A Family Affair - First Born (2 page)

“Hello.” Tony’s deep voice was instantly recognisable.

“It’s Hayden.”

Tony hesitated. “Yes.” He sounded as if he was trying to hide the surprise from his voice. It had been a while since they’d talked.

“I’m calling about Walsh.”

Tony didn’t say anything.

“Dr Douglas Walsh.”

“Haven’t seen him in a while.”

Hayden expected no less but there was no time to play games. “I’ll cover him.”

“Really?” Tony made a chuckling sound. His curiosity was getting the better of him. “Now, why would you want to do that? I didn’t know the two of you were so close.”

Hayden ignored the question. “How much?”

Tony hesitated. “Three hundred thousand.”

Hayden didn’t flinch. “Same account as last time?”

“Of course.”

“Check your account shortly.”

The line went dead. Hayden and Tony were not associates in either their business or underworld activities, but they knew enough of the other to take every word said seriously. Tony’s men would be ordered away from Douglas as soon as the phone call ended, and Hayden would transfer the full amount immediately, with a small bonus for good measure. It was important to show respect.

This was not the first time that Hayden had covered someone’s debts. He logged onto his online bank account and made the transfer. Grabbing his keys, he headed for the door. It shouldn’t take more than five minutes to reach the wharf, where he could collect Douglas. It was important to see the man soon, so that the image of who’d saved him was cemented into his memory.

Hayden smiled reassuringly at his receptionist on the way out. “Just popping out, Emily.”

She looked worried. “What about the phone conference with Singapore at five o’clock?”

“I’ll be back shortly.” Emily lived in a world far removed from his own, and he scoffed at her mundane, secure existence, where life and death were not constantly on the table.

Present Day

“Keep going. That’s it. Ten more seconds.” Ellen’s personal trainer was pushing her body to its limits today.

Ten more seconds running at this pace on the treadmill was not going to be easy, but Ellen gritted her teeth and powered through the pain. She had joined a gym three months ago in order to look her best for the upcoming wedding. Her trainer, Kane Jarrad, had been assigned to her by the gym, but they had quickly bonded, and Ellen didn’t want to be trained by anyone else. She worked one on one with him for an hour every morning starting at eight o’clock. Sunday was her only rest day, when she slept in and enjoyed a lazy breakfast with Tom instead.

Sometimes Kane and she spent an hour in the gym as they were doing today, but if the weather was fine, they took Ellen’s workout to the nearby park. Strangely enough, the exercise regime was becoming rather addictive, and she was raring to go most mornings. Kane was undoubtedly the fittest person she had ever known, and he usually trained beside her. It was especially fun to have someone to work out with, and Kane had quickly become a friend.

“Turn the machine down to a fast walking pace,” Kane instructed, in his focussed trainer-mode. “We’re going to recover for two minutes before running again.”

Ellen breathed deeply, and tried to slow her heart rate down, in order to make the most of the recovery time. Two minutes would pass quickly before the next burst of energy was required.

Ellen’s eyes surveyed the room. Kane was the sort of guy that women noticed. It didn’t matter if the two of them were in the gym or outside in a public place, Ellen sensed other women’s eyes watching him. He was tall and broad-shouldered with a square jaw – his features combined to produce the sort of stereotypical manliness that belonged in a magazine or on a catwalk. Kane was in his twenties, but seemed to attract the attention of women ranging from their late teenage years to middle-age.  His short-cropped hair and designer stubble no doubt increased his sex appeal.

Kane’s close-fitting sports shirt pulled tight against his stomach and arm muscles as he slowed the treadmill next to her. Ellen noticed his flexed muscles and smiled. He was ridiculously good looking – it was a fact which could not be denied. It was easy to appreciate the qualities in him which other women found appealing, although she enjoyed being around him for different reasons altogether. During their first week of personal training, Kane had mentioned the fact that he was adopted, while explaining the dynamics of his family situation. After Ellen had shared her own story, they both realised how much they had in common. It was nice to find someone who understood the feelings associated with being adopted, and she looked forward to seeing Kane every morning. At first, the idea of having a male best friend seemed quite odd, but she was becoming more comfortable with the idea every day.

Kane’s biological parents had given him up for adoption, but luckily he had been received into a loving and supportive family. Jane and Michael Jarrad had been unsuccessfully trying to have their own baby for years before giving up. Kane had been loved, and had also been told the truth about his adoption from a young age. It was something for which Ellen envied him. Honesty was an important attribute in families – it was a trait which had been lacking in her own.

When Kane had turned eighteen, he had made some preliminary enquiries about his birth parents, and discovered that his biological mother had died years ago. There was no biological father listed on his birth certificate. The shock and sadness of that discovery had ended his interest in finding his biological family, and as a result Kane had stopped searching the public records.

Suddenly Kane started moving. “We’re running again,” he instructed, increasing the speed on his own treadmill to a running pace.

Ellen followed suit and started running too.

“Five minutes at this pace, Elle.”

Ellen’s body complied, and she found a comfortable pace and rhythm to maintain for five minutes. Physical exercise provided an escape, a release from the troublesome thoughts which plagued her at other times of the day. Chloe’s untimely death was the burden which bothered her the most. While running, the pain of such memories diminished. The moment was dominated by her pounding heart, her rapid breath and the feel of the treadmill passing quickly beneath each step. At other times of the day, it was impossible not to feel Chloe’s presence around her. Although the sensation didn’t make any sense, it felt as if Chloe was angry, as if she was demanding something in Ellen’s mind. It left Ellen with the sense of there being unresolved issues in her life. It was a bothersome sensation, but one she could mostly ignore.

Tom and Ellen’s wedding was only two short months away, a thought so incredible it brought a smile to her lips. She just needed to concentrate on the positive parts of her life, of which there were many.

Kane misinterpreted. “If this is too easy for you, maybe we should turn the speed up.”

“No, it’s not that,” Ellen said breathlessly, smiling at him. She was running at fifteen kilometres per hour, and would struggle to maintain this pace for too much longer.

He nodded. “Well, okay, that was five minutes anyway. Let’s hit the spin bikes next. You’ll have to tell me what that smile was about.”

“Just thoughts of Tom,” Ellen admitted sheepishly. Kane knew about Tom, as she mentioned him probably five times a day. She was so lucky to have a man like Tom in her life. Whenever a negative thought started to interrupt her mood, she could switch her concentration to him, and everything would seem better before long. He had a way of just calming her inner turmoil.

Ellen jumped on the spin bike and started to pedal. She didn’t mind this piece of equipment, and was even starting to find it relaxing. She powered the pedals with ease, due to the new muscles developing in her legs. As it was fast enough to satisfy Kane’s watchful eye, Ellen relaxed and let her mind wander off in another direction.

Since the tragic events of last year had passed, Ellen’s life had been incident-free and happy. Tom had ordered a DNA test through his personal physician, and they had both been relieved to discover that the results were negative. There was only a small percentage chance that they were related, which the doctor had described as a statistical variation only. They were not father and daughter, and not related in any way.

To celebrate, Tom had whisked her away to Switzerland for a surprise holiday. It was two weeks of bliss, without mobile phones or computers or journalists anywhere to be found. They had made an agreement to leave the kidnapping, and the horror of Colleen’s and Chloe’s deaths in the past.

After a day’s hiking in snow shoes in the Jura Mountains, Tom had proposed marriage at a quiet scenic lookout. Ellen had cried with surprise and overwhelming joy, before responding yes with all her heart. She wanted the world to know that she loved Tom, and that he loved her in return.

That night, they made love for the first time. Tom had booked them separate rooms, so that Ellen hadn’t felt any pressure. The gesture had been considerate and thoughtful, but Ellen had finally felt ready to take the next step. After dinner she asked timidly, if perhaps she could stay with him in the same bed. Tom’s jaw had dropped, and they’d left without ordering dessert. Ellen laughed to herself remembering it. He’d been ready and willing to make love, but had shown gentle restraint by going slow each step of the way. It was a far cry from the frantic and passionate ways they had been making love since then.

The holiday provided the perfect opportunity for Tom and Ellen to commit their hearts and minds to each other. It had been the most perfect way to deepen their relationship.

Back in Melbourne, nothing had changed between Hayden and her. He didn’t move an inch if she walked into a room, and was indifferent to her presence. Sometimes he wouldn’t even look up unless she asked him a question.  Part of Ellen had hoped that their relationship would change after her engagement to Tom was announced, but it hadn’t. Hayden truly didn’t love her, and didn’t want any sort of father / daughter relationship.

Suddenly Ellen’s attention snapped back to the present moment. Time had passed quickly and Kane was now pointing towards the weights. “Let’s get some more tone on those arms.”

As the first piece of equipment Kane led her towards was new, he sat behind her in order to demonstrate the correct lifting technique. As Ellen practiced, she looked around the gym in response to the unmistakable feeling that even more eyes than normal were watching. She was right. It was funny how some of the women kept watching, while others turned away in response to Ellen’s glance in their direction.

“The women are watching me again,” Ellen whispered to him, in such a way that no one else would hear.

He chuckled in response. “Nobody is watching us. Just concentrate on what I’m showing you. You don’t want to drop this much weight.”

Ellen focussed on the weight she was pulling towards her until she was confident in her technique.

“That’s perfect, Ellen,” Kane said, noticing her improved concentration. “Keep going. Ten more.”

“I’ll do twenty more if you admit that you have noticed all the women watching us,” Ellen teased, while maintaining her perfect technique.

Kane smiled.

Of course he had noticed.

Suddenly he leaned in closer until he was only inches away from her neck. “Maybe we should give them something more interesting to watch.”

Ellen laughed. Of course he was only joking, but sometimes he pushed things too far.

Kane leaned back and slid off the equipment so he could watch her technique from the front.

Ellen was starting to struggle with the weight.

“Is that too heavy? Should I reduce the load?”

“No, it’s fine,” she lied, enjoying the challenge.

“Five more, then you can recover for a few minutes.”

Ellen’s arms were burning by the time the repetitions were finished, and she slumped into a nearby chair to recover.

Kane passed her a bottle of water and her towel, and sat beside her, while drinking from his own bottle.

After taking a long drink and gently shaking her arms to relieve the muscle tension, Ellen considered the situation in more detail. Kane was single, and yet he was obviously desired by more than his fair share of women. “Tell me again why you don’t have a girlfriend,” Ellen asked quietly. “It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Kane looked surprised with the direction of her thoughts, but looked over with interest. “Doesn’t it?”

“No,” Ellen confirmed. “I mean, there are at least ten women in this room who will be thinking about you tonight.”

Kane laughed. “Only ten?”

“At least ten,” Ellen repeated.

“Maybe there is something wrong with my personality,” Kane offered in all seriousness.

Ellen laughed. There was nothing wrong with his personality. “I don’t think so, Kane. You’re one of the nicest men I know.”

“Nice?” Kane repeated with disgust. “Come on. There’s no need to say horrible things like that to me. Girls don’t like nice guys.”

“Yes, they do,” Ellen insisted, while laughing at his sudden pose of aggression and manliness. “You would make a lovely, kind, sweet boyfriend. I can tell.”