‘You have been running, Mr Nathan,’ Tawanda remarked, breaking the quiet.
He turned away from the table and faced his friend. ‘We need to talk.’
‘Of course, right after I finish with this chicken,’ Tawanda answered.
‘Hold on, excuse me, if there is any talking to be done about my situation then I want to hear it,’ Autumn interjected.
She stood up quickly and adjusted the rather poor-fitting kaftan she wore. She’d grabbed the first thing she touched from the wardrobe, but it was too big and kept falling off her shoulder, exposing one side of her body, almost to the elbow.
‘Miss Raine, we—’ Nathan started.
‘Miss Raine! You’re calling me Miss Raine!’ Autumn exclaimed. A noise came out of her that was something between a laugh and a shriek.
‘Mr Nathan, she needs to know everything. If you want to keep her safe, the best thing to do is keep her informed. You know that secrets are the most dangerous part of what we do,’ Tawanda reminded him.
‘She isn’t ready for the truth. Look at her!’
His tone cut into her, and she fiddled with the kaftan, desperately trying to claw it back up her shoulder and maintain some dignity.
‘Mr Nathan,’ Tawanda said.
Autumn looked up, saw the warning flashing in the woman’s eyes.
‘I can’t tell her,’ he responded, his voice weak.
Autumn watched him turn his body away from her, hiding his expression.
‘I want to know,’ she stated boldly. She wasn’t sure she did want to know. Whatever this news was, it was going to rock the foundations of her world. That much was obvious from the way Nathan couldn’t even look at her.
He put his hands to his head and dragged in a chest full of air though he still wouldn’t face her.
Tawanda put the casserole down. ‘I will tell her,’ she said.
‘No!’ Nathan exploded.
He turned to face her, and his body language told her whatever he had to say was more than serious.
‘You’re frightening me.’ The words just made it past her quivering lips.
Nathan held his hand out to her. ‘Come outside,’ he urged.
‘I will make some strong drinks,’ Tawanda said.
Autumn took his hand. He led her toward the doors out to the deck. It was another stifling hot day, so Autumn took one last breath of the conditioned air before she stepped outside. Nathan held her hand and led the way off the verandah and down onto the sand.
He didn’t stop until they had reached the bank of dunes to the left of the house. He let her hand drop. He stood there, facing the vast expanse of lake, breathing in the air, his hair blown by the breeze.
‘Just say what you have to say,’ Autumn called against the wind, ‘whatever it is. I’m not going to fall apart. My record producer died last night. Nothing could be worse than that.’
He turned to face her, an unusual expression on his face. What exactly was it? Concern? Fear?
‘Your mother is behind the kidnap plot,’ he said.
For a moment, his words didn’t register. He could have just told her the release date of her next album or a public appearance to fit into her schedule. She looked back at him, her expression unchanged. She pulled at the fabric of the kaftan, eased it up over her shoulder.
‘Did you hear what I said?’ he asked her.
Had she heard what he’d said? Yes, she’d heard it. Her mother was behind the kidnap plot. Those were the words that had come from his mouth, but the meaning hadn’t hit home. Where was the shock? Where was the surprise and horror she must feel?
‘Yes,’ Autumn responded, her eyes meeting his.
‘Yes? What does that fucking mean?’
‘I don’t know, I just… I don’t know.’
The wind seemed to grow in strength. It whipped around her clothes, buffeting her.
‘What’s going on? Why aren’t you surprised? What aren’t you telling me?’ Nathan hissed. His eyes narrowed, his demeanor angry.
‘Nothing. I don’t know anything. I guess I’m just not surprised,’ Autumn admitted.
Where had that come from? She wasn’t surprised that her mother was at the center of a plot to have her kidnapped? What was going on? How could a statement like that be right in anyone’s world?
‘You’re not surprised? Shit! I had her down as a manipulative, scheming bitch, but even I was mildly shocked when I found out.’
‘I don’t know why though. Why?’ Autumn asked him.
Now the seriousness and the implications of what he had said were kicking in. Her mother was behind a plot to kidnap her. Her mother had sent men to take her, and they had killed Blu-Daddy.
Nathan drew in a long breath and took hold of both her hands. The kaftan fell down her arm again as he locked eyes with her.
‘She’s been trading information with terrorists.’
Twenty
She simply nodded after he divulged the information that her mother, the Foreign Secretary, was passing confidential intelligence to a well-known terrorist organization. She nodded, resigned herself to the fact that not only was her mother capable of treason, but she was also capable of risking her daughter’s life to protect a well-established relationship with the group.
She sat on the sofa, her legs wrapped up underneath her body, nursing a tall glass of the highly intoxicating drinks Tawanda had served up when they’d re-entered the house.
There was no flicker of emotion on her face, no show of how she was feeling about this development at all. That concerned him. That complete detachment he was used to in himself, but it wasn’t the behavior of normal people. It was the behavior of people who no longer connected with their emotions, and after last night, he didn’t think that of her.
*
The drink Tawanda had made was vile, but the burn in her chest was worth the disgusting taste on her tongue. It warmed her insides, numbed her a little, made the thoughts in her head, that her mother was a maniac, blur somewhat. Her mother.
