Tagan's Child (7 page)

“Can I come?
I’ve never been in an ambulance,” he said hopefully.

“No, you go
home with Sandie, she’ll get you some tea and put you to bed.”

“Oh!” he
complained. “How long are you going to be?”

“I don’t know
yet, but I’ll come in and kiss you goodnight when I get back.”

I was torn. I
didn’t want to leave Audrey, but neither did I want to leave Toby
in the car on his own. I contemplated whether I should phone Ahran.
I hesitated before dialling Sandie’s number again.

“Sandie, it’s
me again, could you do me another favour? Could you stop by my
house and pick up the phone that’s on the arm of the sofa in the
lounge? There’s a key under the pot by the back door.”

“Yeah sure, see
you in a bit.”

I pressed the
hang up button. “I’m just going to wait by the door Tobes.”

“’Kay,” he
replied, not looking up as he resumed his game. I stood in the
doorway of the shop and kept watch over Toby and Audrey at the same
time. I hoped I might see some movement from her but she remained
sickeningly still.

When Sandie and
Dan arrived I gave Toby a hug. “Go on, be a good boy.”

He went with
Sandie reluctantly and Dan drove my car back home.

I ran back into
the shop and knelt down next to Audrey picking up her hand in both
of mine. She felt cold. I tucked my coat around her as best I
could.

“Oh Audrey, I’m
so sorry this has happened to you,” I whispered.

There was a
huge gash on her left temple and the blood from it had smeared and
dried on her face. “Where are you ambulance?” I demanded
impatiently, and as if in response, the ambulance’s siren came
blasting down the street. It stopped outside, its blue lights
bouncing around the walls of the shop. Two paramedics came in and
set to work with their preliminary checks and fired questions at me
before carefully lifting Audrey onto a stretcher and carrying her
out into the ambulance. All I could do was stand and watch. The
sight of my dear friend, lying motionless on a stretcher with her
head in a brace looking ashen and bloody, was something I never
wanted to have to see again. I locked the door and jumped into the
back of the ambulance.

It seemed to
take forever to get to the hospital. “Is she going to be alright?”
I asked shakily.

“I can’t really
give you an accurate answer,” replied one of the paramedics. “The
doctors need to take a proper look at her. But I’ll be honest with
you, she’s not in great shape.”

Tears began to
stream down my cheeks. What psycho would beat up a poor defenceless
woman? Bastards, bastards, bastards! I felt angry and guilty that
Audrey was in this condition because of me. If I hadn’t left her on
her own this might never have happened. “Nearly there,” the
paramedic said kindly.

We pulled into
the hospital ambulance bay and as soon as the back doors were open
there were half a dozen people tending to Audrey. All I could do
was answer their questions and follow on helplessly.

“I’m sorry, you
can’t come in here,” one of the nurses said, as she put her arms
around my shoulders and steered me away from the double doors
Audrey and the team of medical staff had just disappeared through.
“There’s a coffee machine over there,” she said, pointing to a
drinks machine near the door. “Why don’t you get yourself a hot
drink and sit down? As soon as I know anything I will come out and
update you.”

I nodded and
did as she said. I took a sip of sweet hot coffee and sat down. The
tears had stopped and I stared numbly at nothing in particular. I
don’t know how long I had been sitting there when an unfamiliar
ringtone rang in my pocket. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

Damn! I had
meant to call Ahran but during the drama of the ambulance ride I
had forgotten all about it. He must have gone to the house like we
had arranged.

“Hello?” I
answered tentatively.

“Why didn’t you
call me?” he asked angrily. His accent sounded stronger than I
remembered and I didn’t like his tone at all. How dare he?! “For
your information, my dearest friend is lying on a hospital bed
fighting for her life, so forgive me for not informing you of my
every move.” Why should I care his journey had been wasted? “We
will just have to rearrange our meeting,” I said icily.

“What happened
to her?” he asked in a more controlled voice.

“She was
attacked in the shop,” I snapped back.

There was the
briefest of pauses.

“You do realise
that what happened to your friend was meant for you?”

I went cold.
“What do you mean?” I closed my eyes knowing what his response
would be and fearing it all the same.

“Their
intention was to kill you but your friend was in the wrong place at
the wrong time. If you had been there you would be in a similar
state.”

“Was it
Bazeera?” I asked in a shaky voice.

“I’m almost
certain she was behind it. After I’d been to your house, I went to
your coffee shop to see if I could find anything that might give me
a clue as to what had happened. There was no sign of anything
missing, there was money in the till and nobody had touched your
safe. The person who attacked your friend was only after one thing
and that was you.”

I hated the
thought of what Audrey had suffered but I daren’t think about what
might have happened if I hadn’t had my appointment at the bank.
Where would that have left Toby?

I felt like I
might throw up. Whatever evidence Ahran had come to show me this
evening now paled into insignificance. Mine and Toby’s lives were
seriously in danger and as much as I didn’t like to admit it we
were going to need all the help Ahran was offering.

“Sophie, are
you still there?” he asked, breaking my train of thought.

“Yes, I’m still
here,” I said quietly.

“Will your
friend live?”

I balked at his
directness. “I don’t know,” I looked at the clock; it had been
nearly three hours. “Nobody has told me anything yet.”

“I’m on my way
to the hospital,” he announced.

“No, stay there
with Toby. Keep him safe,” I argued.

“It’s okay, my
sister Elaya will be at your house shortly.”

I thought about
Ahran’s size and strength, surely he would make a far better
bodyguard than a girl. “I’d rather you stayed with him.”

“Don’t worry,
Elaya can protect your nephew as well as I can.” I pictured one of
those American female wrestlers I’d seen on WWE wrestling Toby
liked to watch on a Saturday morning and felt more comforted.
“Besides how are you going to get home, your car is parked on your
drive.”

He had a
point.

“Well I am not
leaving until I know Audrey is alright,” I said stubbornly. I felt
out of control. The plan I’d had where I called the shots had now
been completely blown out of the water.

“Of course.
I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He hung up.

Despite the
sickening worry I felt for Audrey I felt traitorous butterflies in
my stomach at the thought of seeing Ahran again.

I put the phone
back in my pocket. A couple of minutes later my phone rang. I
looked at the caller display. It was Marcus. My heart sank. I
didn’t want to have to explain anything to him for the time
being.

“Hi
Marcus.”

“Sophie, are
you alright? How’s Audrey?”

I was supposed
to have called him to tell him what I wanted to see at the cinema
at the weekend but so much had happened I had hardly given him a
second thought.

“Not good I’m
afraid. I’m still waiting for the registrar to come out and tell me
how she is.” I fought back tears.

“I hadn’t heard
from you and when I called the house, Sandie told me where you
were. What happened?”

“It looks like
Audrey was attacked as she was shutting up the shop.”

“Why on earth
would someone want to attack her?” he asked incredulously.

“I don’t know,
maybe they were after the takings?” I cringed as I lied to him.
“Perhaps the police will be able to tell us more tomorrow.” I knew
the hospital was obliged to inform the police and it wouldn’t be
long before they came to ask questions.

“Look, do you
want me to come to the hospital? I’m sure there’s somebody there I
know, I could try and speed things along a bit.”

It was very
sweet of him to offer but the last thing I wanted was for Marcus to
meet Ahran and start asking questions about who he was and why he
was here.

“Oh! It looks
like the registrar is on his way over now,” I lied for the second
time. “I’ve got to go, I’ll give you a call when I know more.” He
barely had time to say goodbye before I hung up. I felt guilty but
I really didn’t need the added complication.

A few moments
later a text came through. ‘Let me know if you want me to come and
pick you up. Mx.’

My guilt
stepped up a gear.

What was I
going to tell him? I stared at my phone for a long time, my thumb
hovering over the screen whilst I thought about how to reply.
Eventually I gave up and stuffed it back in my pocket. I couldn’t
come up with anything that didn’t give too much away, I decided to
give it some thought and text him later.

I sat and
watched another medical team rush in from the ambulance bay. I
caught a glimpse of a child lying on a trolley, one of the nurses
was holding up a drip attached to his or her little arm. A couple
clung to each other sobbing as they followed their child. I turned
away, tears stinging my eyes. The thought of Toby lying on one of
those trolleys made me feel sick to the stomach. I closed my eyes
and drew in an unsteady breath. I hated hospitals. Other than when
I had been Katie’s birthing partner, every other trip I’d made to a
hospital had brought pain and loss. I found the smell and
atmosphere cloying and every minute I spent in one made me feel
more and more claustrophobic. I fidgeted in my chair. How many more
torturous minutes would I have to wait before anyone gave me an
update on Audrey’s condition? I couldn’t fight it any longer, I
needed to go outside. I concentrated on walking at a normal pace
and tried not to break into a run as I made my way to the front
entrance.

I finally made
it outside and sucked in the night air leaning my back against the
wall to steady myself. I closed my eyes. The air was cold and it
made my lungs ache.

I took another
deep breath and opened my eyes to see Ahran striding towards me. He
was dressed all in black; black boots, black jeans and a black,
leather motorcycle jacket. His short blonde hair stood out in
contrast. He cut quite a picture as his long legs ate up the
distance between us. My pulse jumped at the sight of him. His broad
shoulders blocked my view as he stopped in front of me. Flippin’
heck, those eyes!

“Have you heard
anything?” he said, without even saying hello. There it was again,
that look as if I irritated him. What was his problem? It bugged me
no end that I found him so goddamn attractive.

“Hello Ahran,”
I said, unable to hide my sarcasm. “No, I haven’t heard anything.
You obviously aren’t familiar with English hospitals; it’s
customary not to tell anyone anything for hours on end.”

“Come on,” he
said, taking my elbow and it felt like I was being frogmarched
through the hospital. Pulling my arm away from him, I stole a
sideways glance at his profile and noticed the muscle at his jaw
flexing. He seemed really pissed off. I started to seethe. Who the
hell did he think he was? I was just beginning to get my life
sorted out and then he turned up and it had all started to unravel
again. Self-pity began to mingle with anger. I hadn’t asked for any
of this, all I’d done was try to establish a more settled life and
do what was right for Toby. I did my best to demonstrate my
annoyance whilst we walked, although frankly this was difficult as
I struggled to keep up with his pace.

I tried not to
notice the female attention Ahran’s presence attracted in the
waiting room at A&E. As we approached the reception desk, the
receptionist looked at me, then at Ahran, and then back to me. I
got the distinct impression she disapproved of me. Ahran’s leather
jacket creaked as he leant forward and I got a waft of aftershave,
leather and that smell of the sun again. It was a distracting
combination of scents and I took a step away. He started to ask
about Audrey and was being so charming and polite. On the two
occasions we had met he had been positively hostile. My annoyance
increased. A nurse had joined the receptionist and they were both
now fawning over him. I used the excuse of getting another cup of
coffee to distance myself. Some women were so transparent.

I got my coffee
and sat down. Another nurse had joined the merry twosome at the
reception desk, drawn to Ahran like bees to a honey pot. Fawning
nurse #1 gave Ahran a dazzling smile and went through the double
doors they had taken Audrey through several hours earlier, whilst
fawning nurse #2 continued to fawn with the fawning receptionist. I
turned away in disgust.

It couldn’t
have been more than three minutes when the nurse came back through
with the registrar. How did he do it? Ahran gesticulated towards me
and he and the registrar came to where I was sitting, leaving the
three fawners to admire Ahran’s tidy behind. I couldn’t believe I
had been there nearly three hours and had heard nothing, and yet
Ahran had managed to get the head honcho to come out in under three
minutes. The registrar was laughing at something Ahran had said as
they approached me.

The doctor’s
face turned more serious. “Miss McAllister, sorry you have had to
wait so long, my team have been working hard to stabilise Ms
Goodfellow. She has several cracked ribs, a broken wrist, severe
concussion and we think she’s suffered a stroke, probably brought
on by the trauma of the attack.”