Broken Ties by Gloria Davidson Marlow Read Free Book Online Page A

What was wrong with her? Over the years, she had met a person or two who confessed to disliking the increasing flamboyance and materialism of the holidays, but she had never met anyone who admitted Christmas terrified them. She was the only person she knew with that particular phobia, and it disturbed her more every year. Had she ever greeted the season with the anticipation and joy of a normal child?
    “I always hated Christmas.” The confession took her by surprise, and she wished she could take it back the minute she heard herself say it.
    “It scares you,” Levi said matter-of-factly, reminding her how astute he was at reading people.
    “Yes, it does.”
    “Can you remember a time when it didn’t?”
    She shook her head. “No.”
    He pulled the car into his parking place and turned toward her.
    “Have you ever tried to remember?”
    Her throat went dry as she considered it. “I can’t.”
    “But you know it has to do with your time before you were found, don’t you?”
    “Yes, now, I do.”
    He took her hand in his as they got out of the car and entered the building. “Come on.”
    The office Christmas tree greeted them the moment they stepped off the elevator on the second floor. Although her automatic reaction was to do what she did every morning and hurry past, he took her hand and pulled her toward it.
    “Look at it,” he said softly. “Try to remember a time you weren’t frightened.”
    She stared at the white lights, letting them blur before her eyes and transport her to a sunny winter day when everything was right with her small world.
    She came every day to admire the massive Christmas tree that stood in the corner of the castle’s grand ballroom. Some of the ornaments were so old and fragile Mama would let no one but Papa hang them. They were ornaments her great-great-grandparents had brought to Medelia from their homeland many, many years ago.
    She tried to imagine what would be hidden beneath the evergreen’s thick branches on Christmas morning. Would Saint Nicholas leave the doll carriage she’d shown Mama on their last trip to the city? It was almost identical to the white wicker pram Nanny pushed baby Andres in on their walks through the castle grounds.
    She smiled down at the doll in her arms. Soon Dolly would be riding across the lawn in a white wicker pram with lace trim and a ruffled white blanket covering her. Sidra was certain of it. She had been a very good little girl this year, and there wasn’t any reason Santa wouldn’t bring her what she wanted most in the world.
    A shiver of anticipation raced through her small frame, and she smiled happily as she lifted her face back to the Christmas tree.
    Without warning, a large rough hand covered her mouth, a thick arm came around her waist, and Dolly slipped from her hands as she was lifted off her feet. She kicked her legs wildly and tried to wiggle free, but the pressure of his hand on her mouth increased and she grew dizzy from lack of air. The walls and floors tilted, the mirrored walls of the ballroom reflecting the Christmas lights and transforming them into a vivid whirl in her panicked mind.
    “Mama!” She screamed against his hand. “Papa!”
    “If they come, I will kill them,” he growled, and she stilled. She could not let this man hurt her parents.
    He tightened his grip on her, his arm digging painfully into her ribcage as he strode through the ballroom, down the backstairs, and out the door.

Chapter Seven
    “Shhh. I’ve got you, Sidra. It’s okay.” Levi’s voice brought her back to the present, and she was surprised to find herself held tight against his chest while he murmured comforting words against her hair. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
    A shuddering sob shook her, and she clung to him as she told him what she remembered.
    “I was just a little girl, looking at our Christmas tree and dreaming about what Santa would bring me. He came up behind me, picked me up, and walked out of the castle.” She