Chapter Sixteen
Deeta
I don’t know how long I sleep, but the pain in my head is significantly lessened. Encouraged, I open my eyes. For a dazed second I just stare at him as he is staring at me from behind the desk on the other side of the room.
For a moment, one wildly elated moment, I had thought it to be Tom. The next second I know I am mistaken. On closer inspection the resemblance is not so strong. Tom’s dark blue eyes are replaced in this man by grey eyes, and though he has the same curling black hair, his cheeks are more gaunt than Tom’s. Then as he stands I see that although he is roughly the same height as Tom, he has less width at the shoulder.
As I scramble up from my position on the bed he walks unhurriedly towards the door, effectively closing off any hope of escape. A sensation of suffocation closes over me. He watches my agitation with a silence that I find horribly chilling.
“Though all should stumble, though many may fall, with you at my side I will always stand tall.” His voice is so like Tom’s that at first I hardly hear what he has said, but the silence impresses the realisation upon me that he expects some sort of answer.
“What?”
“It’s the inscription on the locket; a corruption of our family motto.”
My hand flies guiltily to my throat, and I wait in dread for his next words.
“How is Tommy?”
He’s still standing in front of the door, at ease apparently, but watchful. I decide then and there that I’ll not tell him a thing. I swallow convulsively, and edge behind the desk.
“I asked you a question.”
“Tommy who?”
Before I’ve even finished my sentence he’s crossed the room. Dragging me over the desk, his eyes blaze down into mine. Dimly I feel its paraphernalia digging into my back, when he speaks his voice is quiet but filled with anger.
“If your tribe has hurt Tommy in any way, I’ll destroy you all.” My knee connects with his stomach and he groans. His hold on me relaxes a little, but as I pull away from him he drags me back.
Our struggle is furious, and in our writhing we clear the desk and its clutter. Miscellaneous items fall noisily to the floor. I don’t know how long we wrestle, but it can’t be long. My terror and desperation gives me strength, but I know that his brute force will overpower me quickly enough. It’s a surprise when I feel him slip to the floor. I stare up at Jan where she stands over him, a metal table leg in her hand.
“Are you alright, Deet?” Her voice, like her hands, is steady.
“I’m fine, nice hit,” I answer breathlessly.
“Who the he…” He just manages to restrain himself. “Who are you?”
The man on the floor is still holding his head, but he struggles upright as he speaks.
“Who are you?” counters Jan, lifting the table leg and holding it like a cricket bat.
“I hardly think you qualify for a ‘lady’s first’.” His voice is sarcastic, but I see an interested gleam in his eyes as he looks at her that I don’t like.
“Then what about ‘you first or I’ll try and bash your brains out’?”
“I think you’re right; try is about all you’d manage. My name is Ryder Andak; now it’s your turn.”
“I’m Jan Richards, this is my sister Deeta. Perhaps you’d be so kind as to explain what you were doing when I walked in?”
“I want to know what you’ve done with Tommy.”
In vain I try to catch Jan’s eye, but I can do nothing without drawing Ryder Andak’s attention also.
“We haven’t done anything with Tommy; last time we saw him was a few days ago,” replies Jan.
Ryder Andak’s cold eyes move past Jan and connect with mine.
“Perhaps you could explain why she’s never heard of him, then?”
I feel a tell tale blush creeping up my neck, but Jan doesn’t falter.
“Maybe she felt a bit threatened. People become very unreasonable when they’re being throttled, you know.”
“I didn’t touch her until after she’d lied to me.”
“You didn’t? Such forbearance; how did you know she was lying?”
Ryder moves to lean against the desk, a kind of sardonic amusement on his face as he observes our wary step away from him.
“The locket that your sister is wearing; it was a gift from our father to our mother on the day that Tommy was born. After she died it became Tom’s and it meant a great deal to him. What did you do, lift it from him?” His angry, hard voice is again directed at me.
“I didn’t steal it; Tom gave it to me!” My voice is indignant, and under my outraged glare he wavers uncertainly.
“Are you sure? I mean Tommy wouldn’t have given it to you unless… oh, I see.”
He doesn’t enlighten us as to what has become so clear to him, but frowns, first at Jan and then at me.
“You’d better tell me how you know Tommy.”
“He lives with our tribe.”
“No, lived. He used to live with us.”
Ryder’s eyes rest on me for a moment before returning to Jan.
“I think you’d better tell me from the beginning.”
“Tom arrived at our building when I was about four, and until a few days ago we had no idea he was Andak…”
“What have you done with Dec?” I don’t know why, but until this second I had forgotten that Dec too must be in this place.
“Who’s Dec?”
“The little boy you stole from his home!”
Ryder Andak’s eyes take on a frosty glaze.
“I’d be careful if I were you. I never stole anyone; I reclaimed my nephew from a tribe who had no right to him.”
“No right?”
Anger floods my veins, and I take a step toward the desk.
“Listen to me buster; you might be his uncle, but you haven’t seen him since he was a baby. Now maybe it wasn’t your choice, but it doesn’t change the fact that it was us who looked after him through all that time. We earned the right for him to belong to us through care and love, by looking after him practically every day of his life. We did that; not you.”
For several seconds Ryder Andak stares at me through half closed lids.
“Of course; you must be ‘Aunty Deet’.” His voice is soft, as though the statement is really directed at himself.
“Please tell me, how is Dec?”
“Dec is fine; it might be possible for you to visit him at a later date, but for now continue with your story.”
“Hang on a second; how come you don’t already know all this? You knew I was ‘Aunty Deet’ so how come… ” I break off mid sentence, surprise causing my mouth to drop. “And Dec would have told you that Tom wasn’t held prisoner by our tribe! He won’t talk to you will he?” I can’t help the smug note of victory in my voice.
Ryder’s face registers a flicker of irritation, and he straightens, moving to sit behind the desk.
“We have other things to talk of.”
“Now why won’t he talk to you?” I query.
Ryder Andak’s eyes clash with mine.
“I don’t know.”
“And if he won’t speak to you; who told you Tom was held as a prisoner by our tribe?” asks Jan.
“Someone who’ll wish they’d never lied to me.”
“Keya!” I gasp.
“So you have the felicity of knowing the bitc… harridan too?”
“Why would she tell you that?” Jan’s tone is bemused.
“She did it,” I gasp. “She sold us out, just like Tom said she would. She sold our lives for hers.”
“Now hang on a minute. I don’t like her one bit; she’s self centred, manipulative, and under the very odd impression that she just has to flirt and flaunt her obvious beauty at a man to get anything she wants. However, she was alone, scared, and had no idea what we might do to her. As much as I’d like to strangle her for wasting my time; it’s all too easy to judge someone on something you have no experience of,” cuts in
Ryder.
“Well said, but Deeta does have experience in this matter. When you questioned her she blanked you. She didn’t give you Tom’s longitude and latitude,” observes Jan.
Ryder Andak subjects her to a lengthy scrutiny before leaning back in his chair.
“So what do we do now?” asks Jan.
“I don’t know.” Ryder places the tips of his fingers together, and stares into the middle distance. “You could answer a few of my questions.”
I feel my stomach tighten nervously. Tom said that one of his brothers is a killer, and that he has no idea which one is the culprit. Now Ryder Andak, one of those suspected brothers, is sitting in front of us asking us where Tom is. For all I know he could want Tom dead. I feel my cold and clammy hands begin to tremble. What have we told him already that could prove damaging?
“Fire away,” invites Jan.
The chair falls from my fingers with a spectacularly loud crash, causing Jan and Ryder to turn sharply to where I’m supporting myself against the table.
“Deeta, are you all right?”
Jan is at my side in a moment, her concerned face pale and anxious. For a moment I am ashamed of my pretence, but I can’t help it. I have to talk to her before we communicate anything more to Ryder Andak. Jan helps me to the bed, and forces me to lie down. Past her drawn face I see Ryder Andak; his expression is cynical.
“Please, do you think you could get a doctor or something? She’s so pale… and your thugs were heavy handed. She could have a blood clot or something!”
Jan is very calm usually, but I hear a tinge of hysteria in her voice. Ryder Andak hears it too, and I see some of the scepticism in his eyes fade away.
“I’ll call for the doctor.” He leaves the room swiftly, and I wait for only the barest moment to pass before dragging Jan closer to me.
“Jan we have to talk—”
“So I gather; I never knew you to be of such a theatrical nature before. For a moment there you had me going.”
“You knew?”
Jan rocks back on her heels, looking down at me with a slight frown.
“Of course I knew; what do you take me for?”
“But… but… you were so worried!”
“Well he wasn’t going to trust you, was he? I had to make him think you were telling the truth or we’d never have gotten rid of him. Why did we need to get rid of him, exactly?”
“Because we can’t trust him!”
“You’re telling me!” laughs Jan. “He’s smooth, charming, and incredibly hot: why would I trust him?”
“I don’t… I thought… because you seemed as though you kind of…” I struggle to a disjointed stop.
“Please, Deet; I didn’t come down with the last shower of rain. Why are you so set against him?”
“Because of something Tom told me.”
“I’m listening, Deet; carry on.”
“It was just after Dec, when Tom came back and told us he was an Andak. Before he told everyone else he told me, he explained the reason why he was here. He said when his father died all of his sons became the council for the Andak tribe. Not long after the council was set up some of the brothers met with ‘accidents’. Tom’s eldest brother Dax, who is Dec’s father, came to believe that one of the brothers wanted sole leadership. Whichever brother it is, he’s willing to go to any lengths to achieve his goal. Dax sent Tom and Dec away so that they would be safe, but then he had an ‘accident’ too.”
“Did he die?” asks Jan sharply.
“Yes, but Tom still doesn’t know who the culprit is. Can’t you see; Ryder Andak might want to find Tom just so he can kill him!”
Jan is silent for some time.
“So Ryder Andak could be a cold blooded killer; yet he didn’t seem too pleased when he thought we had done the job for him.”
“And just a moment ago I looked as though I needed a doctor!”
Jan’s face creases into a patronising smile.
“You’re acting isn’t that good; but I take your point. He could be playing us.” Jan purses her lips. “Of course, if he is a deranged psychopath, best not let him think we’re suspicious. We’ll answer his questions…”
“Jan!”
“What? I said we’d answer them; I didn’t say that we should tell him the truth!”
“A very wise plan, but supposing he’s standing just outside the door and listening to every word you say?”