Page 37 of Shattering Dawn

“Amelia, where are you?” Norris Pike’s voice was sharp with what was probably concern, but his authoritative tone was irritating, nonetheless. “I’ve been worried about you. You’re not at home. That’s not like you.”

She tightened her grip on the phone, aware that Gideon was close enough to hear both ends of the conversation.

“How do you know I’m not there?” she asked, replacing the warmth and charm with ice.

“When you didn’t answer my earlier calls I started to wonder if you were in trouble,” Norris said. “Anxiety attacks can be quite debilitating. I was afraid you might be dealing with depression. I dropped by your apartment to check on you.”

“You went to my apartment?”

Norris ignored the outrage. “As your therapist, I had every right to be concerned. One of your neighbors heard me knocking on your door. She told me she saw you leave this morning with a male friend and a suitcase. She suggested you might have taken off for a couple of days, but she had no idea where you were.”

“Sounds like you talked to Irene,” Amelia said. “You’ll be delighted to know that she was right. I’m out of town with a friend. At the moment we’re having dinner in a very nice restaurant, so I’m going to hang up because it’s rude to take calls in restaurants. Goodbye, Dr. Pike.”

“Are you telling me you’re on a date?” Norris demanded, sounding stunned. “At night?”

“I know, I’m a little surprised myself. But, yes, it’s a real date and it is definitely night. Progress, Dr. Pike. There’s hope for me after all. Bye.”

“Wait, don’t hang up.”

She ended the call and dropped the phone into her bag. When she turned back she found Gideon watching her with a speculative expression.

“You’re wondering if Norris Pike is my stalker, aren’t you?” she asked.

“You said you had never had an opportunity to view his aura or see his prints after dark, so you haven’t been able to compare them to the photos of the stalker’s prints.”

“True,” she said. She smiled.

“What?” Gideon asked.

“Nothing.” She forked up a bite of her cauliflower.

He gave her a knowing look. “You got a kick out of letting Pike think that you were on a date, didn’t you?”

“I did. Give me a break. This is the closest I’ve come to anything resembling a real date since my lost night.”

Gideon’s eyes gleamed with what looked like genuine amusement. “Should I feel used?”

She managed a smile but the little rush of satisfaction she had experienced when she told Norris Pike she was out on a date at night was already dissipating. In its place was the realization that she was sharing connecting rooms with a man who claimed to be able to kill with psychic powers.

Her life had gotten complicated.

Chapter Nineteen

Gideon brought theSUV to a halt behind room ten of the Cactus Garden Motel and shut down the engine. Amelia unclipped her seat belt, collected her tote, and prepared to open the door.

It had been a mistake to tell her the truth about his talent, Gideon thought. He should have known better. Hedidknow better. What had he been thinking? That was just it. He hadn’t been thinking. He had taken the leap of faith on impulse, driven by the irrational hope that she would not only believe him but accept his talent.

At least he wasn’t getting the vibe that told him she was afraid of him. That was good. Maybe she simply didn’t believe him. The real problem was that he could not tell what she was thinking.

He knew she had indulged in a short-lived rush of triumph when she had informed Pike she was on a date, but the dose of endorphins had faded fast. She had gone very quiet after the phone call. He had hoped that the successful navigation of the gauntlet journey back across the resort parking lot would give her another mood boost, but she had remained locked in her quiet zone.

From out of nowhere he was hit with a sense of weary resignation bordering on despair.

He had been a fool. He should not have told her about his talent.

There had been a few occasions in the past when he had let down his guard and tried to explain his paranormal abilities to someone outside the family. The results had never been good. People either didn’t believe him and concluded he was a fraud and a con or they decided he was delusional.

Amelia did not seem to have fallen into either of those two categories, but her ongoing silence was not a good sign. Maybe she had decided to take a pragmatic approach. It wasn’t as if she had much choice. They both knew there were not a lot of private investigators who would take her case seriously.