Free Hidden Threat by Anthony Tata Page B

street to Jake’s truck and opened the passenger door.
    “ Hey, babe, what gives?” Jake was wearing his blue-and-gold letterman jacket over a set of gray sweats. His hair was tossed in an unintentional way, as if he had come straight to her from running sprints.
    Amanda hugged him. “Thanks for coming,” she said pulling away. She slid across the bench seat, her knees touching the stick shift. “It just got too crazy for me in there.”
    Jake looked down. “How so? What’s that?”
    Amanda looked at the envelope in her hand. “Can we go somewhere?”
    Jake didn’t utter another word. He pushed in the clutch, punched the stick shift into first gear, and sped down the road.
    Twenty minutes later they were in King’s Mountain Battlefield Park, overlooking the battlefield where Brigadier General Daniel Morgan had finally routed Lord Cornwallis, stopping the British advance and pushing them back into Charleston Harbor.
    It was a warm spring night, though cooler at the top of the mountain. Jake let Amanda out of the truck and walked her to the scenic overlook. He kept his arm around her, knowing she just needed him close. This had been his first clue about two years ago. He saw the storm raging in Amanda’s life: two dominant, materialistic women continually putting Amanda between them and whatever problem arose.
    “ North Carolina’s in that direction,” Jake said, pointing to the north. “And Spartanburg’s back over that way, across the parking lot. See how the night sky is brighter.”
    He knew she was listening and that his voice gave her a measure of peace. Sometimes she would encourage him to just talk for hours. She listened and cuddled up to him, finding safety in his presence.
    “ Keep talking,” she whimpered into his chest. She was crying. “Please keep talking.”
    He pushed his face into her hair and whispered to her. “It’s going to be okay. I know what you need. When you’re ready, you just talk to me , okay? But here goes . . .”
    He told her about Morgan’s defense of King’s Mountain and the later battle at Cowpens about 30 miles to the east for nearly an hour before she abruptly began speaking.
    “ I don’t understand what’s happening, Jake.” She went on to tell him about the major and the chaplain discussing the insurance money. She didn’t understand why her mother and grandmother had acted the way they did. “It’s so unlike them.”
    Jake listened and privately seethed. Finally, he said, “Can I see the envelope?”
    She handed him a sealed manila-colored page-length envelope. “I’m afraid to open it. I want you to do it.”
    Jake stared into Amanda’s eyes. “Are you sure? Do you want your mother to be with you?”
    “ No. I want you to do it, right now. Just do it before I change my mind!” She emphasized her words with her hands, pushing outward, to provide herself reassurance. Jake could see she was uncertain, but he pressed on.
    He pulled a dull Buck knife from a sheath he wore on his belt, popped open the blade and slid it beneath the seal and the top of the envelope. He produced two sheets of white paper with large writing. The ample moon hanging low in the west provided sufficient light for him to read the documents.
    Jake looked at Amanda, who was covering her face with her hands, as if she were watching a horror flick. “It’s a lady’s name and address. There’s a date and time.” Jake looked at the date on his watch with the flick of his wrist. “The date’s for tomorrow. Tomorrow at four p.m. Miss Riley Dwyer. Tryon Street, Dilworth Office Complex, Charlotte, North Carolina.”
    Amanda looked at him. “That’s it?”
    “ No, the second sheet of paper has a Sanford address. No date and time on this one. Just says that you have to do it in the next week. 6212 Haymarket Court, Sanford, North Carolina. That’s near Raleigh, right?”
    “ That’s his address.”
    “ Your dad’s? Well, you’re supposed to be there in the next seven