Broken Ties (22 page)

His mom hugged her again. “Is what the news said true? Were you really kidnapped as a child? Are you really a princess?”

“Yes, but I barely remember any of it. Even my parents.” Her voice broke, and with a murmur of sympathy, Betty Tanner pulled her back into a warm embrace.

****

“Do you think you’ll be home for Christmas?” Betty asked as Sidra helped her put the finishing touches on supper.

“I’m not even sure I know where home is anymore,” Sidra answered candidly.

Betty tilted her head to look at her, a knowing smile on her face.

“I think you know exactly where home is.” She chuckled. “If you’re not here with him for Christmas, I hope to see you by the New Year.”

Sidra blushed. “Am I that obvious?”

“Not just you. He’s got it bad himself. I can’t remember him ever being so crazy about someone.” She lowered her voice. “You know, he’s planning to put a bid in on the Lawrence place. Claims it’s perfect for a princess. Teddy will tease him unmercifully for that.”

“But he’s right,” Sidra said. “It is the stuff fairy tales and little girls’ dreams are made of. It is perfectly perfect.”

“And close by, so my next batch of grandchildren can be properly spoiled.”

Warmth rushed up Sidra’s neck and burned in her face.

“Do you really think that’s what he wants?”

“Yes. But first he wants you safe and settled. So go to Medelia and sort this mess out. When I think about what your poor mother suffered all those years, I feel so sorry for her. To think you were abducted and killed! I can’t even imagine how horrible that must have been.”

“I grew up thinking I was abandoned by my parents. It’s never been easy for me to believe anyone loved or wanted me.” She sighed. “Until Teddy found me. He and Levi didn’t just hire me, they took me in and made me part of their little world. They accepted me and loved me. And both of them risked their lives for me.”

“That’s what families do.” She patted Sidra’s back as she passed her on the way to the refrigerator. “I think you just might have saved Levi’s life, too. Thank you for being there for him the last few months. I’ve been so worried about him, but knowing you were there made it easier.”

“I wouldn’t have left him.”

Teddy came through the door, his eyes shooting between them.

“Is this one of those chick-flick moments? Where all the women in the audience are crying and all the men are wondering what the hell’s going on?”

“No, you goof, this is the moment when you tell your dad dinner is ready,” Betty said, and Sidra burst out laughing.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dawn had barely lightened the sky when Sidra opened her eyes. A cold front had swooped in overnight, and she shivered as she snuggled closer to Levi’s body. He lay on his side, facing her, and she laid a hand on his face, letting it move slowly down his neck and over the contours of his chest and arms.

His low hum of pleasure was followed by a soft snore, and she smiled to herself before slipping from the bed and tiptoeing down the hall to the playroom. She had gone to sleep there, but Levi had retrieved her later, carrying her down the hall and depositing her in his bed, as if he were the hero in one of the romance novels she loved so much. Although his parents seemed like realistic people, she didn’t feel comfortable with them finding her in bed with their son, and she prayed no one witnessed her guilty retreat.

Longing for some cool, fresh air, she pulled on a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, and sneakers. She scribbled a hasty note telling Levi she had gone for a walk and placed it on the kitchen counter where he would see it. Then she let herself out of the house and headed down the road toward town.

The only thing open at this hour was a convenience store and a small café next door. Before she could talk herself out of it, she marched into the café and sat at the counter.

“What’s it going to be, sweetie?” the short, plump waitress asked.

“Coffee, please, no sugar, and just a touch of cream. And a jelly donut.”

“Aren’t you Levi Tanner’s girl?” asked the woman—Val according to her laminated nametag.

“Yes.” The answer felt so good she laughed out loud. She was Levi’s girl. “I’m Sidra Martin.”

“I saw you on the news. Is it true you’re a princess?”

“I think so, yes.”

“So who were the man and woman who came to town looking for you? Some relation? They were as hoity-toity as they come.”

“Yes, Miriam and I were cousins.”

“What about the other guy? He had dinner with them just the other night. When was it? Oh, I know, it was the night of the home tours. I remember him saying something about Sidra going on the tour when I was taking an order from the table next to them.” She smiled sheepishly. “You can’t help but listen when people like that come in. It just seems like they lead such exciting lives, you hate to miss anything. And with that accent, who could resist hanging on his every word?”

Sidra was thankful when the doorbell tinkled and a large group of construction workers piled inside the café. While she drank her coffee and ate her donut, she tried to think about what it meant that Miriam and Gabriel had eaten dinner with Vincente Mateo. After a few minutes, she knew she wouldn’t reach any conclusions amidst the growing din of customers in the café. She stood to go, but before she did, she motioned for Val. She had to confirm one thing that niggled at the back of her mind.

“I was just wondering what the man looked like, the one my cousins had dinner with.”

Expecting to hear something about a good-looking man with green eyes, she was shocked at Val’s description.

“He was a big guy, though not real tall, with big, meaty hands and dark hair.”

Though she knew the answer, she had to ask anyway. “What color were his eyes?”

“They were dark, hon, nearly black.”

“Thank you.” Her throat dry with fear, she rushed from the café, hoping to flee the knowledge that Miriam and Gabriel had eaten dinner with the man who had tried to kill her.

She was a block away from the café when she realized she was being tailed by a vehicle.

She ducked into a small five-and-dime that had just opened for the day, and walked around hoping they’d leave. The shopkeeper watched her closely, as if he were afraid she might stuff something in her pocket at any moment, while her eyes darted to the window every few minutes.

“Can I help you, miss?” he called from behind the counter.

“No, thank you. I’m just looking.”

He narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing more as she grabbed a basket and began placing things inside.

Finally, the car pulled away, and she went to the counter.

“May I use your telephone?”

“Don’t you got a cell?” the old man grumbled.

“No, sir.”

“Fine, but it better be local.”

She smiled and dialed Levi’s phone, speaking quickly when he picked up, his voice furious.

“Where the hell are you?”

“Levi, listen to me. I’m at the five-and-dime store in town, and I need you to come get me. The waitress said Gabriel and Miriam had dinner with a big dark-haired man. Do you think it was the man who tried to kidnap me? Now there’s someone following me, and I’m scared to death to go outside. But why would he still be after me? Vincente’s dead.”

“Damn it, Sidra, you are going to get yourself killed!”

“Are you coming or not?”

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Do not leave that store until I get there.”

He had nothing to worry about. She wouldn’t leave the relative safety of the store for all the money in the world.

****

Levi had never been so angry in his life. Sidra should know better than to leave without telling anyone where she was going. Hadn’t she learned anything from the last few days? The man who’d tried to abduct her from the bus station was still out there, still trying to finish the job he’d most likely been hired to do. She should have known she wouldn’t be safe until that man was found or until they at least knew who had paid him. Although if he had eaten dinner with Miriam and Gabriel, there wasn’t much question about who was footing his bill. How could Sidra have been so foolish as to traipse to town on her own?

He tried to tell himself she was used to living alone and even to working alone, for the most part. She was independent and had taken care of herself for years now, but nothing he said to himself calmed him. It only made him more furious.

If he were to be honest with himself, he knew he would realize his fury had more to do with the fact that she was already pulling away from him than with her disregard for her safety. After all, they had thought perhaps the danger was gone now that Vincente, Miriam, and Gabriel were all dead.

He had been disappointed when he woke up to an empty bed, but he had expected her to be downstairs. When he found the note instead of her, it had been like a caution light, warning him the end of the road was near.

Maybe Teddy was right when he said he was overreacting, but he couldn’t make himself believe it. To him, it felt like the first step on his way back to being alone. He hadn’t noticed it happening the first time around, when he had just turned around one day and everyone was gone—Teddy, his parents, even the damn office staff had left him. Only Sidra remained, and now, she was on her way out the door, too.

He pulled into a parking spot in front of the store, and Sidra dashed to the car, shopping bags in hand. She kept her head down as if afraid someone would start shooting at any moment. That’s how safe he’d kept her, he thought bitterly. So safe she’d been caught in a hail of gunfire twice in as many days.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Are you?” She was looking at him closely, worry lines forming between her brows. “You look kind of pale.”

“I’m fine, too.” He tried to sound casual. “Everybody’s fine.”

“Okay,” she said with a shrug. “Whatever you say. Thank you for coming to get me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Sidra. Did you really think I might leave you to fend for yourself?”

“No.” She sounded genuinely confused by his simmering anger. “Why are you mad?”

“I’m not mad. I was just worried. You know, you were just kidnapped out of our yard a few days ago. I think I’m entitled to be a little concerned when I wake up and you’re nowhere to be found.”

“I’m sorry.”

He looked around, spotting only one car that seemed out of place. “Is that them?”

She followed his eyes to the silver luxury car with dark, tinted windows. “Yes.”

He backed out and drove away slowly. When they reached the next street, he waited to see if the other car followed. He didn’t have to wait long, and as soon as he saw them, he turned onto the street that led to his parents’ home.

“Where are you going?” she cried. “You can’t show them where you live!”

He paid no attention to her but continued to drive toward his childhood home. It was time to end this now, and there was where he would have the most backup, the most people willing to keep Sidra safe.

He turned his head so he could look into her eyes.

“When we get home, I’m pulling as close to the steps as I can get. I want you to run inside. Do you understand? Don’t stop, and don’t waste time looking around. You just get in the house. Please,” he added when she would have argued. “I just need to know you’re safe.”

“Fine.” She grabbed his face and kissed him on the mouth. “Do what you’ve got to do.”

He raced his car toward the house, barely stopping for her to leap out. Before she could get through the front door, Teddy was there with gun drawn, pushed her inside, and took her place outside.

Shaking like a leaf, she staggered to the stairs, where she sat on the bottom step waiting for the shooting to begin.

“What in the world is going on?” Betty shouted from upstairs before footsteps sounded on the stairs.

While Betty dropped down beside Sidra, Frank rushed to the porch with a rifle in his hand.

“Do you always have this much excitement following you around?” Betty asked her casually.

“No! And I hope it ends really soon. I don’t think I can take much more of it.”

The sound of car doors closing nearly stopped Sidra’s heart. Where was Levi? And what would happen if whoever was following her came into the house? What if they killed Teddy and his father? Betty? Was Levi already dead?

Steps on the porch, followed by the low murmur of voices, and she was up, rushing forward, heart pounding, as her eyes searched for Levi. She grabbed the door post to keep steady as her knees went weak with relief.

Levi walked slowly beside an elderly woman leaning heavily on a cane. She wore an immaculate forest green skirt and sweater set, with a matching wide-brimmed hat over her white curls. Gloves, hose, sensible green shoes, and the string of pearls around her neck completed her outfit and gave her the look of the distinguished aging monarch she was.

A young dark-haired woman followed behind Queen Marie, her hand in the crook of a handsome blond man’s arm. She knew at once who they were, recognizing Philippe’s striking blue eyes as he lifted his gaze to meet hers.

Feeling overwhelmingly underdressed and ill-prepared, Sidra remained where she was as the small group mounted the porch steps.

“Your Highness, this is my father, Frank Tanner, and my brother, Teddy. Dad, this is Sidra’s grandmother, Queen Marie of Medelia, her cousin, Lady Estella De Leone, and her fiancé, Philippe Beauchene.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all,” Frank said. “And forgive us the welcome. We were only trying to protect Sidra from danger. We had no idea you were coming.”

The queen smiled warmly at him, melting Sidra’s heart as she said, “There is no need to apologize. We are eternally grateful to your family for keeping Sidra safe. Everyone wanted me to stay in Medelia and wait for her, but I found it impossible to do so. I insisted we come to America straightaway.”

She lifted her eyes to the door, and her gaze locked with Sidra’s. Whatever Sidra had expected, it wasn’t the love that shone from her grandmother’s eyes or the joy that lit her face.

For a moment it was as if no time had passed at all, as she gazed into the familiar blue depths. Then, suddenly, all the years they had lost were there again, and she was overcome with emotions she hadn’t really expected to feel. How could feelings lie dormant for so long, only to spring to the surface at the first opportunity?