by P. G. Van
“I’m planning to study one semester in Edenridge,” Amy declared making goosebumps pepper Sid’s skin. He knew where she was going with her thoughts and felt a high sense of pride. His belief in the royal family wasn’t unreal—the bloodline carries the power to keep his nation strong.
“Edenridge, where the heck is that?” Aaron scrunched his nose as Amy’s parents looked at her in sheer surprise.
“It’s too bad Dad didn’t hang out with you as much as he did with me,” she growled at her little brother.
“Whatever!”
“Are you sure about it, Amy?” Her mom managed to recover from the shock.
“Yes, Mom. I like Sid, and I know we have something special. He needs to go back to Edenridge soon, and I don’t want to walk away from what we have. I want to study from Edenridge and see if that offers a better opportunity for me.” Her voice was soft yet determined.
Her father tightened his arm around her and looked down at her. “You made me a proud father today, baby.”
“Thank you, Daddy! Are you mad I want to move to a different country.”
“It’s where you belong, sweetheart, with Sid.” Her mother chimed in wiping off a tear that gathered at the edge of her eye.”
“What the heck? You are okay with her leaving America to go to this little country?” Aaron held his phone up with a map on the screen.
“Dude, size doesn’t matter. People matter,” Sid tried to interject.
“Amy, are you moving for him? Why?” Her protective little brother wouldn’t let go.
“Aaron, I never realized you were more like my big brother.” She left her dad’s side to hug her brother.
“It’s something I have been thinking about, Aaron, and I may need to go back to San Francisco to figure out things, but for now, I plan to spend the summer on the ranch.” She comforted her little brother who didn’t look all too convinced and thrilled she may be moving to a different country.
“Dinner?” Amy’s dad cheered.
“I need a drink after that conversation,” her mom joked.
“Don’t let your imagination run wild you guys, I’m… we still need to work out some details.” Amy smiled at Sid.
*****
It was almost eleven when Sid made it to the location she had told him to go to earlier in the evening. He smiled thinking of the happy family they were, and it reminded him of the family back home. He was an only child, but his dad’s side of the family lived under one roof, and his aunt raised him until he went undercover. His life was a constant marathon, and Amy seemed to be the anchor he needed to be grounded. He couldn’t remember the last time he spent more than a month in one location in the last seven years since he joined the Army. Every minute of his time was focused on building the security for the country and keeping the rebel group from encroaching into the area governed by the president, the Eagle.
He stood by the massive tree with a hollow trunk waiting for her. He looked at his phone when it beeped.
Eagle: Are you at the ranch?
Sid: Yes, sir.
Eagle: When will you bring the Swan to Safe Haven?
Sid: Sir, the Guardian needs time. The Swan has no idea.
Eagle: The group is stronger than we realized in that region, and they have been running operations to find the Swan for a while now.
Sid: Sir, the ranch is safe, safer than I had expected.
Eagle: Nothing is safer than Safe Haven.
Sid: Got it, sir!
Eagle: Why do I have a large amount pending my approval to a law firm?
Sid: Presidential education fund for law interns. The Swan is one of the interns. Please approve.
He put the phone away when he saw Amy walk toward him her face glowing in the dim light.
“Sorry, I’m late.” She went on her toes to brush her lips to his.
He wrapped an arm around her, gripping her hair with his fingers pulling her in for a deeper kiss. “Totally worth the wait.”
She smiled angling her head letting him explore her depths. Sid took in the warmth and the sweetness of her mouth and felt the shudder run through him when she moaned into his mouth. He felt her fingertips dig deep into his scalp as she fisted her fingers in his hair. He pulled her closer to him melding her body into his.
“I love you, baby,” he whispered against her lips making her whimper with pleasure.
She pulled back to look at him. “Sid, are you pissed we didn’t discuss my plans to study in Edenridge before I made my announcement?.”
“Are you kidding, I love such surprises.”
“I need you to know I would only go if I get into one of the top schools,” she teased.
“Sure, I’m sure I can pull some strings.”
“Really?”
“Will you be my roommate when I move?” she nipped on his lower lip making him grunt. He pushed her back into the rough bark of the tree. He didn’t care how many cameras were watching them—he didn’t care who was around. All he could think about was to taste her and drink in her sweetness.
Chapter 13
Sid went down the stairs from his room and almost ran into someone he thought was Amy. He blinked his eyes a few times realizing the woman had a very similar build as Amy as well as other similarities. He wondered if she was a cousin.
“Good morning, you must be Sid. I’m Hanna, and I work for Mrs. Watson.”
“Hello, Hanna. Nice to meet you,” he managed to say still unable to get over the similarities. Facial features were completely different, but everything else seemed familiar.
“They are all in the sunroom waiting for you. What would you like to drink?”
“Coffee, and I can make it myself.” He moved toward the kitchen.
“You can if you want me to get fired.” She laughed walking into the kitchen. “The sunroom is to your right, down the hallway. I will bring your coffee.”
“Thanks, Hanna!” Sid followed the directions she gave him, and as he walked closer, he heard the voices, especially the one he loved to hear.
“Sid, you’re up!” Amy cheered getting off her chair to hug him.
“Good morning, babe.” He kissed her on the lips under the watchful eye of her little brother.
“Mom and Dad, she has a boyfriend, and you guys are okay with this?” Something bugged Aaron, and he wouldn’t let go.
“She is a big girl, Aaron, and she can make life decisions,” her mom cheered.
“You are a good brother, Aaron. No way you’re a Disney Prince.” Sid winked.
“She told you?” he growled.
“Aaron, everyone knows that,” Amy’s dad laughed.
“Aaron, I have a question for you. Is it me or does Hanna look very much like your sister?”
“No, she doesn’t.” Amy was the first one to object. “Why does everyone think that? And she is a lot prettier than me, and she should be a model.”
“I don’t think they do,” Aaron chimed in.
“Thanks, Aaron.”
“Who else thinks you guys look similar?” Sid probed.
“Pretty much everyone outside the ranch. They somehow can’t tell us apart.” Amy laughed.
Amy’s dad stood up and stretched. “I’m going to take a walk, who wants to go with me?”
While everyone pretended like they didn’t hear him, Sid looked up at him and smiled. His smile died when he saw the look on her dad’s face and stood up when he was gestured to step out of the house.
“I’ll take a walk,” Sid declared following her father.
They stepped onto the patio and started walking toward what looked like a barn. Sid knew something was going on when her father led him into the barn that was a fully equipped surveillance room.
“Take a seat, Sid.”
“What’s going on, sir?”
“There has been an increase in the activity in the area, Sid. We received requests to get access to the surveillance footage from private investigators.”
“What? Who are these investigators?
”
“I called them back asking for identity, and I was told it was for your security?” Amy’s father’s voice was calm, but Sid felt a shudder run through him.
He pulled out his phone shaking his head. “I’m confident it is not my team. It is not our protocol to tap into private surveillance cameras.”
Sid: John, do we need access to surveillance cameras for my security?
John: Sorry, sir. I’m not following you. I’m a few minutes away from the residence.
Sid: Meet me in the barn. Sending coordinates.
John: Yes, sir.
“It’s confirmed, sir. Not my team. Did you give them the footage?” Sid’s mind was running on high alert.
“Yes, I sent them footage from a week ago, and I changed the time stamp on the video. I hope they…”
Sid did not let him complete. “Even if they are looking for me, there is nothing that would lead them to her, and if it did, I’m ready with my team. The ranch is surrounded.”
“Even if they are here…” The words barely left his words when a loud alarm started to blare. A robotic voice announced, ‘Security Breach—Ranch Entrance.’
Sid watched the video on one of the monitors where he watched the three men guarding the gate were down, and the main gate was being rammed into by a large truck.
“How much time do we have?” Sid barked pulling out his phone and sending out an alert to his team.
“Not enough time to get away.” Amy’s father was in shock.
“Sir, where is the entrance to your getaway tunnel?” Sid guessed from the way the house was structured there had to be an underground tunnel.
“It’s from the kitchen island.” Amy’s father spent a few minutes giving him instructions to get through the tunnel.
“We need a decoy. Is Hanna supposed to be Amy’s double?” Sid asked to confirm the thought running through his mind.
“Yes.”
Sid dialed a number on his phone running out of the barn and saw John approach him. “John, get the vehicles ready, we are going to run a decoy. I will take the Swan with me, and you run the decoy.”
“Yes, sir.”
Sid’s heart was thumping as he ran up the stairs into Amy’s room. He heard the hair dryer running in the bathroom and rushed toward the sound.
“Amy!”
“Sid, you okay?” She turned to look at him, her eyes filled with love for him.
“Amy, do you trust me?”
“Yes.”
“Do you trust me with your life?” He held her by her shoulders, his fingers digging into her soft flesh.
“Yes.”
“I promise to tell you everything when we are safe.” He kissed her on her forehead before taking her by her hand and leading her downstairs in her slippers.
“Sid, why are you in a hurry?”
Amy’s mom and dad were in the kitchen with Aaron and Hanna. John was standing to one side of the kitchen guiding the cars toward the house.
“Daddy, what is going on?”
“Sweetheart, your mom and I should have told you everything sooner, but we don’t have time now.” He cupped her face with his palms.
“Daddy?”
“Baby, listen to Daddy. Sid will give you all the answers,” her mom urged.
“Jen, calm down, please. Amy, do you remember the song I taught you ‘Rabbit’s Home?’”
“Yes… I do.” Amy’s mind was reeling with the stress, but it was a song she never forgot. Her dad had taught her in kindergarten and kept quizzing her about it even before she left for San Francisco. It was a song that always played in her mind every time she thought about her dad and wanted a happy moment.
“Amy, Sid will protect you. Trust him with your life, and even if it feels wrong, never doubt him.”
“Daddy, what is going on?”
“Sweetheart, there are some really bad people trying to get to you, the same people who killed your mom and dad.”
“What?” Amy was shivering.
“Don’t judge us yet, sweetheart. We love you.” Her mom cried as John ushered them to the front yard.
“I don’t understand. Mom and Dad, I want to go with you!”
Sid held her to him with his arm wrapped around her waist from behind.
“Sid, what the fuck is going on?” She was angry and confused.
“We need to get out of here before they get here.” Sid urged pulling open one side of the island that she always thought was just a stonewall. He went on his knees next to the island and held his hand out to her “C’mon, baby. We don’t have time.”
“Sid…” Her eyes blurred with the tears as she bent to crawl under the massive island. It was dark, but she could still see the crawl path slope downward.
“Keep moving, Amy,” Sid called out, and she heard him right behind her. She heard a piece of stone slide back into place followed by a clanking sound.
She probably crawled for a few minutes before realizing she had more than enough space to stand as she stood up running her palms on the wall. The next moment she heard a small click, and the crawlway was illuminated. She watched Sid slide down the marble incline.
“Are you okay, baby?”
“I’m not,” she spat.
He hushed her before turning on another switch and punching in a code on what looked like a metallic wall. He took her hand in his and placed her palm on a specific location on the wall.
“What are you doing?”
“Five minutes, then we can talk while you lead us through the tunnel,” he pleaded as they saw the metal wall slide open to reveal layers of metal doors that cascaded open.
“What is this place?” Amy looked around like she had no idea where she was when she was only a few feet below her house. They stepped into what looked like an observation space with monitors showing the video footage from the entrance and other parts of the ranch.
“Oh my God, is that Daren?” Amy shivered looking at the lifeless figure laying in front of the gate.
“Sweetheart, please, he was trying to protect you. He has been since the day he got here.” Sid pulled her closer into her arms as he took in the details from the footage. It was less than ten minutes ago that the main entrance was broken through, and he knew it was a matter of time before the rebel group showed up at the farmhouse.
Sid tracked Amy’s family on his phone and let out a sigh of relief when he saw they were outside the ranch and headed north in his car with his security. He needed to take her to safety with him being her security to avoid drawing attention.
“He was just beginning to live again,” she wept referring to Daren.
“Baby, every homeless man you rescued has been on a mission to save you. Their sacrifice will not go to waste.”
She pushed him away with all her strength. “It’s easy for you to say that, you didn’t know anything about Daren.” She hid her face in her palms and wept.
Sid gave her a moment to mourn before taking her back into his arms. “I’m sorry for your loss, but we need to keep moving. Keeping you safe is my utmost priority.”
“Why? Who am I? Why did my dad say my parents are dead?” She looked at him a million questions popping up in her mind.
A movement in one of the monitors caught his attention. “Look at that group. They’re here to get you, and we need to go. I promise to tell you everything when we get to the rabbit’s home.”
“Who are these people, and why would they want to hurt me?”
“Amy, I need you to focus. We are going to enter the escape tunnel through that wall, and from there you need to take us to our first stop.” Sid pointed to a concrete wall that looked indestructible.
She nodded, and he led her to the wall as she turned to catch one last glimpse of the friend she had known for a decade, the guy who made a tree house for her and taught her how to ride a tractor.
“I’ll miss you, Daren.” She sniffled.
Sid had the instruction etched in his mind as he ran his fingers over the concrete wal
l in search of the button that would show the keypad. He entered the code and placed Amy’s palm on the screen when it showed, and a moment later the wall raised a few feet.
“I’m told this is the last time you’ll need to crawl. Do you want me to go in first?”
She shook her head and slid her body through the opening and felt Sid roll in behind her into the darkness.
“Stay with me.” He put his arm around her waist as he located the button to let the concrete slab fall back into place. He spent a few more seconds locating the light for the escape chamber and stared in awe when the area was illuminated.
“What is this place?” Amy was the first to speak looking at their reflection. They faced a glass wall that turned into what seemed to be another mirrored hallway, and the reflections were making her dizzy.
“Sid, I don’t want to be down here. Get me out of here.”
He hushed and ran his hand on her back. “You need to do this with your eyes closed. Remember the song, the song has the instructions to get you to the rabbit’s home.”
She played the song in her head as Sid led her through the sea of their own reflection. As she guided Sid through the maze of mirrors, she remembered the number of times her father had made her follow the path of the rabbit in their backyard and wondered if everything her father had taught her was to get through this day, to survive.
After almost fifteen minutes of walking, she stopped and opened her eyes to look at Sid when he stopped walking.
“Sid, we need to turn right here.” She looked to her right, and there was no hallway.
“Amy… we might have taken a wrong turn at one of the previous turns.”
“Sid, I’ve walked this path a million times in the back yard. I did not miss a turn.” She placed her palm on the mirror, and Sid noticed the slight vibration from the pressure.
“You’re right, babe, we do need to turn right here, and I never thought my third code on the way in was a mirrored wall.” He laughed trying to ease the fear that was starting to creep up.
The wall-to-wall mirror opened to reveal a well-lit hallway that looked more appealing than the mirrored passageway.
