Gertrude considers me for a second, maybe trying to understand the motive behind my request. I don’t blame her, Hannah and I were seconds away from disaster the first time we met. When I say disaster I mean I vividly imagined pulling at her extensions with an imaginary surge of pure satisfaction too along with it and I was seconds away from doing it. I think I kind of still want to. Now I am asking for her room?
‘She is still sleeping?’ Gertrude says it as a question.
‘I know, its five am in the morning.’ I roll my eyes, ‘now take me there.’
Gertrude nods reluctantly, ‘yes madam.’
She obviously is wary of the woman. Not from fear, the woman would have to be resilient if she lived with these men for as long as she claimed she did—but because Hannah is so annoying no one would trust themselves not to murder her. And of course no one wants to unleash their evil side like that. I mean I can relate.
I wonder if she ever met Celine. Should I ask her?
‘Have Madam Celine ever lived here?’
Gertrude pauses at my question but continues walking, ‘not very often. She only sees that she comes when none of the men are around.’
‘And that’s not very often.’ I sigh in understanding.
‘No its not.’ she mumbles then stops in front of a door I assume in Hannah’s room. ‘You can go alone from here.’
I suppress a smile, ‘Thank you Gertrude, I won’t mention you helped me here.’
She manages a small smile before walking away from me. I grab the door handle and open it without thinking—only—she doesn’t lock her door? I checked the lock at least three times the first night I slept here in case Alex sleep walked into my room and shot me in my sleep.
Taking a deep breath, I push the door open and step into the dark room. I pause for a moment as my eyes adjust enough to make out the basic furniture. Bed, dressing table, bedside table, chair by the window. Taking a deep breath I close the door and move into the room. Sure enough there is Hannah’s knocked out form sprawled on the bed.
A smirk curls on my face as I find the light switch and light floods into the room. I count to ten contemplating between pulling the covers off her awake or bending down to shriek in her ear. She is saved from my evil plots when she jerks into a sitting position mumbling expletives unholy for a lady’s mouth.
I fold my arms across my chest as she pries her sleepy eyes open and then scowls hard when she sees me, ‘what in the ever loving hell are you doing in my room?’
‘Good morning.’ I flash her a smile that can’t be real at five am in the morning but well what do you know?
‘Heather?’ sleep starts leaving her face like a cover is being peeled off, ‘what are you doing here?’
I raise a palm at her, ‘I had an epiphany okay and before you say anything—I’m only believing you because you had the worst wrong plan to bumping into Luther, it just won’t do—you could have come up with something a little authentic.’
Hannah regards me with her mouth open as my rumbling goes on and on at five am in the morning, yes I already said that. I am hyper and energetic as I didn’t sleep last night because well—let’s just say I will never learn to take calm measures for sudden turn of events.
‘Luther is the kind of guy who gives you a second glance after saving you from a crazy dangerous situation—it would have been believable if he had rescued you from the burning kitchen not the whole eye contact slap in the face love at first sight thing.’
Hannah then pulls a smile and hugs a pillow, ‘I assume things went well with Taylor last night?’ she waggles her eyebrows suggestively.
I press my lips together, ‘do you have valuable information of what is going on here?’
She raises an eyebrow.
‘It’s the only way I will agree to help you with whatever endeavor you are up to.’ I raise my chin.
‘I knew you would come around Heather—but this isn’t the scenario I had in mind.’
I snort and chuckle, ‘yeah I also didn’t expect to run into a freaking agent living in the criminal family house dating one of the great uncles.’
Hannah chuckles, ‘now that you put it like that maybe I should have listened to Alice and kept you out of this.’
I want to bulge my eyes out but I settle for bending my mouth downwards and nodding, ‘why am I not surprised.’ I mumble.
Hannah pats her bed, ‘take a seat then and I will fill you in.’
I cup my tummy with two hands and come to sink on the bed as she climbs off and walks into the bathroom. I sag back against the pillows some of my hyper energy starting to wane a little bit. I couldn’t sleep last night because I had yet to deal with my tangled emotions towards Taylor.
I am happy to see him, I really am—but the way I saw him again wasn’t what I had in mind. The man has been here or wherever he was living life like every other Sunday while I was still trying to understand why someone could just walk out on us.
And then he is suddenly all over the place, a large part of me ever ready to hop into his arms like everything is okay. Well it is not.
The bathroom door opens, breaking my thoughts. Hannah walks out of the bathroom looking like she splashed some water on her face and tried to fix her unruly hair. Her arms are full of what looks like bundles of files and papers. I glance at the bedside clock, it’s now fifteen past six. We have at least an hour and a half before someone remembers our existence.
Speaking of which, shouldn’t I be creeped out that I am sleeping under the same roof with Mr. Abiwu? Though I haven’t really seen much of him since the crowning.
‘These should summarize everything.’ Hannah tosses the files on the bed before climbing aboard and crossing her legs facing me.
‘What’s this?’ I gesture at the papers, ‘research.’
She tilts her head to one side and her mouth stretches to a small smile, ‘crimelopedia.’
‘Ookay!’
‘I have been onto this family for two years, this is just the summarized version of my stalking tendencies.’
Stalking? How could any of these people be stalked without their knowledge? Somehow that thought makes all this a little more dangerous than I had already given it credit for. If they know that someone is following them and they just keep silent, that is very dangerous.
‘Wipe that look off your face.’ Hannah rolls her eyes, ‘this is the good old laid back Botswana, high profile crime is as good old a myth as supernatural beings.’
I scoff, ‘for someone who is always plundering the news to find something against the Abiwu family I say you are more ignorant than me. The country has a reputation for peace, doesn’t mean everyone is gullible.’
‘They know no one will be sniffing in their business here—and look at me, I am the last person who can put anyone behind bars.’
Oh well I guess—I mean I can’t even believe it now. But never judge a book by its cover.
‘Unless if you want to back out now before I spill my secrets to you, once you hear this everything will change.’
I pat my stomach, ‘I of all people am going to be a mother—what could be more life changing than that?’
Her eyes linger on my stomach before they lift to meet mine, ‘no one is ever made a perfect mother, if it makes you feel better my nephew likes my mother more than he likes me.’
‘You have a nephew?’
‘Another story for another time.’ She waves her hand dismissively, ‘now are you in or not.’
I lick my lips, nervous all of a sudden, ‘if this turns south we are dead.’
‘Obviously.’
I nod, ‘I can’t back out—I need to know what’s going on—that’s the only way to smartly get out of it.’
‘Is that all you want? To get out of this?’
I shrug, ‘I don’t care if removing a crime lord form society changes things, I am done with all this.’
Hannah raises her chin, ‘well then I think we can work together.’