After I spent another minute gaping, my eye did not change back to normal. If it wasn't for the elevator crash, the stranger's rescue, and my father pointing a gun today, I might have kept staring for a longer time. Instead, I packed my bag under Moreno's supervision and walked into the family room.

My half-brothers were throwing a big neon green ball back and forth while Jilly filed her nails. Everyone was still in their school uniforms, even though they should have left for school a quarter of an hour ago.

The boys paused as Moreno walked in behind me. Geoff's eyes filled with immediate awe and envy at the tall and built guy. Nath just threw the ball at Moreno, and he caught it with ease.

"Woah, Terri, did you get a boyfriend?" Geoff asked.

My face flushed. Moreno just chuckled, and I could see his chest shaking slightly. That made me blush harder.

"Geoffrey Oakeley," Jilly snapped. "Apologize."

"He isn't her boyfriend," Nath said. "He's one of them."

I looked over at my brother. He was eleven years old and eleven months older than Geoff. Nath was more calculating than his brother, but he looked at Moreno as if he knew exactly why he was there.

"Nath," I frowned. "Explain, please."

Nath ran a hand through his black hair. "Not sure I should. Dad said not to talk about this, and you should ask why Terri's only wearing one contact lens."

"That's not a contact lens," Jilly said, adding something else that would have Elise taking her phone later. "What did you see?"

"Why does everyone keep asking that?" I threw my hands in the air.

Jilly sucked on her lower lip. "All I know is if this ever happened, I needed to tell our parents and record whatever vision she had in great detail."

I stared at my stepsister like she'd grown a second head. "Vision?"

"They said to tell them if I saw anyone or anything funny," Jilly shifted from foot to foot. "Chuck said that your mother had a genetic condition that started in her eyes. He wanted to know if your eyes ever changed, and I needed to ask you what you saw."

Jilly and I had been through a lot together. She was one of my closest friends because she'd always stood up for me against bullies. Our joint efforts resulted in successfully convincing our parents to let me pursue online homeschooling. Once, she'd even attacked a man who tried to grab me in a supermarket. But why would our parents ask her to spy on me?

"What did you see?" Jilly asked.

"Why is that so important?" I was tired of everyone asking. "All I saw was some kids playing hide and seek with their uncle."

"What kids?" Moreno set the ball aside.

"A boy named Joshy and two girls," I said. "Jacks and Dot Pennal."

"Pennal?" Moreno's jaw slackened. "You're sure it was Pennal?"

"Why does that matter?" I asked.

Moreno's face went stony. "I knew someone by that name. It must be a coincidence. Are you ready to leave?"

It was a sudden change of subject. Geoff looked at his brother and patted a duffle bag with his gaming console stashed on top. Glad to know he was prioritizing. Nath's bag was probably more practical, but I could see a few books on game theory sticking out of his backpack.

On the other hand, Jilly had her emergency duffle with her tiny pink school bag, which was more of an accessory than a useful school tool. She was eyeing Moreno with suspicion, but I also had a feeling she was just staring at his muscles. There was clearly a weight room wherever he was from. The only thing about his appearance that didn't scream military was his long, dark hair. The part not pulled up in a bun brushed past his shoulder blades in dark waves.

Our parents stepped into the room. Dad had changed into jeans and a flannel shirt, and Elise wore one of her old shirts from Jilly's tie-dye phase and cut-off shorts. Neither looked excited, but Elise looked more worried than my dad.

"Jilly, Nath, Geoff," Elise said. "We're driving out to the ranch. Take your bags and load them into the SUV in the parking garage downstairs."

"Awesome!" Geoff grinned.

Jilly frowned. "Mom, why are we going to the Oakeley ranch?"

"Because it's safer," Elise said. "Follow me, and don't argue. I'll explain everything."

She steered the three of them out of the room and towards the back stairs which led fifteen flights down. I had a feeling the boys would complain all the way to the car. I turned to Dad.

"So we're going to the ranch?" I asked.

"Your stepmother is taking your siblings in the car," Dad said. "The rest of us are taking a helicopter."

I hadn't expected the safe location to be the family ranch. The ranch had been in the family for generations. My grandfather had raised cattle in central California for his whole life. He'd passed away from a heart condition two years ago, and now my Welsh grandmother, Granmam, and my eighteen-year-old cousin Dylan took care of day-to-day operations at the ranch.

We spent every summer at the ranch growing up. Dylan and I rode horses, moved cattle, and repaired barbed wire fences. Dad said the work was good for us and that growing up with chores on the ranch had taught him valuable life lessons. Dylan had lived on the ranch since he was three, and his mother passed away in a car wreck. Uncle Chris couldn't be bothered to be a father, so our grandparents took Dylan in.

"So we're going to the ranch?" I asked.

Dad nodded and ran a hand through his disheveled brown hair. There were more gray hairs sprinkled in there every day. He was barely forty, and today, he looked ten years older.

"Who is piloting?" Dad asked.

Moreno looked down at his wrist display. "Emma Warden is on the roof. We need to get going."

I grabbed my bag and followed Moreno and my father out of the apartment and up the stairs. The elevator was clearly still out of order since Moreno and I had broken it beyond repair. I didn't know what the apartment would do about the body or if they could trace it back to me. When I mentioned it to Moreno, he just shrugged and said that someone was taking care of it. It was like the collateral damage was no big deal to him.

I was puffing by the time we reached the roof. Dad wasn't much better. He had his hands on his knees and was breathing hard. I don't know what I expected, but as they said, a shiny red helicopter sat on the roof.

Beside it stood a girl who barely looked older than I was. She had a deep golden tan and amber eyes that almost looked orange. She used a banana clip to pull back her light blue hair. Even her eyebrows were the same color as her hair. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and I could see tattooed redwood branches across the one on top. She wore a dark tank top, board shorts, and a no-nonsense expression.

"Emma," Moreno nodded his head. "Who's cleaning up downstairs?"

"The building will get a generous donation from the Gryffyth Corporation," Emma said. "Now, let's get going. There are some fences at the ranch that Dylan probably needs my help fixing, and we're wasting the day away."

Before I could ask how this strange girl knew my cousin, she opened the front door of the helicopter and climbed inside. Moreno opened the back door and assisted my father with our bags. Once Dad was inside, Moreno held out his hand to help me inside.

Since I'd never climbed in a helicopter and for absolutely no other reason, I accepted the help. Once inside, he handed me a headset, and I followed his lead to put it on before the sound of the blades overwhelmed everything.

It was a little over two hours to get to the ranch. I might have grilled Dad over the ride, but the moment we'd taken off, he'd closed his eyes and thrown a hand over his face.

Moreno was quiet. He kept messing with the communicator on his wrist. I supposed he was talking to his boss, but I had no idea who might be on the other end.

He'd saved me from a pervert in an elevator. Then he'd let himself in my apartment, and my father had taken his advice to have the entire family leave. Somehow, they believed I was in danger, but they wouldn't tell me why. It made little sense. Something was missing.

Finally, I just had to ask. "So Moreno, from what I can put together, you're some kind of soldier or guard? Why were you following me?"

"There've been concerns you needed a guard detail," Moreno said. "I might have made one of my higher-ups mad, and they sent me to chill out. Then I suspected the subject you got into the elevator with, and I acted accordingly. I wouldn't complain since it probably saved your life."

At that point, I had a dozen more questions. Who did Moreno work for? Why did I need a guard? What made guarding me undesirable? Why was the man in the elevator suspicious? Why had Moreno used to knock out the delivery guy? Why did the man's collapse cause the elevator cables to snap?

Before I could open my mouth to ask another question, my dad straightened and gave Moreno a hard glare. "We can answer questions when we see your grandmother."

"Why do we need Granmam?" I asked.

Dad didn't answer, and Moreno turned to watch our descent over the family property. I could see the small group of giant sequoias on the property that gave The Oakeley Redwood Ranch its name, and I knew the answers were closer than ever.

We landed behind the big ranch house. I got out of the helicopter and headed towards the front door. My cousin stood on the porch waving. Dylan's dark blonde hair was slick with sweat, and he was dressed in worn work clothes. His grin was wide and white, and his six-foot-two frame leaned against the porch post.

"Hey, cuz," he said. "What's up?"

"What's up?" I demanded. "I am having the weirdest day ever, and all you have to say is, 'What's up'?"

Dylan's laughter echoed across the porch. If he weren't one of my favorite people in the world, I probably would have punched him. Instead, I walked up the steps of the porch and gave him a big hug.

"Welcome home," he said.

We broke away as the door behind him swung open, and my grandmother stepped through. Granmam looked young despite being almost seventy. She credited her few wrinkles to her Chinese mother and a Welsh skincare routine from her homeland. Her gray hair was brushed out of her face, and her smile was warm.

She'd grown up in Wales but moved to California after she met my grandfather, who was studying abroad for an exchange program in Europe at his university. She was taller than the rest of the family and the closest to my height, at 6 feet 7 inches.

"Good to see you, Terri," her accent was faint. "Where is Chuck?"

"Dad's coming," I said.

She nodded. There was something distant in her brown eyes. Aunt Suzie was the only one of her three children who'd inherited her traits from her Chinese mother. I could understand and sympathize, resembling a family member I never knew since I looked more like my egg donor than my father.

Dad walked towards the house with Moreno on his heels. The strange soldier, or whatever he was, carried our bags and walked straight into the house without invitation. I was surprised Granmam let him, but she barely batted an eye.

"How are you, Chuck?" She asked.

"Fine, Mam," he said. "Elise is bringing the kids along in the car. We really should go inside."

Hey friends!! So glad you're here. Hope you're enjoying the adventure with Terri. There's more coming soon.