RULES FOR DISAPPEARING
BY WITNESS PROTECTION PRISONER #18A7R04M:
Never, under any circumstances, try to reenter your old life in any way. You left for a reason, right?
WE’RE back on the road, making our way through New Mexico. I’m driving, giving Ethan a chance to nap. We’ve been on the road for over fifteen hours now, and we’re both feeling exhausted. According to the map, we’re only going to be in New Mexico for a short time, but it feels like forever.
Ethan snores softly in the passenger seat. I run through the layout of The Canyons in my head. My house was in the same golf community as the Prices’ but in a different neighborhood. While our house was nice, theirs was over the top, located in the exclusive section called The Reserve. It has its own security guard to get past. That makes two guards I’ll have to deal with.
I’m not as worried about the main guard station at the entrance. The Canyons is broken down into several smaller neighborhoods as well as the country club that serves the golf course. There’re a million reasons I can come up with to get inside, but I’m more concerned with getting into The Reserve. That guard will be harder to lie to. They have to call in for permission to let you pass if you’re not on the list. I used to go to Elle’s all the time. They recognized me by sight and never stopped me to ask where I was going. That’s how I got to Brandon’s the night of the shooting without anyone knowing I was coming.
Ethan rolls around a little, trying to get comfortable.
I hope Teeny’s okay. And Mom and Dad. Dad’s probably worried sick.
Staring at the road, I think back on all the tiny little clues I missed before. I feel like all the pieces have fallen into place. Everything except what triggered all the moves. What was happening that made us run from placement to placement? I hate that I may never know that.
Ethan throws his arms out and says with a yawn, “Where are we now?”
He’s so cute when he first wakes up. “Close to the Arizona border. Once we cross the line, it’s about three more hours.” The sun is low in the sky and it’ll be dark soon.
Ethan groans. “Stop at the next gas station. We’ll get some gas and use the bathroom. I gotta stretch my legs.”
I spot a sign and get off the interstate. In the store, I buy a couple of candy bars and gum, looking for some sugar to keep me going. Ethan finishes pumping the fuel and gets in the driver’s seat. Before long, we’re back on the interstate.
I hand him a chocolate bar, which he devours in two bites. “Ya know, we’re gonna have to find a room somewhere. It’s gonna be late when we get there, and we don’t have our plan nailed down yet.”
I agree. Plus, I’m still figuring out how I’ll leave him behind when the time comes.
“It’ll be better to find a motel in Phoenix. Everything close to where Price lives is pretty expensive, and I’m sure they’ll require some sort of ID.”
Ethan nods. “Yeah, I was thinking we need some run-down place. Somewhere that’s not too concerned about who’s checking in.”
I dig through my plastic bag and pull out an old book. I open it to the back cover and pry off a piece of duct tape.
Ethan watches me. “What’s that?”
I finish getting the tape off and show him the ID underneath it. “It’s an ID card in one of my fake names. I’ve never been allowed to have a driver’s license, but I did get an ID card in Florida. I knew if we had to move that they would take it from me, so I hid it. They asked me about it, but I told them I lost it. They changed my birthday at every move, so this ID already has me at eighteen.”
I pass the ID to Ethan, and he holds it close to look at the picture.
“You look so different now. I can’t imagine you with all that blond hair,” he says.
“Yeah. They cut and dyed it before this last placement.”
He hands me back the ID. “This may come in handy.”
We make good time, crossing into Arizona just after dark. We’re both quiet, having exhausted all conversations possible. I doze off, and when I wake up, we’re on the outskirts of Tucson.
Everything looks familiar now. Dad took us to Tucson a ton, and I easily recognize where I am. “You want me to drive now? I could get to Phoenix blindfolded from here if I had to.”
Ethan nods and pulls the car over on the side of the interstate. He heads for the passenger seat just as I start for the driver’s side. We get caught in the middle. I have one leg across the gearshift, and it gets tangled up with his. Ethan puts his hand on my waist, and I put my weight on his shoulders to bring my other leg over. We’re touching each other all over, and it’s really got my blood moving. At one point I’m almost straddling him. When we finally get to our own sides, I’m completely flustered. I pull back out on the road, but it’s a few miles before I can look at him again.
We get to Phoenix and immediately try to find a motel. We decide on a Motel 6 that’s right off the interstate. I laugh to myself when I see the sign, since this is the same chain I thought we should drop Julie and Trey off at when they wouldn’t stop making out in the backseat of Ethan’s truck.
Luckily, Ethan gets a room without my having to produce the ID. I don’t think they would be checking for Avery Preston, but you never know. Ethan pops the key card in the slot in the hall, the door opens, and we both look toward the one double bed. I don’t know if I’m excited or horrified.
Ethan sheds his shoes and crawls into bed. He has nothing with him, and I feel another wave of guilt for getting him into this situation. I head to the bathroom with my bag. My fatigue is instantly replaced with nerves. Do I put pj’s on? Do I stay fully dressed?
After I brush my teeth, I decide to stay in my clothes, and flip off the switch in the bathroom. The room is dark. I slowly make my way to the bed, then stub my toe on something hard and let out a grunt.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.” I can make out Ethan’s shape on the side closest to the door.
I crawl into bed and lie flat on my back, hands by my sides. I’m never gonna fall asleep. Ethan rolls toward me, and I press every piece of me into the mattress. His hand reaches out and glides over my waist. He hooks me, pulling me closer to him. My back ends up against his chest, his arm anchoring me to him.
“Is this okay?” he asks quietly in my ear.
“Yeah, it’s nice.” It’s way more than nice, but I’m trying to be cool about it. I don’t know how cool I can be, though, with my body so stiff.
I think he’s already asleep until he asks, “What were you buying a dress for in Shreveport?”
My eyes get huge, and I’m glad he can’t see my face. “Um, Catherine was getting one for the dance at school.”
Ethan pulls me in tighter and nuzzles my neck. “What about you? Were you gonna get one for the dance, too?”
I let out a giggle. “I don’t know. I could be Peggy Sue Wannamaker from Pittsburgh by then.”
He lets out a growl. “No Peggy Sue Wannamaker.” His voice gets low. “We’re gonna fix this. So I’m officially asking you: Anna Boyd, will you please go buy a cute dress so we can go to the dance?”
I turn over and face him. My hands find his face. His feet tangle with mine. “Yes. Ethan Landry, I would love to go to the dance with you.”
He pulls me in for a kiss, and all thoughts of sleep run right out of my head.
My eyes sting when I try to open them. It’s still dark, but I see the faint glow of early morning sun through the divide in the curtain. I move my hand slowly, not wanting to wake Ethan, and check my watch. Five a.m. This is the time to make my move. I will slide out of the bed, leave him a note, and grab the keys. By the time he wakes up, I’ll be gone and he’ll be out of danger.
My back is to him, so I don’t know if he’s awake or not. Listening to his breathing, it sounds deep and heavy, so I slowly inch my way to the edge of the bed. Once I get there, I roll to my stomach and drop my arm and leg over the side. Then the rest of my body follows. It feels like forever, but finally I’m on the floor on all fours. I’m dying to take a peek, but I don’t risk it. I crawl around the bed to the small desk against the other wall. I can’t even think about the nastiness on the floor right now.
I get to the desk and pull down the small pad and pen, and scribble a quick note. I fish the keys out of the pocket of Ethan’s jacket, then jam my feet into my shoes. My hand goes to the knob.
“There’s no reason to do the crawl of shame this morning. I thought we kept it fairly clean last night.” I hear the laughter in his voice and drop my hand.
I stand up and look back to the bed. Ethan is propped up on pillows with his hands behind his head, watching my every move.
He pats the bed beside him. “It’s early, and you’re not leaving without me. So come back to bed, and let’s figure out what we’re gonna do.”
I huff back to the bed, both annoyed and relieved that my plan failed. Ethan pulls me to him, and I snuggle in close.
“What does the note say?” he whispers.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.”
He squeezes my side. “You were really going to leave without me?”
I rise up on my elbows. “I’m not completely helpless, ya know. I have managed to take care of things up until this point.” Granted, Ethan got us farther, faster, than I ever would have on my own, but damn, I’m not some damsel in distress.
He runs his hand through my hair. “I know. I’m sorry. I just don’t want to miss out on the breaking and entering.”
“You’ve gone insane.” I lie back down, my head on his chest.
“I’ve been thinking about what to do with the ledgers once we get them,” he says.
I prop myself up on my hands and look at him. “What?”
“Let’s talk this out. So, your dad’s boss is dead, and now the asshole with the scar thinks he’ll never find the ledgers. He was going to kill you until you told him you knew where they were. He left you alive, knowing the cops were coming, so he didn’t really care that you could ID him. Right?”
“Yeah, I guess,” I answer. For some reason, I don’t like where this is going.
“So I figure, he’s confident he could get to you before any trial or testimony, or you’d be dead. But he can’t get the ledgers without you. Your dad wants to make some sort of deal with him, but I don’t know what you could do that doesn’t get you killed in the end.”
I take a deep breath and say, “I know. I thought maybe we could make copies and put them somewhere safe, or something like that. Tell him if something happens, they goes straight to the suits—ya know, like people do in the movies.”
Ethan nods. “Yeah, we could do that. It’d have to be a great spot, where he can’t find it.”
I put my head back on his chest, and he twirls his fingers through my hair. “I hate to let him get away with killing Brandon and Mr. Price. I don’t care about the drug stuff or the money laundering, but he shouldn’t be able to walk away from that,” I say.
Ethan drops his hand from my head. “I just got a crazy wicked idea.”
I look up at him. “Oh, God, the way you say that makes me nervous.”
“Okay, hear me out. What if we release it to the world?”
“What?”
“We make a video. You tell the whole story about the murders and what you’ve been through. Then we scan the pages of the ledgers and attach them to the video. Then we could upload it onto Facebook or YouTube or something like that. You can also say if you or any member of your family dies—he did it!”
I sit up in the bed. “That’s insane! What would stop him from killing me after that?”
“He’s going to have bigger problems than you. All his shit is public knowledge. The cops can arrest him. And then he’s got that cartel in Mexico to worry about. What good would killing you do? And the Feds won’t need you anymore.”
“He’d kill me just because I pissed him off!”
Ethan sits up and pulls me in close. “Anna, there’s a good chance he’s going to try to kill you anyway. He’s found out where you’ve been even though you are being protected by the government. You think he can’t find which safety deposit box you’re going to use to hide your copies of the ledgers?”
I pull away from him and roll over, turning my back to him.
He leans in over my shoulder and says, “Just think about it. That’s all I’m asking. Tell me more about the house.”
I flip back around. “It’s a tough house to get into. We shouldn’t have a problem with the main gate; it’s the one for his neighborhood that’s gonna be tricky.”
I describe the layout to him, and we both toss around suggestions, none really feeling right.
“Didn’t you say your friend Elle lives behind that gate, too?”
“I can’t call her.”
Ethan waits a few minutes and then says, “You don’t really have to involve her too much. But if we can hide in the back of her car, we’re in. We could get into the entire community that way. I have a bad feeling the marshals are gonna be waiting for us there. They know how much you want to go home. And now it makes sense why you don’t want them to find you either.”
He’s right. It would be easy on a normal day to get past the front gate. I could say we’re applying for a job at the clubhouse. Go on back. Or I could say we’re with a pool cleaning service. Go on back. It’s a joke, really. But The Reserve is different. Nothing but houses. And anyone not on the list has to be okayed by phone before you get through. I’m sure I’m still on the list as Anna Boyd, but that won’t work. Everyone looking for me is waiting for something as stupid as that. If Anna Boyd comes through, detain her immediately!
“I’m still sort of mad at Elle.” It’s embarrassing saying it out loud, but true. Most of my anger toward her and Laura is gone, but I really didn’t ever want to see either one of them again.
Ethan lies down beside me and asks what happened. I cover my face with a pillow and tell him.
“Brandon, this is the guy who died?”
I let out a muffled yes.
“Do they know you heard them?”
I pull the pillow down and look at him. “No, but that’s not the point.”
Ethan flips me around until I’m on top of him. “If we have to use some two-faced bitch to help get you out of trouble, then that’s what we’ll do.”
I lean down and kiss him. He rolls me over, fitting us together like a glove.
“My mind is so foggy right now. What day is it?”
“Friday. Why?”
I glance at my watch. Five thirty. “You’re right. It’s stupid not to use Elle to get us in there. I don’t want to call her, in case they’ve tapped her phone, but I know where she’ll be in an hour and a half.” I’d bet my life she and Laura will be at our favorite coffee shop having our traditional Friday morning cup of latte.
“How much time before we have to leave?” Ethan says between tiny kisses.
I can’t concentrate on anything while he does that. “Um…maybe thirty minutes…or forty-five…I think.”
He looks at me with that bad-boy smirk. “Perfect, ’cause I was just getting comfortable.”