seems to be our best bet,” Jared suggests.

I axe that idea. “We need more time in between us and Liam and that means finding a way to reach Amy inside that building, while he’s dealing with his meetings and whatever car trouble we manufacture.”

“Sheridan probably has access to the building’s security,” Gia reminds me. “And it’s you he really wants, Chad. You have to be careful.”

“She’s right,” Jared agrees. “I should make the contact with Amy. They aren’t looking for me. I can go into the building Wednesday night and stay the night. I’ll wait in the doctor’s office, where there won’t be cameras. But we’ll need a distraction to get her out of the building.”

We all seem to contemplate that, tossing out ideas, and waiting for what seems like forever for Amy to appear again. Finally, she reappears on the footage and exits the elevator into the lobby. Tellar is by her side, laughing at something she’s said. He replies and she stops walking as she bursts into laughter.

“Looks like the hard soldier isn’t so hard after all,” I observe.

“He’s close to Amy, and he’s a bit of a clown with his friends,” Jared explains, “but don’t let that fool you. He’s dangerous.”

Amy grabs his arm, as if to steady herself, wiping away tears, smiling larger than life as she and Tellar begin to walk. She’s close to Tellar. She has friends, something she hasn’t dared in years. She’s happy, and if I don’t shatter her world again, Sheridan will. “Damn it, Amy,” I murmur. “Never let your guard down.”

“She can’t help it,” Gia replies. “She’s human, just like you, Chad.”

“No,” I say tightly. “Not anything like me. She deserves to be happy, but it can’t be here, like this, while she’s being hunted.”

“Which is why we’re going to end this, this time,” Jared promises.

Amy and Tellar exit onto the street, and he guides her close to the building, putting himself between her and us, and anyone else. Thirty seconds later, they disappear into the coffee shop and we turn our attention to the computer screen again, watching as the two of them order coffee and sit down together, laughing and chatting away. There’s absolutely no chance of getting to Amy with him on top of her this way.

I frown as an unfamiliar redheaded woman approaches the table, stopping to talk to my sister. “Who is that?”

“Her doctor,” Jared comments. “She was in the file.”

“No,” Gia says, her voice oddly raspy as she adds, “She wasn’t.”

I frown, realizing she’s right, which seems like an oversight that Jared doesn’t usually make. The woman laughs and turns slightly, giving us a look at her face. “Oh my God,” Gia murmurs. “Can you zoom in? I need to see that woman’s face.”

I twist around to look at her. “What is it, Gia? Who is she?”

“I think . . . I . . . zoom, Jared,” she orders. “Please. Now, before she leaves.” Jared does as she demands, and the minute the redhead’s face is fully in view, Gia grabs my arm. “The woman I said was visiting Sheridan. That’s her.”