Chapter 7

Amanda checked her lipstick once again in the rearview mirror, before stepping out of the Jeep. In the dim candlelight of the restaurant, she could barely see the maitre'd leading her to the table.

"Amanda, you look stunning." Colin pushed her chair in, every bit the gentleman.

"Thank you, Colin, you look very nice. I love that tie."

Drawing a stray hair behind her ear, Amanda blushed. She hadn't dated in so long, not like this. By the time she and Lee had 'dated', they'd already known each other so well...this was different. This was first date 'so where are you
from?' chatter that she wasn't sure she remembered how
to do. She remembered one thing, though. Flattery was
everything where men were concerned.

"You have excellent taste, Colin, this is a fantastic
place," she fawned.

"Well, I must have excellent taste if I'm here with
you."

Amanda could have sworn the candlelight actually glinted off his fangs, er, teeth.

"Oh, Colin! Stop!" She laughed, hoping he wouldn't notice how forced it was.

Lee, however, knew exactly how fake that laugh was.

And when it drifted across the restaurant to his booth
in the back, it made him wince. Lee knew this was no
more pleasant for Amanda than it was for him. He
reluctantly replaced the earpiece in his ear. Not that he had to listen, other people were paid to do that. Recordings were being made, preserved for the
integrity of the case.

But something made him want to listen. Need to listen.


"...decide to work for the Agency?"

"They recruited me, straight out of college. Harvard.
Had lots of offers, too, but I really liked the idea
of being able to serve my country."

Amanda imagined Lee rolling his eyes at that one. She
knew he was there. Even if it hadn't been part of the
plan to have him discreetly tailing her dates, she
would have known. She could always feel his presence in a
room.

"We can't have a traditional tail. These guys are
Agency, Amanda. They'd spot that in a second."

"You can be there. Watching. Listening. I'll wear a
wire. If the guy sees you, I'll just accuse you of
stalking me, throw a drink in your face."

"I am liking this plan less and less," he had smirked.

"Well, then, you shouldn't have cheated on me."

"I didn't--" he'd blurted out, before realizing she was
egging him on. "I mean, you know, babe, there's just
too much of me for one woman to handle, so I have to
spread it around." His waggling eyebrows had made her
laugh more than his swingin' single imitation.

"Oh, I think I can handle it all, Mr. Stetson."

"Oh, yeah?" he had asked, delighted to have her try to
prove it.

Lost in reverie, he was awakened by the female voice
in his ear. "Your place?" Surprised at how much time had passed, Lee waited to hear Amanda's next move.

Amanda cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I just don't
think I'm ready for that yet."

As nice as it would be to get this whole thing over
with, they didn't have enough evidence, didn't even
know if this was the right guy.

"How far are you willing to go?"

Amanda had lowered her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"I'll have to get into the right man's apartment to
collect evidence."

Lee had been silent.

She had pulled his chin up, forcing him to meet her
gaze.

"Not that far."

She remembered a similar conversation before
Stemwinder.

"It's an agent's option to spend the night. I don't
want to."

He'd smiled, remembering too.

"You do what you have to do, and I'll support you all
the way."

"Really, Colin, I had a wonderful time, but I have to
get home."

"Sure, okay. I just thought, well, if you need a
shoulder to cry on or need some, you know, physical
comfort, don't hesitate to give me a call."

"Oh, please," Lee muttered under his breath.

"That's very sweet of you, Colin."

Amanda managed to extricate herself from the
restaurant with a minimum of good night kisses and
gropes.

Arriving at her darkened home, she headed straight for
the shower. Carefully depositing the wire in her
briefcase, she shed her clothes and stepped into the
steaming hot water.

Forty-five minutes later she felt as though she'd rid
herself of the cigarette smoke and slime that had
coated her throughout the evening.

Shutting off the water, she jumped at the sound of a
deep whisper from the bedroom. "Amanda?"