A Family Affair - Next of Kin (12 page)

Hayden smiled. “I spent quite a lot of time researching you before the trial. I am nothing if not thorough.” He paced in a circle around Kane, intimidating the boy with his proximity. “You don’t have a long-term relationship. You use women then toss them aside like broken playthings when you become bored. You haven’t seen your adopted family since Christmas last year. You have a lawyer whom you trust, although clearly he let you down with a dismal performance at the hearing. He is not as adept as you thought. I don’t think you would have given the copy to him. You have two male colleagues from the gym whom you consider friends. So, if I made a calculated guess - I’d say taking out the three of you would eliminate my risk. Am I right?”

Kane looked around nervously, as if trying to work out an escape route from the office.

Hayden knew he was right. This boy was an amateur. However that sort of body count was always best to avoid wherever possible. “Relax, Kane. I’m not threatening you. You’re the one who came here with the threat.”

Kane just stared back mutely.

“You are wasting my time, boy. If you wanted to send it to the police, then you would have done so. Tell me what you want. Perhaps an arrangement can be reached instead. I’m nothing if not reasonable.”

“I want a lot of things.”

Hayden smiled. The boy had thought about his price. “Go on.”

“I want you out of Elle’s life, for starters. I want her on my arm.”

“That’s not possible.” Hayden said matter-of-factly. “I cannot disappear from Ellen’s life, as I am an important part of Tom’s business. If I were to disappear, people would ask questions, and we cannot have that. No one can know about our arrangement, if indeed one can be reached. You cannot ask for impossible things, only things which are possible. With regard to Ellen and you, well... Ellen is Tom’s wife. She despises you. I think I see why.”

“I need to know that you won’t hurt her!”

Hayden rolled his eyes. Of course he would never hurt his daughter. “I won’t hurt her. I promise you that.”

“You’re so arrogant,” Kane said, his confidence rising. “You think no one sees you for who you are. You think your disguise is foolproof? Well, I’ve got some bad news. I see you. I see you clear as day. I know that the woman I love is under your spell. She wouldn’t hear a word said against you when I tried to speak to her.” The talk of Ellen had brought the boy’s emotions to the surface.

“Keep your voice down,” Hayden instructed. “You’ve got a lot to learn. This is not the way to do business.”

Kane was incensed, and looked like a school boy who’d been scolded by his teacher. The anger, jealousy and lust would not be contained inside his body. These feelings splashed like water over every line in his face. This boy was an amateur in everything he did.

“Fine then,” Kane said. “I want you to pay. I want you to pay me the ten million I should have gotten from my father’s estate.”

Ha, there it was. Everyone had their price, and Kane’s was surprisingly low. He should have asked for much more. “That I can do, Kane. Congratulations on negotiating a solution to our little problem. It’s always nice to find some middle ground, yes?”

Kane didn’t answer.

“But let me ask you something. Have you ever made an agreement like this before?”

Kane shook his head.

“Think of it as a deal with the devil. I’m going to set the ground rules for you, and I hope you are listening carefully. We will make this agreement, but it is written in blood. You will respect the rules of this arrangement, or you will pay dearly. Are you following me so far?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Rule one: You will not approach me ever again in person for any reason. Rule two: You will not try to renegotiate the terms of this agreement. Rule three: You will not discuss this agreement with anybody else. Rule four: You will not have any contact with Tom or Ellen from this day forward. If you break any of these rules, I will not hesitate in inflicting upon you the worst death one could imagine. It will make what you saw on the video look like child’s play. I don’t care if one hundred copies of that video are mailed to the police. I will find you before that time. Do you understand the terms of this agreement, young man?”

Kane nodded. He seemed to have lost his voice.

“Good,” Hayden said. He pulled a cheque book from one of the desk drawers.

Kane looked surprised to see that Hayden could write such a cheque so quickly.

“Ten million dollars, Kane. Here you go. Spend it wisely.”

“Thanks.”

“Run along now,” Hayden said, in a chilling voice. There was nothing else to discuss. His tone had the desired effect, as Kane turned and headed to the door without delay.

When Ellen’s class finished, she packed her books and notes into her bag. Her second day of school was over. She had enrolled in two subjects for the semester – accounting and economics.  Both would lead to a Bachelor of Commerce if she continued her studies part-time for six years, allowing her to contribute more to the company in time.

It had been difficult to leave Angus that morning though, and thoughts of him during the day made it hard to concentrate. When she arrived home, she was going to bundle him up in her arms and cover his sweet face in kisses.

The classes were interesting, although the interactions with other students were not encouraging. A number of the students had already recognised her, and it felt as if there were people constantly staring. Needless to say, the security guard that followed her across campus was not helping. Sometimes, a group of students would approach her with comments or questions, and sometimes they just pointed from a distance. There were so many students in each of her classes that she quickly realised it was going to be difficult to make new friends. Being wary of the students who recognised her, she found it easier to keep her distance from all her classmates.

Ellen knew that her security guard Davin would be outside her class waiting for her. All of the crew’s names were familiar by now. It was an eight-man unit which rotated duties and shifts to protect herself, Angus and the house. It had been a different security guard who accompanied her to school both days, and neither of them seemed bored with the waiting. She didn’t know how they stayed alert or what they did while she spent hours in lectures or tutorials.

Not wanting Davin to wait longer than necessary, Ellen hurried out of the lecture hall and saw him immediately. He held up his hand for her to stop, while he assessed the surrounding crowd for any unusual behaviour. It all looked normal to Ellen. After completing his visual sweep, he beckoned to Ellen. She cooperated with his instructions as he directed her south towards the student car park.

Sometimes this level of protection seemed completely over the top, especially at school. But then she remembered the time she’d woken up in Ted Blake’s home after being kidnapped, and was thankful for their efforts. In any case, it made Tom happy to know that she was safe and her whereabouts known, especially given that Ted was still on the run.

Everything seemed to be going well in their lives, although Margaret had become strangely absent in recent times. Ellen had invited her over and left a couple of messages on her answering machine - none of which had been returned. Tom made a vague statement about his mother being busy with the club and wanting some time to herself. Ellen sensed that he wasn’t being completely truthful, but trusted that if he was withholding information, it was for her own good.

Just as Ellen was led towards the car park, she heard the screech of tyres close by. A bright orange Porsche sped around the corner, stopping only a couple of metres from where she was standing. The car blocked access to the car park.

Davin reacted immediately, pulling Ellen behind him, and seemed ready to fight whoever was in the car.

It didn’t look like the sort of car that Ted Blake would drive. Ellen squinted through the semi-tinted windows at the driver and suddenly realised who it was. They did not need to be afraid. As annoying as he was, Kane was no physical threat to either of them. She sighed as he jumped out of the car, looking at him with a mixture of loathing and disappointment. Why wouldn’t be leave her alone? Even if Ted was caught, Tom was never going to get rid of the security if Kane continued to stalk her. What could he possibly want now?

Davin was carrying a gun, but Ellen saw that he pulled out his baton, and prepared himself for hand combat. He warned Kane to step back, using an aggressive and authoritative tone. Ellen looked at Davin with surprise. At first glance, he had seemed an unusual sort of security guard. He was softly spoken and gentle with her, so his readiness to fight was unexpected. But as Ellen reasoned, that’s what he was there for. Tom would be glad to know he was so capable.

“I just want to talk to her,” Kane said, his hands in a defensive position. He obviously did not want to fight.

There were a few other students close by who had stopped to watch the activity. Ellen sighed. This event was not going to help her fit in at school.

“No,” Davin instructed him, manoeuvring his body to provide maximum protection for Ellen.

“Elle,” Kane called. “I just want two minutes. I have to talk to you.”

“No, Kane. You have to leave me alone. Tom and I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“Please, Elle. Two minutes.”

Something in the way Kane looked at her softened Ellen’s resistance. Perhaps she could speak to him for two minutes. After all, she used to care about him as a friend. But Davin would not be happy to allow this conversation to occur under his watch. Ellen racked her mind to think of a solution. She was not going to give her new phone number to Kane under any circumstances. Suddenly a idea came to her. “I’ll call your mobile in a minute, Kane. How’s that? We can talk on the phone.”

“You’ll call?”

“Yes, but I’ll borrow Davin’s phone, so you won’t have my number, got it?”

He nodded. “Sure. I understand.”

“Well, drive away then,” she instructed him impatiently.

He hesitated, looking at Davin who was still holding out his baton. “You’ll call?”

“I said I would.”

Davin only relaxed once Kane’s car backed around the corner out of sight. He ushered Ellen quickly through the student car park to his own car, and helped her in.

“Can I borrow your phone, Davin?” Ellen asked, once he was behind the wheel.

He looked back at her with a surprised sort of expression. “There’s no need to call him Mrs Bradley. We’re away now. I’ll have you home in ten minutes.”

“I said I would call.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry - my phone is needed for my job. No personal calls allowed.” He must suspect that Tom would not like Ellen’s idea.

“Well... I guess I’ll use my phone then...” Ellen said, lowering her eyes. She pretended to dial, but really had no intention of doing so. Tom would be furious if Kane acquired her number, given his efforts to keep him away.

Davin looked worried. “If you must call him, you can use my phone,” he said, handing it over. “But I’ll have to report this.”

“Fine.” Ellen was glad the bluff had worked. She dialled Kane’s number, remembering it easily even after all this time.

He picked up straight away. “Elle, I miss you,” Kane said. “It was nice to see you again.”

His eternal optimism was so annoying. “Cool it okay, or I’ll hang up.”

Kane chuckled.

“Where’s your bike? What was with that car you were driving?”

“The bike’s at home. I’m thinking of upgrading to something faster anyway. Do you like the car? It’s my new toy.”

“I liked your bike.”

“If you want it, it’s yours. Or I could buy you a new one. I could buy you whatever you desire now.”

“What does that mean? You’re talking strangely, as if you’ve won the lotto.” Ellen was confused. Kane had lost his claim on Jack’s estate. She had been there to witness it for herself. He wasn’t rich and couldn’t afford to buy expensive cars.

“Let’s just say – I have more money than we could ever need. I want you to come away with me.”

“Have you done something stupid?” The small part of her that cared about him was getting worried.

He was silent.

She hoped he hadn’t robbed a bank or something. “Where has the sudden money come from, Kane?” she asked anxiously.

“Don’t worry about the details. What is it with you and details? Just relax.”

Ellen breathed deeply. He was infuriating at times. Suddenly she realised that Kane’s financial status should be of no consequence to her. It was also misleading of her to give him the impression that she cared. Ellen had to be more careful than that. She made up her mind to ask no further questions on the subject.

“Listen, I can offer you the world now. There is nothing he has that I can’t give you.”

Were they really having this conversation again? “I don’t know how many times you need to hear this.”

Kane paused. “I thought it was Tom’s money you loved.”

Ellen sighed. “It wouldn’t matter if you had one-hundred million dollars.”

Kane was silent, but for some deep breaths.