First Light (32 page)

It worked; his eyes softened. ‘Where’s your boyfriend? Does he know I'm here?’

When I didn’t answer, he stretched his arms up behind his head. I watched him, in awe of his strength. He seemed fighting fit after such a short time. Though I hoped there would be no more fighting – ever.

‘He’s out of town,’ I said eventually.
I wanted to tell him I'd broken up with Adam, but I was scared of what saying it meant. It wasn't the danger Ace had warned me about that was frightening me, it was the notion that no matter what Kal and I did, or how much we cared for each other, I wasn't going to get to keep him.

35 – Stay With Me

In the days that followed I barely left the house,
finding things that needed fixing or cleaning to keep me occupied, all while Kalen sat close by my side helping me study and talking about the different countries he’d seen. He never delved too deeply into the subject of himself and I didn’t ask about the jobs he’d been sent on, but his descriptions of strange and far away places were enough to keep me hanging on every word.

On the verandah we sat looking out at the afternoon sun, rocking lazily back and forth on the porch swing. The cold edge to the weather had softened. Spring was all around us; the scents throughout the garden sweet like freshly cut grass and dandelions.

‘I want to travel one day,’ I said wistfully, when he’d finished describing Nepal.

‘You do?’

‘I’ve always wanted to, but, I don’t know if I’ll get the chance now.’

‘I'll show you the world, Red. Just say when.’

I laughed. The feeling warmed me from the inside. ‘Where would we go?’

‘Anywhere you want.’

‘Egypt?’

‘Of course.’

‘Fiji?’

A wicked smile pressed at his dimples. ‘Pack your things.’

I thought about that, letting my imagination wander to far away places. I’d only ever been to Portugal. Our one and only trip abroad as a family and it had resulted in Dad saving Kalen’s life. And that had resulted in him finding me when I was about to be killed. I toyed with a word in my head, one that until very recently I had never been a fan of.
Fate.

A knock on the front door jolted me upright.

‘I’ll be back in a sec,’ I said, hopping up and running through the house.

Alexandra stood on the front step, disappointment shining in her large eyes.

‘Oh, Al, I’m so sorry!’

She frowned. ‘You don’t return my calls, you skip work, I’ve been worried sick about you, babe. What’s going on?’

‘I’m so sorry, really, but when you come in you’ll understand everything.’

She looked at me skeptically. I moved aside and eventually she sighed and stepped into the house. I led her through the hallway and when she reached the garden a slow smile formed on her lips.

‘Alexandra Fusco, this is Kalen Smith.’

Kalen stood, moving towards Alexandra with a polite but reserved smile, and extended his hand to her.

Alexandra shook it, her expression full of interest. ‘Good to finally meet you, Kalen, I’ve heard so much about you. I have to say I’m happy you’re safe and sound.’

Kalen’s eyes flicked in my direction and I knew he was wondering what I’d told her. His face remained unreadable, of course, and suddenly he grinned widely, catching her off guard just as he’d done with me. ‘Well,’ he said with a smooth and intoxicating voice, ‘thanks to Ronnie I’m fit as a fiddle again.’

With a look towards me that said she agreed with his description, Alexandra sat down on one of the wooden deck chairs.

‘Ron,’ she said. ‘Seeing as you’ve had me worried sick for nearly a week, I guess you can start making it up to me with a cup of tea.’

I laughed. ‘Kal, would you like a drink?’

‘Water,’ he said, taking a seat back on the swing, ‘thank you.’

I stepped inside a little hesitantly; the last time I’d put Kal with one of my friends he left town the next day. I’d never blamed Mae for what happened, but the coincidence wasn’t lost on me. I hovered by the door for a moment longer than I should have, catching the beginning of their conversation.

‘So, Mr Smith, where have you been this last week and a half?’

‘Actually, I’ve been back a few days so I was only–’

‘Oh, that explains why I haven’t heard from Madam then.’

‘Sorry about that, I didn’t realise she was skipping work.’ I heard the smile in his voice and I knew Alexandra wasn’t giving him a hard time. I headed across the kitchen and filled the kettle with water.

When I returned with their drinks they were both laughing. It wasn’t often I saw Kalen laugh with anyone and I experienced a mix of feelings, the first being jealousy. The pangs I felt were too strong to pretend I didn’t, but as he raised his eyes to meet mine, the feeling instantly melted away.

‘What are you two laughing at?’

Alexandra looked up at me, pursing a smile. ‘Kalen was just telling me how you carried him from the forest to the house. I didn’t believe you could do it, but he insists you’re stronger than you look.’

With relief, I sat down and joined in the conversation. Alexandra knew some guys had jumped us and soon I cottoned on that Kal hadn’t told her anything too revealing. Just that he’d hit his head so hard that he’d been concussed for a couple of days.

Alexandra appeared comfortable around him and began talking of other things: her relationship with our boss at work, Damien, which she now spoke openly about, then finally something she said she’d wanted to tell me for a while.

‘Diana and I finally have the money to move to London, Ron. We have a few months’ rent saved up so we can start looking for jobs there.’

‘You’re leaving Clanots?’ I couldn’t hide the distress in my voice. Kalen shifted in his seat next to me.

‘Not just yet, but if I find something good then – probably.’

I took a deep breath. I was happy for my friend, but it also meant I’d be alone again. Work wouldn’t be the same.

‘I’m pleased for you, but, I’m going to miss you, that’s all.’

‘Kalen, will you please explain to Miss Clanots Ocean here that London is only an hour away on a train.’

‘She’s right, Red,’ Kal nodded, smiling sympathetically. ‘It’s about forty minutes if I drive,’ he added with a wink.

‘See!’ Alexandra declared. ‘You and I will probably spend more quality time together because you can come to London and stay with us on weekends.’

I tried to smile. I knew I had to grow up and accept that not everyone was going to stay forever in Clanots.
Except maybe me
, I thought grimly.

Alexandra stayed for over three hours. I was walking her to the door when she turned and stared at me seriously.

‘You look happy, babe,’ she said, throwing her arms around me. ‘Next time, make sure that Denver guy is here.’

‘Hmmm, maybe London is the best place for you,’ I laughed.

‘Oh, that bad, huh?’

‘Let’s just say he takes advantage of those good looks.’

‘I may take advantage of them myself one day. Not everyone is looking for Mr Right, Ron.’

‘Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.’

‘Cross my heart,’ she giggled and skipped down towards her Jeep. I turned and headed back through the house.

‘I really appreciate the effort you made with Alex,’ I said to Kalen when I was back on the porch.

‘I think you mean Alexandra,’ he pointed out with a grin. ‘It was no effort really.’

‘Are you tired?’ I asked. The night had fallen while we’d all been talking, I could see the weariness in his eyes.

‘A little, but I’ve slept enough.’

‘You should rest. Dad used to say rest is everything.’

‘I guess I could lie down. Will you come and talk with me?’

I nodded and we walked inside. He pressed numbers on the alarm as we passed it. A strange bleep told me it was set. I cringed.

‘I haven’t told Rachel the code, I’d better not set it till I have.’

He clicked some more numbers on the grey box with a brief look of disapproval in my direction, before leading the way upstairs. ‘All that time I was away, you didn’t use it,’ he muttered.

‘I guess I forgot.’

‘Please don’t forget.’

I smiled to myself as I followed him up the stairs. In my father’s old room he perched on the bed. I pulled a chair next to it for myself and turned on the television to provide some distraction.

‘I have to tell you something,’ he said, looking at me in a way that made me fear something was wrong. ‘To explain some things I’ve kept from you, which you once asked me to be honest about.

‘When I first arrived in Clanots Ocean I’m not sure what I was expecting. I’d seen you before, asleep in Portugal and you’d stuck in my head, but when I came to England I told myself I was just visiting William – I mean, your dad – just checking on him to make sure the man who saved my life was doing okay. Yet–’ he chewed his bottom lip, ‘I’d travelled from Portugal, hidden in the storage hold of a cargo ship for days and in my heart, though I couldn’t explain why, I knew I was doing it to see
you
again.

‘Let me be clear, there has been nothing in my life that’s driven me to do anything impulsive – ever. I plan everything, maybe not on paper, but in my head. Every little detail of every move I make is laid out exactly how it should be, with plan b and c ready to be executed should the need arise. It’s all I’ve ever known. So on the cold October morning that I arrived in England and made my way across the country on three trains and a bus to your tiny town, with no plan of action whatsoever… I felt to some extent free. It was exhilarating.

‘I hadn’t expected to come across you before I even found your father’s house. You were walking along the beachfront in pouring rain and pitch darkness, your face covered by the red hood of your raincoat. I knew immediately it was you. You reminded me of a book I owned as a child – the only thing I ever owned as a child, actually – do you know the one I mean?’

‘Little Red Riding Hood?’ I ventured, realising I’d been holding my breath. I remembered the night well, though it had never been recited back to me from another perspective.

‘Yes, that’s the one. That’s why I call you Red, though you thought it was because of your hair. You were embarrassed about it,’ he remembered. A smile touched his lips. ‘I watched you through the rain, from the edge of the pier. You came closer, and I was actually nervous, for the first time in my life.

‘But that’s when I saw the guy. He walked past you at first. You didn’t see him because you were shielding your face, walking blindly on your route home. Something in the way he hesitated as he passed you made me stand up. When he stopped and doubled back, I started down the pier towards you, but I couldn’t run along the beach in the shortest direction without losing sight of you, so I was forced to go along the pier and down onto the footpath.

‘As I ran, I couldn’t understand why you weren’t screaming. From what I could see, he was on top of you, holding you down.’

He paused then, visibly quivering with anger. He’d closed his eyes, in what seemed to be an effort to find calm.

‘So I increased my speed,’ he continued with his eyes closed. ‘Cursing the distance between us as I watched you both tumble over the seawall and onto the sand. I knew if I didn’t get to you quickly, I’d be too late. I was so angry. I was flat out sprinting when I reached you and tackled him. I hadn’t killed a man in over a year and until that night I’d never killed anyone in anger.’

He looked at me sadly. ‘After that, I left the country. I’d tried to be a better person once we escaped the project, and failed the moment I lost my temper. I was no good to anyone, let alone an innocent young girl. I was, and still am, the epitome of evil.’

‘You’re not evil,’ I whispered. Despite what he had done in his past I couldn’t let him condemn himself for having saved my life. ‘You’re not evil, Kal. I’ve seen your goodness, all the times you’ve helped me, saved me! All the times you–’ I faltered.