Tagan's Child Read online

  Ahran laughed. I couldn’t help noticing how the humour softened his face. Jesus! He was very good looking. “No, we are not the Mafia and drugs are not important where I come from. I’m afraid the people who might come after Toby are far more dangerous than the kind of people you might have seen in a gangster movie.”

  This was not what I wanted to hear. I’d seen the ‘Godfather’ I couldn’t conceive of anyone more dangerous than a Mafia gangster. I started to feel the room spin and my knees began to buckle at the thought of Toby being hurt. I clutched the edge of the counter behind me.

  “Are you okay?”

  I glared at his outstretched hand as if it was a poisonous snake. “No, I’m not okay,” I spat. “You turn up out of the blue and tell me that the most important person in my life is in danger, an innocent boy who has never caused anyone any harm, his only crime that he is the son of some…” I searched for the right word, Ooh, I could come up with some choice ones! “Criminal!” I seethed and glared at him. His expression grew darker.

  “You have the wrong impression of my cousin.”

  “Oh have I? Well, your cousin,” I said with exaggerated emphasis, “Got my sister pregnant and walked away never to be seen again. Katie never received any support. Toby has had to grow up not knowing who his father was and now, because of him, his life is in danger. I’m sorry if I seem a little bitter.” I didn’t sound in the least bit apologetic.

  I took a deep breath and closed my eyes which caused tears to spill down my cheeks as it all began to sink in. Suddenly, I felt as if all my fight had just up sticks and left. I sobbed into my hands.

  I felt Ahran’s warm hand on my arm. I wasn’t prepared for his sympathy. I pulled away. I didn’t want to know who Toby’s father was and what trouble he and his family were in. I just wanted Ahran to go away, rewind back to this morning and for Toby and I to carry on with our lives blissfully unaware of everything he had just told me.

  I rubbed my eyes.

  “Can I get you a tissue?” He offered awkwardly. My tears were obviously making him uncomfortable.

  I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand and sat down at the kitchen table. “Could you just get me a glass of water please?” I muttered. For some reason I was finding it difficult to think straight when he was stood so close. I felt upset and confused.

  “Yes of course.” He looked relieved he had something to do. I got the impression he wasn’t used to emotional women, although I’m not sure why, there had to be a long line of broken hearted females trailing not too far behind him.

  I took a sip from the glass he handed me.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in, but I cannot emphasise enough that your lives are in danger. No matter what you think of my cousin you need to seriously consider my family’s offer of protection.”

  I eyed him suspiciously. “What have your family done exactly that has made this enemy so angry that they would want to come after an innocent child?”

  “Unfortunately, Tagan killed the son of a very powerful woman where I come from and she wants revenge,” he said with a hint of regret.

  This was more like the image I had of Tagan. “So he’s a murderer?!” I knew he was a waste of space. Oh Katie, why oh why did you have to get tangled up with someone like that?!

  “You misunderstand,” Ahran said in his cousin’s defence.

  “Well, you either kill someone or you don’t.” I gave a humourless laugh. “If he killed someone then he was a murderer.”

  He looked like I had just slapped him in the face. I’d obviously hit a nerve and it took him a moment to recover.

  He shook his head. “You are wrong,” he said quietly. Tagan was a brilliant soldier, he had no choice, it was kill or be killed.”

  “Tagan was in the army?” I digested this piece of information. I wasn’t sure I really want to know any more about him.

  Ahran continued. “Yes, he was also the heir to my uncle’s very extensive estate, which makes Toby the next rightful heir. Capturing Toby would not only be a just revenge in Bazeera’s eyes but he would also be a very useful bargaining chip for her to get her hands on my family’s land.”

  I laughed. “This is some kind of joke right?”

  “I have never been more serious in my life,” he replied without a hint of a smile.

  “Okay, so you are telling me that some woman wants to kidnap Toby because his father was some kind of lord?” I asked incredulously. The picture Ahran was painting of Tagan as a titled soldier who had fought honourably for his country, jarred with my image of him being a druggy good-for-nothing who slept around.

  “Not a lord, a prince.”

  “A prince!” Jesus! I was happier thinking the worst of him, it made it easier to accept that he had deserted my sister.

  “Yes, he was a prince from a very wealthy and respected royal family.”

  “And Toby is the next heir?” I asked, hardly believing what I was hearing.

  “Yes,” he replied patiently.

  It felt like my brain was made of cotton wool. I was having difficulty processing the simplest of his answers. I sat there for some time staring at a mark on the floor. I turned it over in my head. Toby’s father was a prince, which means Toby is a prince and heir to some wealthy foreign kingdom. No matter how much I repeated it in my head it didn’t sound any less crazy.

  “My family would like you and Toby to accompany me back to my family’s home where we can offer you full protection,” he said, repeating his earlier proposal.

  Despite feeling bewildered I started to think about the practicalities. We couldn’t just up sticks and leave with this stranger. We had our lives here. “And how long do you think we would need to stay with you?” I asked, playing along.

  “As long as it takes for my people to remove the threat,” Ahran said with little emotion.

  “And how would you do that?” I asked not sure I wanted to hear the answer. I was from a rural community in East Sussex, nothing like this ever happened.

  “Until Bazeera is overthrown,” he replied matter of factly.

  I had a sinking feeling that overthrown was a euphemism for being killed. It all sounded rather too serious and dangerous. What had we found ourselves in the middle of?!

  I tried to reason with him. “Surely the police can deal with this. If Toby’s life is in such danger then the police or special branch or whoever deals with this kind of thing should be able to do something about this Bazeera.”

  He frowned and shook his head. “There is no need to involve the police. We are capable of dealing with our own problems.”

  I still wasn’t convinced that they weren’t part of the mob. I stood up and started to pace the kitchen. “I can’t take Toby out of school, away from all his friends and everything he knows to go off with a stranger for an indeterminate amount of time.” I stopped in front of him. “Besides I’ve got a business to run.” I hoped that I might be able to convince him he was being melodramatic.

  “I don’t think you quite understand what Bazeera is capable of,” he warned.

  “Maybe not, but we can’t just walk away from our lives.” I took a deep breath and tried to calm my nerves and temper my frustration. “Look, you’ve got to try and see this from my point of view. A guy I’ve never met before turns up on my doorstep and tells me that my nephew is a prince and heir to a fortune and that his life is in danger from some power hungry woman because she wants vengeance and a slice of that fortune.”

  Ahran shrugged and shook his head as if to say, ‘And your point is?’

  “It just all sounds too far-fetched and why should I believe you anyway, you’ve not provided me with any hard evidence.” I hoped by talking some sense I would be able to convince him that his story was too absurd and that he really shouldn’t believe everything he is told either.

  I moved towards the door. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to go somewhere.” I felt more resolute, this sort of thing just doesn’t happen in real life. Denial was the best policy unti
l I had proof. “If you can provide me with some irrefutable evidence that what you say is true then perhaps we can talk again.” I had no intention of putting Toby at any risk, but this was Hatherley, the most criminal thing that ever happened here was fly-tipping in a field gateway.

  Ahran ran his hand over his hair in frustration. He went out into the hallway where I’d hung up his jacket and then came back into the kitchen.

  “Look, take this.” He handed me a small rectangular tablet.

  “What is it?” I eyed it suspiciously.

  “It’s a cell phone.”

  “I’ve got a phone thank you.”

  “You will need this if you want to contact me.”

  Somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered why he couldn’t just give me his number. “You obviously need some time to think about this. In the meantime, if you feel threatened in any way, do not hesitate to phone one of the two numbers programmed into it. I can get here quickly if necessary. I will give you two days and then I will come back for you both.”

  I’d had enough of arguing with him. “I’m sorry I really am going to have to go.” I tossed the phone on the table as if accepting it would make everything he had just told me true.

  I followed him to the front door and offered my hand. “Well Mr Elessar, it’s been, er, interesting, and if there is anything I’m worried about you can rest assured I will give you a call.” I was pleased I had come up with a sensible plan amidst this madness.

  Ahran looked at me intently. “I mean it, we haven’t got long. If anyone new turns up in your village, or threatens you or Toby in any way, you must call me immediately.”

  “Yes of course I will,” I said in my sweetest and best air hostess voice. “Now if you don’t mind.” I handed him his jacket and opened the front door as a signal for him to leave.

  “Please be vigilant, for yours and Toby’s sake.” He sounded angry. It wasn’t the first time this evening. I’d got the distinct impression that he didn’t want to be here and he wanted me to be difficult even less. He had obviously expected us to go with him, but I was damned if that was going to happen without more proof. He hesitated and then turned and walked out into the darkness.

  I slowly shut the door behind him. My head ached. As implausible as Ahran’s story was, could I afford to ignore it? What would be the point of making up a story like that? Perhaps he was just a very convincing fraud, albeit a very good-looking one. I leant my back against the door and took a deep breath. Were our lives really in that much danger?

  *****

  The alarm woke me at 6.30 as usual. I eventually got to sleep about half past three after tossing and turning thinking about Ahran’s visit. I slowly put my feet to the floor. My head was pounding as if I had been drinking. I was still struggling to believe what he had told me and the evil voice in my head was doing its usual thing, spouting negativity and insisting that I could be putting our lives in danger if I didn’t heed Ahran’s warning. “Oh shut up!” I grumbled and went into the bathroom.

  I thought about the day ahead. My best friend Bennie had just got back from her latest assignment and she was coming over this evening for a takeaway and a catch up. She had been in Kenya for over a month filming a new litter of lion cubs in one of its nature reserves. I missed her and her sensible counsel even more than usual in the light of last night’s unexpected bombshell. She was one of those people who talked sense and at this moment in time I really needed someone to be sensible. After I’d had a shower my headache had lessened and I felt a little better as I headed downstairs. Bennie would know what to do.

  Toby was already dressed and sat at the breakfast table eating a bowl of Cheerios with Mungo drooling at his elbow.

  “What have I done to deserve the pleasure of your company at this hour of the morning?” I asked cheerily, if a little suspiciously.

  “Nothing,” Toby said as he slurped down the last couple of spoonfuls of cereal. “I’m going on a school trip today, remember. I’ve got to be at school by seven thirty.”

  “Dammit! I’d forgotten all about your trip and I need to make you a packed lunch,” I said, moving from one foot to the other as I tried to decide what to do first.

  “Don’t worry, I’ve made it already,” Toby said.

  I was always dubious of the nutritional value of a packed lunch Toby had made but I didn’t have time to argue. I hardly even noticed when he put his breakfast bowl on the floor and Mungo began to lap up the leftover milk. It was one of my pet hates. I went over and gave him a hug.

  “You are amazing Toby McAllister, do you know that?” I gave him a kiss on the cheek. Ahran’s words came back to me and I contemplated life without my little nephew. A lump formed in my throat and tears stung my eyes. I quickly turned away and busied myself with putting some toast in the toaster. I hoped we would never see Ahran Elessar again.

  “Yeah, I know,” Toby replied.

  “And modest too,” I laughed, wiping my nose on my sleeve.

  “Are you alright Auntie Sophie?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, dodging his question. “Go and brush your teeth, we’d better get going.” We made it to school just in time.

  It wasn’t as busy at the coffee shop as it had been the day before, so the three of us made the most of the lull and got on with some of the mucky jobs we’d been putting off for a week. I cleaned the coffee machine. Sandie worked on the grills and Audrey tackled the fridge. It was a hive of activity and just what I needed to keep myself occupied. I hadn’t told Audrey about Ahran’s visit because I didn’t want to worry her. I decided I wouldn’t say anything until he had proved to me that what he’d said was true. I fully intended to tell Bennie tonight though. I needed to share it with someone.

  It had been a busy day cleaning and we rewarded ourselves with tea and some unsold cake. We congratulated ourselves with what we had achieved and shut up shop safe in the knowledge that everything was spick and span. I picked Toby up from afterschool club and was regaled with stories of his school trip to the Natural History Museum. He flaked out after his bath not even able to stay awake for a story. I tucked him in and kissed his forehead. We had got through the day without being attacked by evil, vengeful enemies from far off places. I began to think that Ahran’s visit had been some kind of stupid prank.

  I put some plates in the oven and a bottle of wine in the fridge. It had been too long since I had seen Bennie. I smiled at the thought of my best friend. Her name wasn’t actually Bennie it was Cordelia. I remember the day I met her so clearly, it was at the village primary school, the same one that Toby now went to. We were both five. I had been at school for a term and she had just moved into the village with her parents. She had been a real tomboy and figured that nobody at school would be any the wiser if she renamed herself Benjamin. She reasoned that boys had more fun and decided a name change might make her life more exciting. She was an only child. Her parents, Edward and Gwen Blythe-Smith, after twenty three years of trying, had resigned themselves to never being able to have children and then Bennie came along.

  Mrs Blythe-Smith became a first time mum at the age of forty eight. It was a dream come true for her and her husband but it meant that the first eighteen years of Bennie’s life were suffocated by aging parents who were over-protective and unrealistic in their expectations. Bennie had been pretty rebellious in return. She was nearly expelled from the local grammar school on more than one occasion. Her father, a successful lawyer, was over the moon when she got a place on a law degree course at university, finally it seemed she was taking life more seriously. Unfortunately for her parents, her time studying law was short lived when an affair with one of her lecturers brought an end to their dream of Bennie having a successful career in law. Her parents were less than encouraging when she enrolled herself onto a photography course, but two years later she proved them wrong and set herself up as a freelance photographer. Her lucky break came when she met a producer of BBC wildlife films at an industry ‘do’ and the rest, as they say, i
s history.

  I couldn’t wait to see her.

  The doorbell rang. I half-ran to the front door. For a split second, I wondered whether it was her and that maybe I should check before I opened it. “Bennie?” I said through the door feeling really silly and not a little bit paranoid. Damn Ahran Elessar!

  Chapter 4

  “It’s me chick,” Bennie replied.

  I opened the door. See, there was nothing to worry about. Bennie stood on my doorstep with a Chinese takeaway in one hand and a bottle of rosé in the other.

  “The wanderer returns bearing gifts of alcohol and bucket loads of MSG,” she said, holding out her arms. I had never been more pleased to see her.

  “Come in its freezing,” I said with a grin, shutting the door behind her and giving her a hug.

  “Steady on girl, you’ll break a rib,” she said breathlessly.

  Bennie was a stunner. She had sleek, shiny, jet black hair cut into a blunt bob. Her recent trip away had given her a golden tan which made her blue eyes almost luminescent. She looked just like a Russian Bond girl.

  “You look fantastic,” I said as I took the food and bottle of wine from her.

  “You look pasty,” said Bennie, less generously.

  “Thanks love, I can always rely on you for a compliment,” I said with a chuckle.

  “You know me Sophe, I say it how it is. What’s the matter?”

  I loved Bennie. She was great at reading people and especially good at reading me. She never skirted around the issue she just got straight to the point. This approach worked for me, I wasn’t big on small talk.

  “Oh, I’ve just been working hard and it was the anniversary of Katie’s death at the weekend.” I wanted to add that mine and Toby’s lives were possibly in danger but I was going to have to build myself up to that.

  “I did try and call you on Sunday,” Bennie said apologetically, “but the phone at the ranch we were staying at was on the blink and then I had to catch my flight. Well, you know how it is,” she said, seeking my forgiveness.