Hidden Threat by Anthony Tata Read Free Book Online

muttered, “Citadel, here I come,” under his breath. He pulled forward into the grass and then back onto the circular driveway.
    ***
    A leathery hand pulled apart two of the dining room window blinds, allowing Nina Hastings’ hawkish eye to watch Jake Devereaux drive away.
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER 6
    Spartanburg, SOUTH CAROLINA
     
    Sunday Morning
     
    Amanda Garrett rolled in her bed, the bright morning sun cutting like a knife through the razor-thin slits in the miniblinds. She looked at the clock and moaned. Why am I awake at eight a.m.? Her head pounded from the vestiges of last night’s beer, and she pressed her hands into her temples.
    There was a noise from downstairs. She thought she heard two people arguing. One of the voices was her mother’s, she knew that much. Even in her groggy condition she recognized the smooth Southern drawl. When had she come home? Had Nina spent the night? She couldn’t remember. And Jake?
    Oh, Jake. The Citadel. No way , she thought to herself. Her stomach got weak at the thought.
    “ Amanda.” It was her mother’s voice.
    “ Not now, Mom. I’m sleeping.” She half screamed through her closed door.
    She could hear feet coming up the oak hardwood steps.
    “ Now, Amanda, this is important.”
    “ Nothing important happens Sunday morning at eight, Mom.”
    The door cracked open, and her mother peered in. She was still mildly attractive as she neared forty. A face-lift and continuous dye job on the hair seemed to keep her looking somewhat younger.
    “ No, this is important, Amanda. Now put on some decent clothes and come down.”
    Amanda took about ten minutes, tolerated another visit from her mother, and then came downstairs wearing jeans and a USC sweatshirt with the silk-screened image of a rooster on the front. As she bounced down the steps, she slowed her pace as she saw two uniformed men standing in the foyer.
    She looked at her mother. “Is this about the party?” With arms crossed, her mother shook her head. Amanda noticed Nina in the dining room watching the drama unfold.
    “ Then what?” Amanda looked at the two men, both in green uniforms that she vaguely recognized as something she had seen her father wear at one point in time. She shrugged her shoulders and looked at them as if to say, “Okay, get on with it.”
    One of the men was a tall, handsome soldier holding a green beret in one hand and some papers in the other. The other man was shorter and stout. He was clearly older, balding some, and Amanda noticed he had a silver cross on his lapel.
    The tall, handsome Green Beret looked her in the eyes and began to speak. “Are you Miss Amanda Rose Garrett?”
    “ That’s me, all day long. You know ARG, like a pirate,” she said impatiently, making a play on her initials.
    “ Ma’am, I am Major Ross Blair, and I regret to inform you that your father has been killed in action in Afghanistan.”
    Amanda stared at the man, without really seeing him. She was searching for some kind of response inside. There was nothing coming to her mind, no connection between thought and emotion. Simply, there was no emotion.
    She turned to her mother for guidance and saw that she was exchanging a look with Nina. She then looked across the foyer into the dining room at Nina, who remained silent, her thin lips curled upward just a bit. What is that look? Amanda wondered to herself.
    “ Miss Garrett, we are notifying you because your parents are divorced, and you are listed as the next of kin. I am the casualty assistance officer and will be able to help guide you through the process as we honor Colonel Garrett and lay his remains to rest. I hope you understand why we had to notify you personally and could not simply tell your mother.”
    Amanda noticed the man spoke without prepared remarks; however, the words seemed well rehearsed. Perhaps he had done this before, she thought.
    “ While I know you are understandably upset, Chaplain Jones and I will be outside after you have