by Judy Corry
“The girl was never threatened and had never needed the secret bodyguards to protect her. Not until a couple of months ago, that is. When Fenris was about to be released from prison, Sophie decided to tighten security and have a young bodyguard pose as a fellow student, in order to keep a closer watch over the heiress.”
Emma turned to look at me. Her eyes narrowed—she was connecting the dots in her head. My stomach turned sour and my heart thumped out of control, so loud I was sure she could hear it, too. After I fumbled my way through my next sentence, I knew she would hate me.
I took a deep breath and looked into her sapphire eyes. “You see, I’m that bodyguard . . . and you are the hidden heiress.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
EMMA
“YOU’RE JOKING, RIGHT?” Please, please, please let this be some kind of twisted prank. It couldn’t be true! There’s no way I was adopted, and there was definitely no way I was some rich heiress.
Arie’s face was solemn as he shook his head. “No, Emma. It’s all true.”
I felt the blood drain from my face, my pulse pounding through my whole body. He wasn’t joking. He believed what he’d said.
“There has to be some sort of misunderstanding. Somehow I’ve been confused with some other girl. There’s no way I could’ve been adopted at birth. It doesn’t make sense.”
Arie shook his head.
I sat there in silence for quite some time, trying to process what Arie had said, my mind whirling, my heart pounding, my anxiety overflowing. This couldn’t be real. I couldn’t believe it.
“So you’re saying there is a guy named Fenris who wants me dead?”
“Yes, that’s why you were kidnapped last night.”
Tears welled up behind my eyes. “Can’t I just give him the money, then? Won’t he leave me alone if I give him what he wants?”
“You could, but the whole reason Adelle gave you the money in the first place was because she didn’t want Fenris to have it. She knew he would use it to fund his terrorist group. Plus, we think he would probably kill you anyway.” Arie leaned forward and reached out to touch my hand. “That’s why I won’t let you out of my sight again.”
“Then why not kill me last night? If that’s what they’re going to do anyway?”
Arie grimaced. “Only you can access the money. Fenris needs you to transfer everything to him first.”
“How much money are we talking about here? Several hundred thousand?”
Arie shook his head slowly. “More like eighty-nine million.”
“What?” I shrieked. “Eighty-nine million dollars?” I said the number slowly as I tried to wrap my mind around it. That was an insane amount of money. I couldn’t even fathom what that much money looked like. How in the world would I hide with that much money?
This could not be happening.
“Where would this Cormac guy even get that kind of money from?” He had to have done something illegal, too.
“Sophie said he was an oil tycoon or something.”
I stiffened as another thought occurred to me. If all this was true, then it meant that Arie was only my friend because it was his job. The reason he’d spent so much time with me was because he had to. I thought of the amazing moments I’d just spent kissing him and felt so stupid for thinking he cared about me the way I cared about him. He’d just been doing his job and playing the part he was paid to play—probably paid extremely well at that.
My face grew red hot with humiliation. I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want to believe that I’d been tricked again by someone I had grown to care so much about.
I’d been lied to my entire life! What other things were fake? Who else had been put in my life to watch over me? Who else had deceived me? Were my friends really my friends, or were they paid to hang out with me like Arie had been? Dizziness flooded through me. I was going to throw up.
“So you’re like some glorified babysitter for me?” I yanked my hand away from his.
“I prefer agent, but yes, that’s what I came here to do.” His eyes were cautious. He knew I was upset and that he was walking on thin ice.
“Did you get some kind of bonus pay for kissing me?” I spat the words at him, using anger to keep my tears at bay.
Hurt reflected in his eyes. “Of course not. You know I wouldn’t do that.” He reached out, but I jerked away from him.
“Apparently, I don’t know anything about you. I bet you had a good laugh with your fellow agents, making fun of how I fell for it all. How I thought you might like me.”
He held me by my shoulders, making me face him. “No, Emma, that’s not it at all. I do care for you.” Why did he still sound so sincere? He must be a professional actor as well as a bodyguard.
“Sure you do. Just as you would care about any other person you were paid to protect,” I scoffed. “I can’t believe I fell for it! I should have trusted my gut feeling from the first time I met you. I can’t believe I was so stupid to fall for such a charade.” I poked a finger into his chest. “Y-you lied to me!” My voice quivered, coming out quiet and tortured. He knew I had been hurt so badly last year; how could he have done the exact same thing to me? Did I mean so little to him that he could disregard my very real feelings in order to keep up his facade?
I broke away from him and stood, feeling my eyes burn with tears threatening to escape. There was no way I would let him see how hard I’d fallen for him, so I ran up the stairs to get away. Arie called after me, but I ignored him and continued to flee.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I realized I didn’t have anywhere to hide. I was at his house after all. And even if I did run off I’d probably just get kidnapped again. Who were Jason and Sophie anyway? Were they agents like Arie? I was sure they weren’t his aunt and uncle now.
And how old was Arie?
So many questions ran through my mind. Questions for my parents. Questions for Arie. Questions for Sophie. I wasn’t in any mood to talk, though, so I went to Arie’s bathroom for some privacy.
I slammed the door shut before locking it, and then I finally let a sob escape. My whole body heaved as emotions poured out. How was I going to hold it all together and try to resume a normal life? I didn’t even know whether I could trust anyone anymore. My parents had lied to me my entire life! They were supposed to be the people I could go to, no matter what. I was sure Maya and Kathryn were still trustworthy, but I couldn’t tell them about all this. Not while I was still in danger. The more people who knew the truth, the higher the chance that word would get out. And if word got out, I would be found all the more easily.
I buried my head in my hands when I realized that Brian was right about Arie after all. How had he figured this out, when I was so blind? I’d pegged him as a crazy stalker, when he was actually the only one telling me the truth.
Not knowing what else to do, I sank onto the hard tile floor, spiraling down, down, down, hugging myself to keep from breaking apart.
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. “Emma. Please talk to me.”
It was Arie.
I didn’t respond.
“Emma . . .” he said. “It wasn’t like that . . . not for me . . .”
I imagined him leaning his forehead against the door, arms above his head with his hands in fists. That’s what an excellent actor would do, anyway.
“Please, Emma. Let me explain.” Pause. His voice broke. “Please, don’t hate me . . .”
He waited by the door, but I wasn’t about to let him in to work his charms on me again. After a while, his footsteps retreated down the hall.
Sophie tried to get me to come out later, as well, but I told her I needed to be alone.
The doorbell rang. It had to be my parents, coming to pick me up. I didn’t want to talk to them, either, so I stayed hidden in the bathroom.
Half an hour later, there was another knock.
“Emma, please open the door.” It was my mother.
I stood and studied myself
in the mirror. My eyes were red and swollen from all the crying I had done. My nose was pink, too.
I opened the door to face the woman who had deceived me for the past eighteen years. I scrutinized her blonde hair and petite form and finally understood why we’d never looked alike. When I looked at her, I wanted to be angry. I wanted to punish her for not telling me that I was adopted.
But I couldn’t.
Instead of yelling at her like I imagined, I collapsed in her outstretched arms and sobbed.
“Mom, tell me it’s not true,” I cried. “Tell me this is some kind of horrible nightmare that I ended up in.”
“Oh, honey.” She sighed, rubbing my back with her hands. “I can’t tell you how much I wish it were. Jason, Sophie, and Arie told your father and me everything. I’m as shocked as you are.”
When my crying slowed, I pulled back from her to look in her eyes. I needed to see whether she was telling me the truth.
Her green eyes were wet with tears. “Did you really not know who I was?” I was desperate to feel like she hadn’t been a complete fraud.
“Honestly, Emma, I only knew you were a beautiful gift. Adelle said you’d be safer not knowing you weren’t biologically ours. That’s the only reason we kept it a secret.” She grasped my shoulders and held me at arm’s length. “Believe me when I say that if it hadn’t been to protect you from danger, I never would’ve kept it from you.”
I saw truth in my mother’s eyes and was somewhat relieved. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, drawing in a shaky breath. “I believe you.”
We were quiet for a few moments before my mom murmured, “At least Arie seems to be conscious of the fact that he’s far too old to have pursued a relationship with you. I always thought he looked older than eighteen.”
I sniffled and nodded, not about to mention that we’d made out this afternoon.
“Come on, let’s go downstairs. We have a lot of things to talk about.” My mother slipped an arm around my shoulder, and we walked down.
We found everyone sitting in the living room. My dad gave me a tight hug, careful to avoid hurting my arm. “Hey, Em, I’m so glad you’re okay. We were so worried.” He stood back. “How’s your arm? Arie told us it was a pretty bad break.”
“It’s okay.” My eyes wandered to the three people sitting behind him. “It seems to be the least of my worries right now.”
My father nodded. “Yes, I suppose that’s true.”
We all sat down to discuss what would happen from here on out. I sat between my mom and dad, which seemed like the best option, until I locked eyes with Arie, who sat across from me. His eyes were sad, and it looked like he wanted to say something to me. I crossed my arms and stared out the window behind him instead. I wouldn’t be able to look at him again without feeling humiliated.
Sophie broke the awkward silence first. “As you might have guessed, after what Arie told you this afternoon, Jason and I aren’t Arie’s aunt and uncle like we pretended. We are also agents and have been watching over you for many years.”
I nodded, setting my jaw tight so I wouldn’t start crying again.
“We know this is a lot for you to take in all at once, but after what happened last night we no longer feel comfortable with you staying in Maplebridge. It is just too dangerous now that Fenris knows who you are.”
“What? No! I can’t move. I’m graduating in a few months.”
Jason set a hand on Sophie’s knee. “It isn’t safe. You can still take classes online. You can still graduate.”
“But I’m supposed to graduate here, with my friends. I can’t just pick up and leave everything behind.” I looked to my mom and dad for backup.
“I think they’re right, honey,” Mom said, carefully. “We can’t take the risk. You’re too precious to us.”
“Dad?” I pleaded. Surely he would stand up for me.
But he just shrugged. “I’m sorry, Em. But they’re right. They explained everything while you were upstairs. We need to keep you safe.”
“Can’t I just put on a disguise or something and change my name for the last six months of school? The police know what Mr. Lund looks like. He doesn’t stand a chance of getting close to me again. I mean, isn’t that what you hired Arie for anyway? You can hire more people. I’ll even do online school from home. Just don’t make me move!”
“Those are all great ideas, Emma,” Sophie said. “But Fenris can always hire someone new, and you can’t blend in here like you can in a big city.”
A big city?
“Where?”
“We have a safe house in Philadelphia for you, Jason, Arie, and me to move into. We bought it a few years ago just in case something like this happened. The rest of your family will move to Louisiana.”
I put my head in my hands. I was going to be moving all the way across the country to a place I’d never been, living with a bunch of strangers? And my family was moving, too? It was too much. Tears pricked at my eyes.
I hated Fenris! I hated that he had the power to change my life completely. I didn’t even know him!
“We fly to Philadelphia tonight,” Sophie continued. “And our other agent, Bruce, will go home with your parents while they pack their things. We’re arranging for your sister and brother to join them in Louisiana as well. Fenris will use anything he can to get to you. He won’t hesitate to hurt your family.”
The guilt that piled on was so thick it was suffocating. I was ruining everyone’s lives.
No, Fenris was ruining everyone’s lives.
“We have other agents out there, trying to track Fenris down,” Jason added. “But we don’t know how soon it will be.”
“That could take forever! I can’t hide for the rest of my life!”
“We’re doing everything we can,” Sophie said.
They went over the rest of the details of the move. I wasn’t allowed to say goodbye to my friends and other family members. No one would be informed that I was leaving tonight, in case that information somehow ended up in the wrong hands. We didn’t know how many people Fenris had on the prowl.
Before we left, Dad pulled Arie aside for a few minutes. His lips were pressed together, his jaw set as they walked into Jason’s office.
When they rejoined us in the entryway a few minutes later, they both stood stiffly, and Arie’s face was even more solemn than it had been throughout the past hour.
A moment later, my guards had their suitcases waiting at the door, indicating that the time had come for us to leave.
Saying goodbye to my parents was the hardest thing I had ever had to do, especially since I didn’t know when I would see them again or even get to talk to them. After many, many tears were shed, I left all that I had ever known: my family, my friends, my home, my school, my town. Everything. I left without a single thing besides the clothes on my back—which weren’t even mine.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
EMMA
I HAD NEVER FLOWN first class before and probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been so depressed at the moment. The seats were in rows of two, so I was stuck sitting next to Arie, while Jason and Sophie sat across the aisle from us.
I hadn’t spoken to Arie since he’d told me everything in the basement earlier, and I wasn’t ready to start now. It couldn’t be that hard to give him the silent treatment for the next three hours. I would be living in the same house as him for who knows how long, so I might as well start practicing.
Sure, if I were to be reasonable right now, I might admit that he’d probably tried to maintain a professional relationship with me, like my mom thought. But when I fell for him, he’d had to go along with what I wanted because it was his job to stay close to me. If he’d pushed me away before now, I wouldn’t have wanted to hang out with him anymore, and that would have defeated the whole purpose of why he’d started going to school with me in the first place.
But I didn’t want to be reasonable. I was hurt and embarrassed, and I hated that I couldn’t get away from him
for even two minutes. The universe must really hate me. My future was not only this big, ambiguous cloud but I was also stuck with the one person in the world that I never wanted to speak to again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
ARIE
EMMA BELIEVED I’d been acting the whole time. She had no idea that I truly wanted to kiss her. That I was so close to being in love with her, and that thoughts of her were what consumed my mind most of the time.
“Emma, I . . .” I began after the plane took off.
She crossed her arms and turned to me. “What, Arie?” She sounded so annoyed.
“I need to explain myself. I wasn’t—”
“It’s okay,” she interrupted. “I understand why you did what you did.”
“No, it’s not that. I—” I tried to spit my confession out, but she interrupted me again.
“It’s fine. Really.” She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It’s been a long day, and I need to get some sleep.” From the look on her face, I could tell it wasn’t okay. None of this was. But if she didn’t want to talk about it right now, I wouldn’t press her.
Plus, her dad had made his feelings extremely clear on the subject when he pulled me aside earlier. He didn’t want me to so much as lay a finger on her while we were away. We would be living in the same house for who knows how long, and it would be inappropriate for me, a bodyguard, to attempt to have a relationship with her.
I promised to keep our relationship professional so he wouldn’t have to voice his concerns to Sophie and get me fired. And I suppose that with Emma’s apparent disinterest in me now, it would be much easier to keep that promise to her father.
I studied Emma out of the corner of my eye after she shifted away from me. She looked exhausted and vulnerable, slumped in her seat. Her shoulders shuddered slightly, and I heard her sobbing quietly.
Instinctively, I reached a hand to her arm. “Emma—”
“Please”—she tensed under my touch almost like I’d burned her—“don’t touch me. I can’t . . .” But she didn’t finish. I saw a tear trickle down her cheek before she turned away completely.
