Chapter 38 – A Little Too Close

As soon as they reached Angelo's house, Lee called Billy to let him know that they had found Angelo and he was safe with them. Billy immediately sent an agent over to keep an eye on the house.

Afterward, the three of them sat around the kitchen table so they could talk. Angelo's body language showed that he wasn't entirely happy with the situation, but at least he was remaining in his chair for now.

"Angelo, I think it would be a good idea for you to let the Agency relocate you to another house. I'm sure it can still be near this same neighborhood, but it would be all yours. What do you say?" Amanda urged him.

Angelo hung his head staring at the table as he thought about the proposal. He finally sighed and agreed in defeat, "You are right Amanda. Maybe it would be best not to be in this house after all that has happened. How quickly can you relocate me?"

"Let me call Billy back right now so he can work on it," Lee offered as he went back to the phone. A few minutes later, Lee returned to the table and told Angelo that they could go look at a house right now that was just a few blocks away.

They all piled back into Amanda's car and headed west. About five minutes later, Lee pulled into the driveway of a well maintained, blue ranch house that was on a quiet street.

"Oh would you look at that!" Amanda exclaimed as they got out of the car. "That's an apple tree. You will love having your own apple tree. Oh and I think that is a pear tree over there. Yes, yes it is a pear tree!"

Angelo followed Amanda around as she pointed out every good thing about the place that she could find. The inside was much nicer than the last house and even had a Jacuzzi tub in the bathroom. In the end, she convinced him to take the house.

"Thank you Amanda. You are very kind to worry about me," Angelo said appreciatively.

"Now you listen to me, Angelo, Amanda lectured as she pointed her finger at him. "I am your friend. Friends help each other. Why someday, maybe, you will have to help me, and I'm sure you would, right?" Amanda suggested.

"Of course!" Angelo said without hesitation. Amanda smiled sweetly at him. They spent the next hour deciding what was needed for furniture, window treatments and miscellaneous items since he didn't want anything from the other house. Lee made a list so he could have Billy gather the stuff in time for it to be moved in once they closed on the house. It was nearly dinner time so they headed back to the original house. Amanda reminded Angelo that she had brought the meatloaf and he thanked her again for her kindness. She assured him that she would be back in the morning to keep him company. He insisted that she didn't have to, but she told him that she wanted to.

Lee watched the two of them with mixed emotions. Surely, it wasn't jealousy he was feeling? It wasn't like he enjoyed it when Amanda tried to mother him like she was doing with Angelo. In fact, it normally annoyed him. Yet, he found himself upset with how much care and attention she was heaping onto Angelo. It seemed to be going a bit overboard from the assignment.

He left the two of them alone so he could go call Billy. As he began dialing the phone, he decided that it definitely was not jealousy he was feeling. After all, it wasn't like he was dating Amanda or anything. They simply worked together now and then. Why did he feel the need to watch them? It made no sense to him. As he talked to Billy, he couldn't help but peek out and watch the interactions between the two of them. As he intently stared at them, he observed Amanda reach out to hug Angelo. This didn't seem like a normal hug though. She began softly rubbing his back while the hug continued much longer than a normal friend hug should take. Perhaps, Lee shouldn't have been so quick to agree with Billy that Amanda stay on this assignment. She was obviously becoming too attached to Angelo. After all, a good agent didn't allow personal feelings to influence the way an assignment was handled. Lee suppressed the thought that he had been just as guilty of this with Eva. No, that didn't matter. This was about Amanda. She didn't do well with keeping her emotions under control. Lee, on the other hand, was a seasoned agent and he was a true professional. All of those thoughts went through Lee's head as he continued to watch Amanda comfort Angelo.

"Billy, I have to go," Lee said abruptly as he hung up without any warning.

As he entered the kitchen, he cleared his throat loudly. Angelo seemed to be reluctant to release his hold on Amanda, but Amanda dropped her arms and stepped back from him.

"I should probably head for home," Amanda said as she blushed.

"Yeah, I'll walk you to your car," Lee suggested without any hesitation. "Angelo, there is an agent outside keeping an eye on the house. Please stay put tonight, okay?"

"I don't intend to go anywhere tonight Lee. Thanks for all your help today. I appreciate it," Angelo said. "I'm exhausted now. It would be best if you both left so I could rest." He then turned his back on them and headed towards his bedroom.

"Don't forget to eat some of the meatloaf I brought you," Amanda called after him. Angelo closed the bedroom door without even a backward glance.

Lee and Amanda stepped outside. As Lee walked her to her car, he said, "Amanda, I think maybe it would be best if you let someone else handle this assignment now."

Amanda was lost in her own thoughts and didn't seem to be listening to him at all. She suddenly blurted out, "You know he is going to take off again."

Lee stopped walking and said, "What? What do you mean? He seemed all happy about the new house."

"It was all an act," Amanda said as she stopped walking too.

"A-man-DA! What are you talking about? The man spent an hour gushing over his new house. I'm telling you, he's not going to anywhere," Lee argued.

"No he didn't. I 'gushed' for him and tried to get him excited about it. He never really showed any true excitement for the place. No, I think you are wrong. I think you should make sure your agent knows to watch all sides of the house. Otherwise, you are going to lose him and we might not be able to find him this time," Amanda suggested as she continued walking toward her car.

"Okay Amanda King, what makes you so sure? You know it isn't like Angelo ever shows any real excitement. Maybe he was excited and just didn't show it?" Lee challenged as he hurried to catch up to her.

"I don't know, it is just a feeling I have. The past few hours seemed like he was an actor putting on a show for us," Amanda explained as they reached her car.

As Amanda opened the door to get in, Lee reluctantly said, "Okay, I'll tell the agent to keep a close watch on the house. Meanwhile, you will be back in the morning?"

"Yes, my mother plans to spend the day with her flower club tomorrow. I'll come here after she leaves the house," Amanda said.

Lee sighed. He knew that Billy would never agree to anyone else babysitting Angelo. He was sure that Amanda was wrong about Angelo planning to run. Just to prove how wrong she was, he intended to help watch the house that night. He didn't tell her that though. He watched her car head back toward Arlington. Lee returned to his car and moved it to the side of the house where he could watch the back door and side windows. This was going to be a long night, but it would be worth it if he could prove Amanda wrong.

TBC