Tagan's Child (23 page)

We drove all
day.

It was dark
when I woke up and I had a crick in my neck. I stretched and tilted
my head from side to side to try and loosen the tense muscles.

“Did you have a
good sleep? Ahran asked.

I rubbed the
back of my neck and took a deep breath in an attempt to shore up my
crumbling defences before I looked across at his face.

“Yes, just a
bit stiff. Have I been asleep long?” His handsomeness was not
diminished in any way by the poor light. In fact the dimness within
the car heightened my other senses and I became all too aware of
him. Just focus on what you are here for Sophie. I opened the
window to get some fresh air.

“About an hour
and half,” he replied. “Do you want to hear some good news?”

I detected a
note of optimism in his voice and it snagged my attention.

“I could do
with some good news right now,” I muttered. “What is it?”

“Whilst you
were asleep I had a phone call from Halsan, one of his agents
reported a sighting matching the description of Toby.”

“Really?” It
was the best thing I’d heard in two days. “Where?”

“Near Terrina.
It’s still a long way away, but it’s a lead.”

“Well let’s
head there then.”

“We will. There
is a night train leaving at eleven from the next town, it will take
us straight into Terrina. We’ve got a few hours to kill so I
suggest we stop, get some food and freshen up.”

“Sounds like a
plan,” I said brightly. I felt relieved I wouldn’t be spending
another night in a hotel with him, somehow sleeping on a train
didn’t seem quite so bad and at least we would be in separate
bunks.

We travelled
the few remaining kilometres to the motel and I began to feel more
optimistic. Before, it had felt like we’d been travelling blindly,
but now we had somewhere definite to head to.

We arrived at
the motel which was more dated than some of the other buildings I
had seen in Ramia, but it was neat with colourful planters outside.
We parked in front of a single story block with a row of numbered
doors. Ahran got out of the car and I quickly re-did my ponytail.
He got our bags out of the boot and I joined him in the well-lit
car park. How was he still able to look devastatingly good after a
day stuck in a car?

“Shall we eat
first?” he asked.

“Good idea, I’m
starving.”

He took my hand
in his. I wasn’t prepared for the sudden contact and a charge of
current shot up my arm making my knees unstable. If only I didn’t
feel that, if only my body didn’t react to him like it did. He
would be so much easier to resist. I felt angry at myself for being
so weak and then I felt angry towards him. You would never know he
was engaged to be married, he was far too tactile. I didn’t want to
create a scene in the car park but I did slip my hand away from
his.

I’ve just got
to get through the next few days, I’ve just got to get through the
next few days, I chanted silently as we walked towards the small
diner situated next to the motel.

The warm glow
of the restaurant was inviting and the delicious smell of home
cooking made my stomach rumble as we walked through the door. A
jolly looking middle-aged man approached us and spoke in Ramian to
Ahran. Apart from the height, I wondered what it was about me that
indicated I wasn’t Ramian.

The waiter
showed us to our table and we sat down. There was no menu on the
table or anything hi-tech just an ordinary chalk board attached to
the wall with what I presumed was the menu written on it. I
squinted at the indecipherable script; there wasn’t one letter I
recognised. The waiter left us to make our decisions.

“Let me
translate,” Ahran said, reading the blank look on my face.

He ran through
an appetising list of meals. Most I recognised, although he had to
explain a couple of things I’d never heard of. I finally settled on
a chicken dish with a creamy sauce served with fresh vegetables and
crispy potatoes. My mouth watered at the prospect.

The waiter
reappeared and Ahran reeled off our order to him. The waiter smiled
pleasantly, poured us some water from the jug on the table and went
into the kitchen. Ahran leant in slightly. There was another couple
and two families already eating their meals and talking quietly
amongst themselves.

“You must be
hungry. You haven’t eaten since this morning,” I said. From what I
had observed so far he had a massive appetite.

“You’re right I
could eat a hippopotamus.”

I smiled at his
choice of big things to eat. It must have been something in the
translation.

I looked into
his lovely eyes. It would be so easy to reach out and touch
him.

“So, have any
of the King’s agents come up with anything else?” I asked by way of
distraction.

“No, nothing.”
He hesitated and took a sip of water. “I wasn’t going to tell you
this but I think you should know…two of his agents have been
killed.” He paused. “We need to be vigilant. Bazeera does not want
us to find Toby and she’s doing everything she can to make sure we
don’t.” He took a sip of his water and tilted his head in
acknowledgement of what he was about to say. “But the sighting of
Toby is a good lead and we should be able to trail him more easily
now we know where to start.”

The journey
ahead of us still seemed impossible, and with the unwelcome piece
of information about the King’s agents, the danger we were in was
undeniable.

“I suppose
finding him is one thing, but actually getting to him without
anyone getting hurt is another matter altogether,” I said, voicing
my fears.

“You leave
getting him to me. You aren’t going anywhere near where they are
holding him.” There was a warning look in his eyes.

“I’m coming
with you,” I said, standing my ground.

“Sophie, I am
telling you now you are not.” There was a razor sharp edge to his
voice and some of the people in the restaurant looked in our
direction. They quickly turned back to their meals when I met their
eyes. “Be reasonable,” he said more quietly. “This is how I used to
earn my living. I’m not putting your life at risk any more than it
already is.”

I wanted
nothing more than for Toby to be found and brought back safely, but
the thought of Ahran putting himself in considerable danger was a
difficult pill to swallow.

“Well, shall we
just see where he is first?” I wasn’t prepared to give in just
yet.

“Has anyone
ever told you that you are stubborn?” he asked, his anger
dissipating.

“I am not
stubborn,” I said stubbornly.

He raised an
eyebrow at me.

“I just know…
my own…mind,” I faltered.

He beamed his
heart stopping smile knowing that I had just dug myself into a
hole. I had trouble breathing. I had a hard time doing even the
simplest things when he smiled at me like that.

“Are you aware
that you do that?” I said without thinking.

“Do what?”

Oh God, what
had I started?

He was waiting
for me to continue.

I took a deep
breath. “You have a way of smiling that makes it very difficult for
a woman to think straight. You did it to the poor girl at the
airport check-in, the flight attendant on the plane and the woman
at the hire car desk. They didn’t stand a chance.”

“I didn’t
realise,” he confessed. “And does it have the same effect on you?”
he asked, leaning in further. He still had that glint in his eyes,
but some of his light-heartedness had disappeared.

I hesitated,
should I lie or just tell him the truth? To be honest it would be a
relief to just tell him how he made me feel but I knew that would
just be plain madness.

“Yes,” I said
simply. There was no need to give him an exhaustive update on the
pitiable state of my emotions.

“Very
interesting,” he said. “Is there anything else I do that has an
effect on you?” he asked, his tone lowering. I began to feel like a
cornered animal. I knew I shouldn’t have started this. “It doesn’t
matter,” I said, hoping that he might just drop it, but judging by
the expression on his face, I knew I was about to be disappointed.
Suddenly, I had a better understanding of what small defenceless
fish feel like when they’re being circled by a large predatory
shark.

He picked up my
hand and started to rub circles with his thumb in my palm.

“I know that
you are not immune to this,” he tormented.

“Don’t!” I
warned as I withdrew my hand into my lap. I struggled to ignore the
increase in tempo of my heartbeat, which was not helped by the
realisation that he could probably hear it.

I looked up
into his eyes expecting to see a hint of playfulness but he
returned my look with such intensity that it made my breath catch
in my throat. Fortunately, I was rescued by the waiter who offered
us some bread rolls. I slumped back into my chair. I felt
light-headed and was grateful for the few seconds of respite the
waiter serving us afforded me. Ahran’s eyes didn’t leave me which
made it even more difficult to establish any kind of regular
breathing pattern. I tore my eyes away from his. I needed to
distance myself from him. I asked the waiter where the Ladies loo
was. He didn’t understand and Ahran had to translate. It struck me
just how reliant on him I was. The waiter pointed to a door on the
other side of the diner.

“Excuse me,” I
said, scraping my chair back as I stood up. I threw my napkin on
the table and made my escape to the ladies restroom.

I braced myself
against the sink and sucked in some deep breaths. I could feel
tears prickling at my eyes. I rubbed my hand across them angrily.
Damn him! I may be emotionally fragile but I was damned if I was
going to let him play me for a love sick fool. I leant over the
sink and splashed some cold water on my face and patted it dry with
a paper towel. I pulled my hair band out, scraped my hair back and
tied it tighter than it was before. It was time to put an end to
his flirtations, other women may fall at his feet but I was not
about to be the next in line. I took a deep breath and squared my
shoulders feeling more resolute.

Ahran was
staring out of the window but looked in my direction as I
approached. I felt his eyes searching my face.

“Have I upset
you?”

“What makes you
think that?” I said as I sat down without making eye contact. I
placed my napkin back across my lap.

“You look like
you’ve been crying.”

No other man
would have noticed.

“Oh..I..er..just had a sneezing fit in the Ladies,” I lied. I knew
what I wanted to say and I didn’t want him to distract me from
saying it.

I dared to meet
his eyes. “Look Ahran, I really appreciate what you are doing for
me, you know, looking for Toby, but the only reason I’m here is
because I couldn’t bear to stay behind and not do anything.” I had
his attention and so ploughed on. “As far as I am concerned our
relationship is purely a practical one, we are here to get a job
done, to find Toby, and once that is done I shall return to
Hatherley and you will return to Talina and your farm. In the
meantime, I’d really appreciate it if you would keep your distance.
I’m not in the market for a casual relationship and certainly not
with a man who is engaged to be married to another woman. I’m just
not that sort of person.”

Now that I had
said it, it hadn’t sounded quite like I had imagined in my head.
Had I read too much into his gestures? I just sounded like I was
completely over-reacting, after all what had he done other than
hold my hand on a couple of occasions? Ahran didn’t say anything
and the expression on his face was unreadable.

So I blathered
on. “Apart from all of that, I hardly think that getting involved
with someone from a completely different universe is a good
foundation for a long and meaningful relationship.”

He remained
silent.

“I mean, how
would that work? It would bring a whole new meaning to ‘long
distance relationship’, I laughed nervously. “Anyway, you are
engaged and I am in a relationship, end of story.” I had added that
last bit for effect, although I knew, and so probably did he, that
the lack of any contact with Marcus over the last few days meant
that there was no real relationship to speak of. I no longer felt
angry, just really silly. Ahran hadn’t said a word during the whole
of my toe-curling soliloquy and his expression was icy.

“Well, I am
very sorry if I have offended you in anyway. I’ll make a note to
remind myself to keep my distance the next time you are being
strangled.” He was angry. He didn’t raise his voice, in fact it was
barely audible, which made me realise just how furious he was.

“You know
that’s not what I meant. I meant that when you hold my hand or give
me those smouldering looks.” I blew my breath out in frustration.
“Oh, just forget I said anything.” This of course was completely
impossible because I had said it and now it was out there sitting
between us like a huge iceberg, which if it had been there in
reality, would have been a few degrees warmer than Ahran was being
at the moment.

Bugger, bugger,
bugger! That had not gone at all how I had planned.

The waiter came
and brought our meals and we spent the remainder of our time in the
diner barely saying a word to one another. I stole the odd glance
at Ahran who looked stony faced and I regretted opening my big
mouth. I knew now that the only reason I had asked him to keep his
distance was because I didn’t trust myself every time he came near
me. I had sounded like an ungrateful bitch. He hadn’t wanted me to
come in the first place and yet I had forced myself on this trip.
So far I had been nothing but a hindrance.

I contemplated
returning to Dinara but I knew I couldn’t go back on my own. I
didn’t speak a word of the language nor did I have a clue where I
was. If I wanted to go back Ahran would have to accompany me. I
could feel hot tears stinging my eyes and I blinked them away
quickly. The last thing I needed to do right now was cry.