open the door.
A broom, a bucket and a vacuum cleaner filled the space. There was no small body cowering inside.
He squeezed Jessica’s shoulder, knowing that she must be filled with disappointment. But she reached inside the pantry and pushed aside the back panel of the cupboard to reveal another dark space, one that led deeper under the stairs and had no light except for the flashlight that rolled across the floor. But it was turned off or burned out.
The unlit hiding space brought him back more than thirty years to that dark closet in which he and Antoine had hidden. They hadn’t been able to see anything…until much later when they had finally crawled out.
But they’d heard everything. And they’d felt everything.
“Samantha!” Jessica called out, fear cracking her voice. “Baby, are you in there?”
And if the child was hiding in the dark space, she would be able to hear and feel how terrified her mother was. The terror radiated off Jessica in waves that were drowning her and probably threatened to tow the child under with her.
Because the four-year-old could feel Jessica’s fear, he was careful to control his own. But he was feeling fear, too—fear that he was getting too involved with this single mother and with the little girl he had yet to meet.
“Samantha,” he murmured gently, “you can come out, sweetheart. The bad men are gone.”
“Prince Sebastian is telling the truth, honey,” Jessica added. “They are all gone. And you can hear the sirens. The police are on their way. You’re safe.”
Something shifted in the shadows, but the child would not come out.
“You’re smart,” Sebastian praised her. “You have found a very good hiding place. When my brother and I were young boys, we had to hide often from bad men. But we never knew how long to hide before it was safe to come out again. So my father gave us a code word he would use to tell us when it was safe to come out of hiding.”
“Sebastian?” Jessica uttered his name in a gasp of surprise over his admission. No one knew about his and Antoine’s past. King Omar had kept the true story from the media.
“This code word had to be something that only our father and my brother and I would know. No one else could guess at it then. No one else could trick us to come out of hiding.”
Tires squealed as cars stopped in front of the house. But Sebastian’s focus remained on the darkness. “So your mother needs to tell you something that only the two of you know. She needs to remind you of a secret only the two of you share, so I will step away now. I will go talk to the policemen and when you’re ready to come out, perhaps you can talk to the policemen, too.”
He stepped back from the dark, intending to give Jessica and her daughter this moment alone. But just as he turned around, someone moved quickly—coming out of the shadows to clasp his hand.
He stared down at the little girl. Her golden brown hair was tangled around her tear-stained face. Dust and cobwebs clung to her faded jeans and striped shirt. She stared up at him with eyes as wide as her mother’s, but instead of the warm brown, hers were a smoky, serious gray.
“You’re the prince,” she said. “From TV.”
Jessica had dropped to her knees in front of her child, her arms winding tight around the girl’s small frame. “Thank God you’re all right. Thank God you were hiding.”
Just because she’d been hiding didn’t mean she hadn’t heard everything that had happened in her house, to her friend. He entwined his fingers with hers. “You were very smart to do as your mother told you,” he praised her again, like he wished his grandfather had once praised either him or Antoine. “But why did you come out before you and your mother shared a secret?”
“We did,” the child replied. “You’re the secret.”
He chuckled. “I’m the secret?”
“You’re real,” she said, her voice full of awe. “You’re a real prince.” She glanced at his
A broom, a bucket and a vacuum cleaner filled the space. There was no small body cowering inside.
He squeezed Jessica’s shoulder, knowing that she must be filled with disappointment. But she reached inside the pantry and pushed aside the back panel of the cupboard to reveal another dark space, one that led deeper under the stairs and had no light except for the flashlight that rolled across the floor. But it was turned off or burned out.
The unlit hiding space brought him back more than thirty years to that dark closet in which he and Antoine had hidden. They hadn’t been able to see anything…until much later when they had finally crawled out.
But they’d heard everything. And they’d felt everything.
“Samantha!” Jessica called out, fear cracking her voice. “Baby, are you in there?”
And if the child was hiding in the dark space, she would be able to hear and feel how terrified her mother was. The terror radiated off Jessica in waves that were drowning her and probably threatened to tow the child under with her.
Because the four-year-old could feel Jessica’s fear, he was careful to control his own. But he was feeling fear, too—fear that he was getting too involved with this single mother and with the little girl he had yet to meet.
“Samantha,” he murmured gently, “you can come out, sweetheart. The bad men are gone.”
“Prince Sebastian is telling the truth, honey,” Jessica added. “They are all gone. And you can hear the sirens. The police are on their way. You’re safe.”
Something shifted in the shadows, but the child would not come out.
“You’re smart,” Sebastian praised her. “You have found a very good hiding place. When my brother and I were young boys, we had to hide often from bad men. But we never knew how long to hide before it was safe to come out again. So my father gave us a code word he would use to tell us when it was safe to come out of hiding.”
“Sebastian?” Jessica uttered his name in a gasp of surprise over his admission. No one knew about his and Antoine’s past. King Omar had kept the true story from the media.
“This code word had to be something that only our father and my brother and I would know. No one else could guess at it then. No one else could trick us to come out of hiding.”
Tires squealed as cars stopped in front of the house. But Sebastian’s focus remained on the darkness. “So your mother needs to tell you something that only the two of you know. She needs to remind you of a secret only the two of you share, so I will step away now. I will go talk to the policemen and when you’re ready to come out, perhaps you can talk to the policemen, too.”
He stepped back from the dark, intending to give Jessica and her daughter this moment alone. But just as he turned around, someone moved quickly—coming out of the shadows to clasp his hand.
He stared down at the little girl. Her golden brown hair was tangled around her tear-stained face. Dust and cobwebs clung to her faded jeans and striped shirt. She stared up at him with eyes as wide as her mother’s, but instead of the warm brown, hers were a smoky, serious gray.
“You’re the prince,” she said. “From TV.”
Jessica had dropped to her knees in front of her child, her arms winding tight around the girl’s small frame. “Thank God you’re all right. Thank God you were hiding.”
Just because she’d been hiding didn’t mean she hadn’t heard everything that had happened in her house, to her friend. He entwined his fingers with hers. “You were very smart to do as your mother told you,” he praised her again, like he wished his grandfather had once praised either him or Antoine. “But why did you come out before you and your mother shared a secret?”
“We did,” the child replied. “You’re the secret.”
He chuckled. “I’m the secret?”
“You’re real,” she said, her voice full of awe. “You’re a real prince.” She glanced at his
Similar Books
