The Rules for Breaking

by Elston, Ashley

  I watch for a few minutes. He shuffles papers and curses, over and over.

  Things don’t seem to be working out for Father Thomas.

  Glancing around the room, I spot Tyler kicked back on the bed, looking at a device, maybe a phone. He seems completely at ease with Thomas, and my blood boils.

  “Is Hammond in town yet?” Tyler asks in English. Do they only speak Spanish in front of us because they know we won’t understand them?

  “No,” Thomas answers. “But I don’t need him here until tomorrow.” He stops shuffling papers and turns to look at Tyler.

  “I’ll be at the other location tonight so you’ll need to handle things around here.”

  Other location?

  Thomas turns away from Tyler just as Tyler whispers, “I think Anna is on to me.”

  Tyler stops digging through the papers and looks back at Tyler. “And why would you think that?”

  Tyler shrugs. Obviously I’m more than a little on to him. He must be feeling Thomas out to see how bad it will be if he finds out that I know who he is. I definitely have a little something to hold over him now.

  “Does she seem like she’s up to something?” Thomas asks. “I mean, other than that ridiculous banging around she’s doing?”

  He knows. And he doesn’t care?

  Tyler moves to the desk, perching on the corner and plays with a small figurine. “I haven’t been in there today.”

  Thomas leans back in his chair. “Well, maybe you should go check.”

  Oh, no!

  I scramble back to my hole. Tyler will beat me there if he leaves Thomas’s room immediately and I look like I’ve been rolling around in the dirt.

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  I stick my head in the hole and Teeny’s sitting on the bathroom floor, tears streaked down her face.

  “You’re back!”

  She jumps up and holds her arms out like she’s going to catch me.

  “Teeny, Tyler’s about to open our door. Go out there and stall him. I have to clean up before he sees me.”

  She shakes her head, fast. “I don’t want to see him.”

  I drop my legs through the hole, holding myself up on my elbows. “You have to. I’ll be just a minute or two behind you. And shut the door. Tell him I’m using the bathroom.”

  Teeny backs out of the room and pulls the door shut. I drop down and cringe when the vibrations shoot up my legs. There’s no way to get the grate back up there or the air duct attached, so I just hope they don’t come in the bathroom and look up.

  At the sink, I scrub my hands, arms, and face. My T-shirt is a wreck. I pull it off and turn it inside out. The dirt blends into the black yoga pants so I’m okay there.

  I leave the bathroom and Tyler’s near the door, the mask back on.

  “What’s in your hair?” he asks.

  My hands fly to my head and a layer of dust drizzles down around me. Not good.

  “Nothing. We need to talk.”

  The door is still open and Tyler peeks down the hall.

  He seems torn. His attitude toward me has been hostile, which I don’t get. What did I do to him to make him so resentful?

  I’ve got to try to understand what’s going on and what part he’s playing in this. And as Pearl always says, you get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.

  “Tyler, please talk to me.”

  He turns back to me, pulling the mask off, and shuts the door.

  Teeny folds her arms in front of her and stands firmly in front of him. I love that even though she’s scared right now, you wouldn’t know it by looking at her.

  “I don’t think there’s anything to say.”

  “Please tell me what’s going on?” I ask.

  He shakes his head and presses his lips together.

  “Can you tell me why you have stitches?”

  His fingertips go to the side of his face. “That’s compliments of your boyfriend and a jagged piece of glass in the back of the van. He cut me through the mask.”

  And now he’s taking his revenge on Ethan.

  “Did you have to go to the hospital?” Teeny asks. She’s terrified of needles and doctors and hospitals.

  “No, Thomas stitched me up.”

  My jaw drops. “Thomas?”

  “He’s not all bad. There are some very good things about him.”

  “Can you tell me how you got mixed up with this?”

  “No.”

  I inch toward him and I feel Teeny try to pull me back. “How about I tell him I know who you are. Will he like that?”

  Tyler’s eyes get big and he takes a deep breath. I’ve made him mad. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with or what he’s risking by saving you like this.”

  I’m momentarily speechless. What he’s risking…this is the last thing I thought he would say. “What are you talking about? He’s a killer! And a kidnapper! And you’re helping him.”

  Tyler looks straight at me. “I will not talk about him with you.”

  “Okay, did you know who I really was when we were in Florida?”

  A short pause, then he answers, “Yes.”

  That answer is like a knife to the gut.

  “Were you supposed to hang out with me? Was it like your job?”

  Tyler’s head tilts to the side and I can tell he doesn’t want to answer me.

  I can’t stop now that I’ve started. “So everything between us was fake. You acted like you cared about me, but you were just doing a job. For a killer.”

  His expression hardens. “It wasn’t like that. I was glad we met. I was glad we were together. It meant something to me. Obviously more than it did to you.”

  I feel myself getting angry but I hold it in. I need answers, and kicking him in the balls won’t get them for me.

  “Were you supposed to be nice to me, too?” Teeny asks.

  The lines from Tyler’s forehead loosen and he actually smiles at Teeny. “I wanted to be nice to you. You’re a cool kid.”

  Teeny rolls her eyes and mutters “Whatever” under her breath.

  “Did you know I’d be leaving Naples that night of the party?” I ask.

  “Yes. That was part of the plan.”

  I blink a few times. Plan? Whose plan…Thomas’s? “Finish. Tell me what plan.”

  “No.”

  I clench my jaw and try very hard to keep my cool.

  “If you don’t tell me, not only will I tell Thomas I know who you are, but that you told me everything.”

  Tyler throws the mask on the floor, frustrated. “Thomas didn’t believe you lost your memory that night Price and his son were killed. And Sanchez told him you said you knew where the ledgers were. He thought the memory thing was just a hoax. He needed the ledgers and you were the only person who knew where they were. He thought if you met someone—someone you cared about—that you’d confide in them.”

  Just a mention of that night starts to throw me into a panic, but I push it back. I can’t fall apart right now.

  “And you were supposed to be that person?” My voice is controlled. I’m hanging on to my anger by a very thin string right now.

  He ignores my question. “But you weren’t talking.”

  I throw my hands up and pace around the small room, Teeny following my every step. “Because the memory loss was real, you asshole.”

  He won’t look at me but at least he keeps talking. “He decided on a different tactic. You and I were getting close.” Tyler looks up, his expression pained. “My feelings for you were real.”

  He waits for me to say something, anything, but I don’t trust myself to speak.

  “If he forced a relocation, we thought you’d confide in me. Refuse to leave and tell me what was happening to your family. Tell me what you knew.”

  I dr
op down to the mattress. “This is why you kept telling me that day you’d be at that restaurant, HB’s, right until you picked me up for our date. You wanted me to be able to find you.”

  “But you never came.” He won’t look at me, but keeps going, “Even after you left, I thought the plan would still work.” He pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and holds it up. “I still have the same number. Just in case you decided to call.”

  My mouth drops open. “Why on earth would you think that plan would work? This doesn’t even make sense.”

  His head cocks to the side, pissed. “You did exactly what Thomas wanted you to do, Anna. I just wasn’t the guy you trusted.”

  Rules for disappearing

  by Witness Protection prisoner #18A7R04M:

  Avoid conflict at all costs….

  New rule by Anna Boyd:

  Conflict can’t always be avoided, so be prepared for the worst. Or as Pearl likes to say, “If you’re up shit creek without a paddle—don’t think your hands ain’t gonna get dirty.”

  room is silent. Even Teeny seems frozen beside me. Part of me is furious with him. Really, beyond furious, but then there is a small, very small, part of me that feels like I’m supposed to apologize to him for not liking him as much as I like Ethan. Because he’s right. I told Ethan everything and even fled town looking for a way out of this rather than leave him behind.

  So this is why he’s so angry and taking shots at Ethan. He’s jealous I picked Ethan.

  And then I remember a conversation Thomas and I had in the laundry room back in Natchitoches. It was just after my memory returned and I had called him to talk about my options. He asked me if this sudden change in my behavior had anything to do with a boy.

  I haven’t given Thomas nearly enough credit.

  Tyler stands up quickly and pulls the mask back on. “That’s all I can tell you. He’d kill me if he knew I’d told you this much.”

  Somehow I don’t think Tyler’s “kill me” is as big of a threat as the “kill me” vibe I get from Thomas.

  He leaves the room, locking it behind him.

  I drop back against the mattress and stare at the ceiling, trying to work everything out in my mind.

  Teeny’s at the wall talking to Noah and I jump when she’s starts yelling.

  “Stop!” Teeny screams. “Where are you taking him?”

  I rush to the wall and look through the hole—Thomas is pulling Noah out of the room.

  Oh no, oh no, oh no…

  “What’s happening?” I ask Teeny.

  “I don’t know! I was talking to Noah and the next thing I know, Noah’s face is gone and Thomas’s fills the hole. Then Thomas started dragging Noah out of the room,” she finishes in a cry.

  They’re already gone by the time I look through the hole again. Teeny hugs me and I hug her back just as tight.

  “Wha…wha…what does that mean? Do you think he will…will…hurt him?” Teeny stutters out.

  My stomach drops. “I hope not, Teeny.”

  “I want to go home. I want to see Dad. And Mom. And even Ethan’s parents. Mrs. Landry’s probably going nuts.” Teeny moves away from me and hits the mattress, soft at first and then much harder. “I hate Thomas. And Tyler. And can you believe Tyler was lying to you back then? I mean, everything he said about who he was—it was fake. I really liked him. If Thomas forced us to move from Florida, did he force us to move all those other times?” She falls back on the mattress. “We were like puppets.”

  I have no answers for her and hearing Teeny voice all the same concerns I have is my undoing. I’ve tried to shut out thoughts of my parents, and Ethan’s parents, knowing they’re going out of their minds with worry. But I can’t anymore. And now this news from Tyler. We’re still puppets.

  The people around me are dropping like flies—first, Agent Parker killed and now Noah taken away. There will be no way for the carriage full of people to miss me tonight. Thomas said he was going to be gone tonight when I was eavesdropping in the grate, and even though I think Tyler is nuts, I don’t think he’ll hurt me.

  Once it’s dark, I’m going to throw that window open and yell at any person I see. I don’t trust the police but I don’t think they will do anything bad to me on the spot. I’m also worried about Dad and the Landrys, but I know they would want us to escape if we had a chance. If I can get us out of this building, then maybe we can sneak away. It’s a risk, but I don’t have any other options.

  When I inch open the shutter, I’m shocked. There are three carriages, all full of people, parked on the street in front of the convent. And probably another ten people milling around on the sidewalk. It’s not a huge crowd but definitely more than I’ve seen the past few nights. In unison, every person picks up a camera and flashes pop like I’m the Duchess of Cambridge.

  The door bursts open and Tyler, unmasked, fills the doorway. “What the hell did you do?”

  I slam the shutter closed.

  “What?” I go for the really confused, innocent face.

  He stomps to the window and examines the shutters.

  “You’ve screwed up so bad. I have to fix this. He’ll flip out when he gets back and sees what’s outside!”

  I’m not sure he’s actually talking to me, more muttering to himself, but he’s scared. His eyes dart around the room and he’s rocking back and forth. I’ve never seen him like this and it’s freaking me out.

  “You just had to stay here, tucked away until it was all over. That was it. That was the plan. This is bad. So bad.”

  He pulls a cell phone from his back pocket and shows me the screen. It’s a dark, grainy picture.

  “What is that?”

  “It’s this building. And that,” he points to a whitish blob in the top of the image, “is you.”

  There is no way anyone could make out the details of my face because it’s dark and too far away. Hell, you can barely tell there’s a person in that picture.

  “You can’t tell that’s me! That could be anyone!”

  “But the crowd is here because of that picture. You can’t stay here now. He’s here.” He taps the screen of his phone a few times before continuing, “Mateo is here.”

  What! “I don’t understand? Why would Mateo be here?”

  Tyler looks away from his phone. “Because Thomas was reeling him in slowly. We sent another message yesterday that brought him to the Quarter and the Quarter isn’t that big. He’s been wandering around the area all day. I don’t know if he’s just hanging around to see what the crowd is doing or if he thinks this has something to do with us. Either way, he’s right outside and you just stuck your head out of the damn window.”

  My mouth is dry and it’s hard to squeak my question out. “But why is everyone here? I don’t understand.”

  “The crazies saw that picture and now they want more. They think this place is haunted, like the stupid tour guides say.” He paces around the room and yells, “Son of a bitch!” And then his eyes fly to mine. “I can’t get Thomas on the phone. You can’t stay here. I can’t handle it if Mateo finds a way inside.” He grabs the phone and the keys and stops before he leaves the room. “Grab your stuff! We’re leaving.”

  Teeny and I scramble around the room, grabbing not only our shoes but our jackets and other belongings we’ve accumulated. This is not our first grab and go. I’m not sure if I’m scared because Mateo is outside or because Tyler is freaking out.

  We get to the door and I sneak a peek down the hall. I expect to find the assassin creeping toward us, but all I see is Tyler running down the hall.

  “Wait! What about Ethan?”

  He stops. He’s obviously fine with leaving him behind but I’m not.

  “I won’t leave without him,” I say.

  Tyler comes back and begrudgingly opens Ethan’s door.

  Ethan’s on
the mattress, right where I left him earlier, but gets up as quickly as he can when he sees Teeny and me.

  I run in his room and resist tackle-hugging him. “Hurry, Ethan. We’ve gotta get out of here!”

  When I turn around, Tyler has a knife to Teeny’s neck. “Don’t try anything. We’re just going a couple of blocks to another location.”

  Ethan moves closer to Tyler. Tyler’s eyes get big and I tug on Ethan’s arm until he’s back by my side. I would bet everything I had that Tyler wouldn’t harm Teeny, but that’s still not enough to take the risk.

  “Let her go,” Ethan growls. “Now.”

  Teeny’s eyes are frantic as they dart between me and Ethan.

  “It’s okay, Teeny. Just stand really still,” I say to her in a low voice.

  “Mateo’s here. He’s outside,” Tyler says.

  With my hand still on Ethan’s arm, I can feel how tense he is. “I don’t believe you.”

  “He’s out there. Standing with the crowd looking at the building. Mateo is here.” It’s obvious Tyler is legit scared out of his mind right now.

  I feel like my knees are going to give out.

  Ethan asks, “What does he look like?”

  Tyler pulls Teeny back into the hall. “We’re not opening that window again. You can see if he’s still there when we get outside. He’s in black pants and a jacket. Hands in his pocket. Black hat.” Tyler swallows deep and continues, “Cross tattoos in a line around his neck. That’s how I know it’s him. He gets a new tattoo after every hit.”

  Thomas said Mateo burns a cross into his victims’ chests. A cross for both of them.

  “We’ve got to go!” Tyler yells and begins dragging Teeny down the hall.

  It only takes a few seconds to get to the end.

  We race down the stairs, and I stumble most of the way down. I’m terrified to find out what’s waiting for us outside.

  “What’s happening?” Ethan asks as he grabs my arm to steady me. He’s wincing with every step, yet still trying to hold me up.