Hidden Secrets

by P. L. Harris

  A blocked number.

  Amanda pleaded with Jason for advice with her eyes. “It’s a blocked number.”

  “Answer it. It could be your mum.”

  She nodded and held the phone to her ear. “Hello.”

  “Amanda?” A soft female voice, edged with fear, echoed down the line.

  “Mum, thank God,” she said, the air escaping from her burning lungs. “Where are you? Are you safe? What’s going on?” She rambled, but the words wouldn’t stop coming. “Are you all right?” She paused, listening intently to her mother’s words. She hung on every word, fear skulking up her spine.

  “Amanda, we haven’t much time, so I’ll be quick. I need you to meet me tomorrow at the Synergy Playground in Kings Park at four o’clock behind the slide. Sweetheart, it’s very important that you bring the locket and letter with you.”

  “What letter?” Amanda asked and her throat tightened. “You never said anything about a letter.”

  “The letter. I asked you to get the locket and letter from behind our picture.”

  “No, Mum, you didn’t.” Her heart flooded with panic for her mother’s safety. “You just said get my locket.”

  “I need the locket and that letter if we have any chance of surviving this nightmare. I was sure I asked you to get both.” Her frantic voice raised several octaves above Amanda’s.

  The image of her tattered home covered in broken memories flashed through her mind. Surely, if they ripped it apart once, they wouldn’t come back a second time.

  There really was no choice. She rolled her shoulders back and thinned her lips. Her mother needed her to step up.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll go back to the house and get it for you. Where will I find it?” Amanda asked, her heart racing like a speeding freight train out of control.

  “Amanda, no,” Jason whispered.

  Amanda covered the mouthpiece of the phone. “Shh, Jason. Please don’t do this. I’ll explain everything.”

  “I’m not letting you put yourself in danger again.”

  Jason pleaded with her for an explanation. Amanda turned away, unable to hold his gaze a moment longer. A pang of guilt sliced her heart in two.

  “Mum, where’s the letter?” she asked impatiently.

  “You know the portrait we had taken on your sixteenth birthday, in front of the Big Banana at Gosford?”

  “Yes.”

  “Taped to the back, you will find an envelope. It’s important you get it before you meet me. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”

  “Yes, of course.” Amanda sighed and rubbed her hand across her forehead. “But, Mum, maybe it would be safer if you went to the authorities.”

  “No, we can’t,” her angry voice barked down the line. “You must tell no one, do you understand me, Amanda?”

  “Yes, yes, I understand, but are you sure this is the only way?” she asked, her voice laced with worry.

  “Yes.” She paused. “Be careful, sweetheart.”

  “Okay. I love you, Mum.” She ended the call.

  “Amanda, why do you have to go back to the house?” Jason grunted.

  Her knees went weak, and her pulse beat a brisk staccato. Amanda protectively wrapped her arms around her body.

  “Because I have to, Jason.”

  “No. No, you don’t,” he argued. His concerned gaze steadily held hers.

  Amanda shot to her feet, anger fueling her rage. “Yes. I. Do. You can’t possibly understand.”

  Fire ignited in his eyes. “What I understand is that you’re heading back to your house to get some letter. A house that was ransacked and destroyed by men who would kill you without hesitation. What if they’re still out there? Did you think of that?”

  Cursing under her breath, Amanda forced her point. “What do you expect me to do, Jason? It’s my mother, for God’s sake. What would you do if it was your father and you were his only hope of survival?”

  Jason’s jaw dropped and he stiffened. Her words hung thick in the air.

  “Would you ignore the one chance to help save your father?” she pleaded.

  He shook his head. “No, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”

  Relief swamped her chest. She smiled. “I was hoping you might come with me.” She shrugged. “You know, just in case.”

  “Like you’d have a chance of going without me.” He smirked, arms folded across his chest. “But you have to promise me that at the first sign of danger we leave, no questions asked.”

  She nodded, her eyes closed with relief. Amanda’s pulse pounded, and her mother’s words repeated on loudspeaker in her mind.

  Synergy Playground, Kings Park, four o’clock, behind the slide. Synergy Playground, Kings Park, four o’clock, behind the slide.

  “Amanda,” Jason barked.

  She gasped, the warm, coffee-brown eyes in front of her pleaded for an explanation.

  “What else did she say?”

  Amanda ran a hand through her hair and used the other to fidget with her locket.

  “She wants me to meet her tomorrow at the Synergy Playground in Kings Park, at four o’clock, behind the slide, with my locket and the letter.” She paused. “And I need to meet her alone.”

  “Over my dead body.” Jason snarled.

  “Jason, please,” she pleaded. “My mother’s life depends on it. I can’t let her down.” Her heart pounded like a jackhammer.

  “And what about your life? Does that mean nothing at all?”

  She reared back, shocked by his outburst. “Of course it does, but I have to do this. I thought you understood?”

  Amanda’s gut tightened. The array of emotions flickering across his face stabbed at her heart.

  “Fine,” he said, finally. “But if you insist on meeting her, I’m going with you.”

  “No, you can’t.”

  Jason’s face grew stormy. His arms held tight across his muscled chest. “We can do this the easy or the hard way. I gave in when it came to the letter, but either I go with you tomorrow, or I tell my dad and he can go with you, along with the full backing of the Western Australian police force.”

  She stiffened. “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “It isn’t a hard choice,” he said, easing a little closer to her rigid figure. “If you haven’t worked it out yet, I like you. I like you a lot, and there’s no way I’m letting you go on some mercy mission that could put your life and your mum’s in danger.”

  Her pulse sped up, startled by his blunt confession. He likes me. He stared at her, so serious. His gaze seemed to burn right into her soul.

  Off limits. Off limits. Off limits. Jason is off limits.

  No doubt they would have to move again when this was all over. If she could convince herself he was off limits, maybe she might survive the heartbreak when it came time to walk away.

  “Tell you what, I’ll stand away from you. I’ll even read a book or magazine and pretend I’m there to meet someone else, so you will look as if you’ve come alone, but I’ll be there, just in case. That’s the best I can do.”

  Her belly clenched. She hadn’t expected his unconditional help, but that was what he gave. A simple gesture, knowing that for at least one moment she meant something to him.

  “Okay.” She smiled.

  “Okay,” he repeated. “Tell you what, since Dad thinks I’ll be in bed most of the day, sleeping off my migraine—” he chuckled, “—why don’t we watch a movie in here? You know, something to take our mind off things. My dad’s on nightshift so he’ll be asleep soon. I’ll pop out and get something to eat from the kitchen, and after he leaves for work, we’ll be able to go and get the letter from your house. Neither of us will last without nourishment. What do you say?”

  She smiled again. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Despite the warmth of his room, with Jason gone, an emptiness filled her heart. Amanda sighed and melted into the soft plush quilt covering Jason’s bed. Lemongrass scent waf
ted in the air. Lemongrass? Strange scent for a man’s bedroom.

  The feeling of helplessness swamped her. She knew they couldn’t leave yet, but sitting waiting was numbing, like watching grass grow. Pointless. Her mother always taught her to be strong, to fight, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

  Don’t worry, Mum. I’ll find the answers we need to bring you home—alive.

  Chapter 5

  “WHERE do you think you’re going?”

  Jason froze. His hand tensed against the bowl of food. It’s just not my day. It looked bad, his arms full of food and drink, heading back to his room when he should be asleep. He silently cursed Aaron and his mates for trashing his room on one of their all-night party binges. Thanks to a fifteen-thousand-dollar repair bill, his dad banned food and partying in the bedrooms.

  “Why aren’t you asleep? I thought you were on nightshift.”

  “My sleeping habits are none of your business. Don’t avoid the question.” Malcolm leaned against the kitchen bench. “Where do you think you’re going with all that food?”

  “It’s not what you think.”

  Folding his arms across his chest, Malcolm pried, “Oh, and what is it I’m thinking?”

  Jason’s chest tightened, the need to get back to Amanda escalating. She’d been alone long enough. Guilt planted itself deep in his heart.

  Sweat beaded Jason’s brow. “Well, my head started to feel better so I thought I’d catch up online on the class I missed this morning. I’ve been working in my room—papers everywhere, you know—and I was on a roll, so, instead of taking a break, I thought I’d keep working. That way, I can make my evening tutorial tonight without falling behind.”

  Dread tightened Jason’s chest, squeezing until he thought it would explode. He wasn’t a good liar, he hated lying, but he’d made a promise to Amanda. He hoped his dad could forgive him, or at least be proud of him when he finally knew the truth.

  “You know I don’t like food in the bedrooms,” Malcolm said.

  “Come on, Dad.” Jason paused. “Do you think, for once, you could maybe, just maybe, stop getting me confused with Aaron?” Will he always compare me to Aaron? He’s the screw-up, not me.

  “So, you’re going to your tutorial tonight?”

  “That’s what I said, didn’t I?” Jason bit back. “Now, can I get back to work, or would you like me to pack it all up and move out here, just so you can keep a watchful eye on me?”

  “Honestly, Jason, you can be so melodramatic sometimes,” Malcolm said, glaring at the clock on the wall above the fridge. “Now I’ll be lucky to get any sleep. Fine, work in your room, but God help you, if you make a mess.” He stormed down the hall in the direction of his room.

  Jason made a fake bow toward his retreating figure, muttering under his breath, “Yes, almighty, whatever you say, almighty.” He closed his eyes in frustration. It was times like these that he was thankful his father lived in the opposite end of the house.

  He glanced at the food in his arms and his thoughts refocused on Amanda hiding in his room. His father temporarily forgotten, he headed back to her.

  “What was that all about? Sounded like World War Three.” Amanda said as he handed her a food plate.

  “The usual, nothing to worry about,” Jason fumed. “Just his lordship throwing his weight around.”

  “Oh.”

  “He’s heading to sleep now, anyway, so he should be out of it for a couple of hours. Once we’ve had something to eat, we can head over to your house and get the letter you need to help your mum.”

  She stood her ground. “I’m not really that hungry, we could—”

  Jason’s hearty laugh filled the room. “Nice try, sweetheart, but we’re not going anywhere until we’ve had something to eat. Don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

  Amanda flopped onto his bed like a six-year-old child. “Fine.”

  “You know, if you stick your lip out any farther, you’re going to trip over it.” He laughed. He laughed louder when she glared at him with her best evil stare. Amanda appeared to struggle to hold a straight face. She broke into laughter with him.

  Amanda picked at the chicken salad. Jason ignored the desperate pleas from his empty belly and fed it quickly.

  “Lemongrass?” Amanda asked, breaking the silence between them.

  Jason’s brow furrowed. “Excuse me?”

  “Lemongrass. When you were in the kitchen, I picked up the faint scent of lemongrass. I didn’t pick you for the feminine kind. I would have thought you would be into a more masculine scent.”

  Jason shelfed his plate on the dresser, his appetite suddenly vanished. “Actually, it was my mum’s favorite fragrance she used to wash with.”

  “Was?” she asked, an eyebrow raised.

  He nodded. “Yes, was. She died ten years ago. Bowel cancer.”

  “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry.”

  The food churning in his gut was ready to make an unexpected appearance. “It was hard, at first, with all the hospital visits. She was barely able to stomach the cocktail of drugs they forced her to take. The false hope was the worst.”

  “False hope?” Amanda popped another piece of chicken into her mouth.

  “Yeah,” Jason said, clenching his fingers into tight fists. “The false hope the doctors would give us during the treatments like, ‘There’s no guarantees, but this one looks promising,’ or ‘We’ve had more successful results than we’ve ever had before on this drug.’ And my favorite, ‘We’ve got several more options to try.’ It gets old after a while.” Amanda’s troubled gaze hit him square in the gut.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss. I couldn’t imagine losing someone I loved to such a horrible disease.”

  Jason’s breath caught when she slid her hand over his in a gesture of comfort. He nodded, curling his fingers tight around hers. His skin burned from her silky touch.

  “Although I miss her every day, I’ve accepted it. Aaron never did. My dad still insists on using the same washing powder. I don’t mind. It kinda still feels good to smell her around.”

  Amanda smiled. “That’s sweet. So, you think that’s why Aaron went off the rails?”

  “No doubt, but I don’t want to talk about Aaron.” He grunted, jumping to his feet with renewed energy. “I’ll check if Dad’s asleep. I’ll be back in a moment,”

  Jason returned, pausing at the open door. Amanda sat and waited on his bed, eager to get moving.

  “As far as I can tell, the coast is clear. If you’re done, we can head over to your house, unless…”

  Amanda bolted to her feet. “No, I’m done, so totally done.”

  Taking a deep breath, he held up his hand to halt her hasty exit. “Remember, you promised to leave at the first sign of trouble.”

  She nodded, grabbed her backpack, and gestured toward the door. “Lead the way.”

  * * * *

  Amanda squirmed in the car seat beside Jason. “What are you waiting for? Let’s get going.”

  He gripped the steering wheel. “I think it would be best to come up with some sort of plan before we leave, don’t you?”

  She huffed. “Can’t we just go and get the letter?” Amanda cringed as he whipped his head around. Jason’s demanding gaze fastened her to the seat.

  “No, we can’t just go and get the letter,” he barked. “Do you care nothing for your safety or mine?”

  Amanda fidgeted impatiently. She twisted her hands on her lap. “Of course I do.”

  “Well, then, this is what we’re going to do,” he said, stopping her fidgeting.

  Amanda’s pulse sped up. Her gaze became glued to his soft hands caressing the backs of hers. Off limits, off limits, off limits.

  “I know you’re nervous, but it’s going to be okay.”

  She nodded. She opened her mouth to speak, but her words evaporated into thin air.

  “We’ll drive around the block a few times, checking to see if the
re are any unusual cars parked out front, then and only then, if it’s safe, I’ll park a few houses down and we’ll walk from there.”

  She beamed a smile in his direction. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “I’ll go in first—”

  “But—”

  He shook his head. “No buts about it. I go in first or we sit here ’til you agree.”

  She huffed, withdrawing her hands from his and throwing them up into the air. “Why do you always resort to blackmail?”

  “Because you need me,” he said, and his gaze searched hers.

  Her heart jumped into her throat. Yes, I need you.

  “And I need you to stay alive, so we do it my way. Agreed?”

  “Agreed.”

  Jason finally pulled out of the driveway and then headed in the direction of her house. The air was tense between them. “So, tell me about your mother.”

  Amanda beamed with pride, thinking of her mother. “She’s had it hard over the years, but she’s a survivor. Being a single mother couldn’t have been easy. My father left before I was born, and she’s raised me by herself. I suppose that’s why we moved a lot, so Mum could get work. There was never a dull moment. She says we’re two peas in a pod.”

  “She sounds pretty special.”

  “She is.” Her gut clenched as panic invaded her body. “I just hope I get to see her again.”

  Jason slowly turned onto Amanda’s street. “All right, act natural, but keep your eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.”

  Sweat beaded her forehead. Silent tension ran thick between them as they scanned the street.

  Amanda held her breath as they made the first drive-by. Not an unknown car anywhere in sight. That has to be a good sign, right? No car, no criminals. Jason doubled back. Again, no cars.

  “I think we’re good,” she mumbled. “I can’t see any cars near my house, only the Watsons’ campervan six doors down and the Neilsons’ BMW parked in their driveway on the corner.”

  Jason pulled up outside number thirty-five, three doors down. “I think we should hold hands.”

  Amanda eyes widened and her heart did a little somersault. She gasped. “What?” He’s picking now to make a pass at me.