The Rules for Disappearing (32 page)

“That was my plan. No friends. I hate leaving people behind.”

I rub my thumb over his hand. “It would’ve devastated me to leave you. To never see you again. And then for you to wonder where I went. I didn’t want that.”

Ethan glances from me to the road and back. “I don’t want

that either.” He brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles.

“Anna.” He says quietly. It’s the first time he’s said my real name. He watches the road a few minutes more then says, “It’s nice to meet you, Anna Boyd.”

By mid-afternoon, we’re headed down I-10 toward New Mexico,

a stretch of Interstate that runs close to the Mexican border. I’ve napped off and on, but now I’m just trying to find something decent on the radio.

“I really miss my iPod right about now,” I say, turning the small knob across the FM dial.

Ethan laughs. “Yeah, in these parts it’s either gonna be mariachi or country.”

I snarl at the radio. At least it’s warmer here. I’ve shed a few S—

layers in the car, and we may actually have to turn the air condi-N—

tioner on soon.

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Ethan points to a sign up ahead. “Let’s stop when we get to El Paso. I gotta get out of this car awhile. We’ll find somewhere to eat.”

I nod. I’m getting cabin fever, too. It’s better to have silence than the noise coming across the radio, so I cut it off.

“How pissed do you think your parents are going to be that you did this?” I ask.

“Dad’ll be furious. Mom will just be worried, but I’m already

eighteen. I can legally come and go as I please.” His face is smug.

“My dad is probably freaking out. I bet they still tried to move them, but he won’t leave while I’m gone.”

Ethan takes the off ramp and we both look at our roadside res-

taurant choices. Mexican, hamburgers, or truck stop diner.

I shrug, not really caring which one we go to.

He pulls into the parking lot of Dos Amigos restaurant. It’s

a seat-yourself kind of place so we take a booth in the back. This place looks sketchy. It’s old and the painted walls were probably once pretty vivid, but now it’s just faded colors of red, green, and yellow. The floors are worn and the vinyl cushions in the booth are cut in places. But the smells coming out of the kitchen are incredible. It’s late for the lunch crowd, so there aren’t many people inside.

A young Hispanic girl approaches our table carrying water,

menus, chips, and salsa. “Hola. You want something to drink?” Her accent is thick.

Ethan looks at me before answering. “Two Cokes.”

The waitress leaves and we both look at the TV in the corner of the room. The news is on and we watch it for a few minutes.

“Do you think the Feds will go public with their search for

—S

you?” He asks.

—N

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I shrug my shoulders. “I would think no because they wouldn’t

want to show my picture and name. The real one or the fake one.”

“That’s what I hope, too. It’d suck if we were all over the news like some wanted felons.”

“Well, they have to go easy here. We’re in the program for

protection. It’s not like we did something wrong and are giving evidence to get out of trouble.” I hate to admit that was what I thought was the deal.

The waitress brings the drinks and we order. I can’t say I’m

very adventurous when it comes to food so I stick with two tacos, rice, and beans. Ethan on the other hand goes for some crazy combination platter. We talk awhile about regular things, both of us wanting a break from what we’re really on this trip for. But it doesn’t last long.

“We need to talk about your plan once we get to Scottsdale,”

Ethan says, scooping a huge amount of rice in his mouth.

“Price lives in the same neighborhood my friend Elle does. It’s a gated neighborhood inside a gated community. It’s a big house, but the office is on the bottom floor, right off the main hall.”

“Does anyone else live there? A wife, other kids?”

“He was remarried to some young woman but Brandon was his

only son. I’m not sure if she still lives there now that Mr. Price is gone.” I push my plate away from me. Just talking about this has gotten me so nervous that I lose my appetite.

“Okay, we have to plan for extra security getting in the neighborhood. We need to assume that the FBI or Marshals are watching S—

Price’s house. We have to decide how to get in if no one lives there N—

and it’s all locked up or if the wife is home.”

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“I’m kinda hoping no one is home.” I say.

Ethan looks at me confused. “You think that’d make it easier?”

I take a sip of my Coke. “She’ll recognize me!”

He laughs quietly. “Well, I don’t know anything about picking

locks or disarming alarm systems. Do you?”

“No.”

“Are you going to be okay going back there?”

I swallow hard. “I’m gonna have to be, right?”

Ethan finally says, “Anna, once they figure out we’re not in

Mississippi, they’re gonna guess we’re going to Scottsdale. They’re probably already there now.”

I stare down in my drink and watch the ice swirl as I stir it with my straw. “I know.”

I describe the house as best I can and the neighborhood layout.

We talk about possible entry points and all the things that can go wrong. I tell him where Elle’s house is in comparison to Price’s. I tell him everything but the exact name of the subdivision.

This is insane. Nuts. I can’t believe we are sitting here, having this conversation. Ethan’s right. It won’t take the suits long to figure out we’re not in Mississippi. And whoever is working for Sanchez could be right behind us for all I know. The more we talk about the plan, the more scared I get. It was crazy involving him in this. I should’ve come up with a different plan.

It may piss him off, but there’s no way I’m letting him get anywhere near Price’s house now.

—S

—N

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RULES FOR DISAPPEARING

BY WITNESS PROTECTION PRISONER #18A7R04M:

Never, under any circumstances, try to re-enter 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, his 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 conS—

cerned with getting in The Reserve. That guard will be harder to N—

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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 wor-

ried 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 in 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 ahead and get ready to exit 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 that 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

—S

when the time comes.

—N

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“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

blonde hair,” he says.

“Yeah. They cut and dyed it before this last placement.”

He hands me back the ID. “That 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 wake up 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.

S—

He heads for the passenger seat just as I start for the driver’s side.

N—

We get caught in the middle. I have one leg across the gear shift and 274

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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 start looking for 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 me having to produce the

ID. I don’t think they would be checking for Avery Preston but you never know. Ethan pops the card in the slot of our room, the door opens and we both look toward the one double bed in the room. 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 in the 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.

—S

I crawl in bed and lay flat on my back, hands by my sides. I’m

—N

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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 this. 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?”