TENDER DECEIT (Mystery Romance): The TENDER Series ~ Book 1

by H. Y. Hanna

  Toran blinked at her and, for a moment, she wondered if he had taken it all in. Then he gave her a faint smile in return. “We got him together.” He shut his eyes again, then murmured. “No need to hide… anymore… proper dinner together…”

  “Toran…” Leah hesitated. “I… I have to go back to London. My father’s funeral is tomorrow and my flight is booked for the next day.”

  His eyes flew open and his fingers tightened on hers. “Don’t go. Stay… with me.”

  Leah stared at him. What was he saying? She tried to search his eyes for an answer, but they were clouded and distant. She swallowed. Did Toran really know what he was saying? Or was it just the drugs talking?

  Someone cleared their throat behind them. Leah turned around to see the Ward Sister standing in the doorway, tapping her watch meaningfully.

  Leah turned back to Toran. “I have to go. But I’ll come back to see you tomorrow.”

  She tried to pull her hands from his and, for a second, his fingers tightened even more, then he released her. His eyes were shutting; he was drifting away again. Leah hesitated, then bent down and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead before turning and leaving the room.

  The funeral was a quiet affair. For once, Leah was grateful for Julia’s bossy tendencies as her friend stepped in and organised everything. David Fisher was cremated at a simple service attended by many of his work friends and associates. Leah hardly knew any of her father’s business contacts and she went through the motions of accepting condolences mechanically, hoping somehow that she was making the right replies.

  At Julia’s insistence, the service was followed by refreshments at her house, where people gathered, talking in sombre tones. Leah knew that her father’s involvement in Bentley Warne’s criminal activities could not be kept secret, but she was grateful that people took pains to avoid the subject. As the afternoon wore on, however, she began to feel the strain and she was relieved when the last guest left with the last murmur of condolences.

  Leaving Julia to a date with her favourite TV soap, Leah went back to her bedroom and changed out of the black dress she had brought with her from London. As she hung it up, she reflected wryly that her flatmate, Aimee, could have had no idea when she recommended it, how different the situations would be for wearing it.

  Julia had insisted on Leah staying with her and had personally supervised the transfer of Leah’s things from the hotel, so now Leah searched through her own suitcase gratefully. It was nice to wear her own clothes again, she thought, slipping into a simple, yellow sundress. Brushing her hair until it gleamed, she reapplied lip gloss and looked at herself critically in the mirror.

  For God’s sake, it’s not as if you’re going on a date! She made a face at herself. Still, she couldn’t quite stop her heart beating faster at the thought of seeing Toran again. She allowed herself a small smile and went out to bid goodbye to Julia.

  Arriving back at the hospital, Leah paused by the florist on the ground floor. She knew it was silly, but a part of her felt light, happy, for the first time in days. She hovered over the different bouquets, then finally settled on a single, long-stemmed rose, the petals dark-red and still tightly closed in bud. A twin of the one left on her school desk so many years ago.

  She hurried upstairs and found herself met by the same Ward Sister again. The woman’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “You’re late. He’s got company.”

  “Company?” Leah faltered.

  The Ward Sister nodded down the corridor. “First the police came to question him and now I think half the journalists and editors in Singapore are here to see him. I don’t know if they came to see their friend or get an exclusive!” She laughed, shaking her head. “Tell them if they get any louder, I’m going to have to kick them out.”

  Leah went slowly down the corridor. She could hear the talking and laughter coming from Toran’s room even before she reached the door. It was slightly ajar, like yesterday, and through the opening, she glimpsed a room full of people. Mostly men, they were perched on various seats and surfaces around the room, joking and laughing with each other. Toran himself was sitting up, propped against the pillows, looking much more like his old self. His eyes were bright, his face open and relaxed as he chuckled at something one of the other men said.

  Sitting next to his bed, with her back to the door, was a young woman, her long brown hair streaming down her back. She had something in her hands. As the other girl shifted, Leah saw that she was peeling an apple. Carefully, the girl cut a piece and handed it to Toran, who took it from her with a warm smile in his green eyes.

  Leah drew back sharply. She barely heard one of the men teasing Toran about his personal bedside assistant and the raucous laughter that followed. Leah backed away. She couldn’t go in. She didn’t belong here. This was Toran’s real life and it was obvious that he was doing fine without her. Besides, that girl…

  Leah turned and went back the way she had come. As she neared the entrance of the ward, she bumped into a person in a white coat. It was Dr. Chen, the surgeon from yesterday. He smiled as he saw Leah.

  “You’re looking more rested, I see,” he said. “Been to see Mr James?”

  “Um… uh, yes…” Leah stammered. “He’s looking a lot better.”

  The doctor nodded. “Yes, he’s made a remarkable recovery. We’re quite surprised—but very pleased, of course. He should be ready to leave in a day or two. I’m just about to go in and check on him again. Would you like to come with me?”

  “No,” said Leah sharply. “No, that’s okay. I… um… I’ll talk to him later.” She turned and started to walk away, then hesitated and went over to the nurse’s station. Leaning over, she handed the rose to a young nurse sitting at the computer.

  “Can you please see that Toran James gets this? Thank you.”

  Then she hurried out of the ward without looking back.

  CHAPTER 31

  Leah snapped the locks on her case and heaved it upright. Slinging her handbag over her shoulder, she cast a last look around the bedroom.

  “Ready?” Julia came to the doorway.

  After leaving the hospital yesterday afternoon, Leah had returned to Julia’s house and let her friend fuss around her like a domineering mother hen. Still, well meaning as her friend was, it had started to become suffocating and Leah had been relieved when Inspector Ravi called, asking her to go to the police station to answer some questions. They had found the keys that Toran had hidden and on Leah’s instructions, had matched one to a locker at the zoo. Forensics were already working on the gold kris dagger, still covered in dried blood, found in that locker. Leah had spent the rest of the night at the police station, painstakingly going over the whole case with the inspector. It had been exhausting, but she had been grateful for the distraction. She didn’t want to think about Toran.

  “Yes, I’m ready.” Leah wheeled her case out to the black Mercedes. Julia’s driver had been reinstated and he loaded her case into the boot with smooth efficiency before taking his place behind the wheel.

  Leah turned to her friend. “Julia, I really don’t know how to thank you—”

  “Shush!” said Julia. “There’s nothing to thank. Friends, right?”

  Leah nodded, her eyes suddenly feeling hot. She turned away, embarrassed, and pretended to fiddle with the strap of her handbag. She had always despised tearful goodbyes. Even when she had stood in the airport, alone, at fourteen—the day she had left Singapore for the boarding school—she had been dry-eyed.

  “So… will I be seeing you back in Singapore soon?” asked Julia.

  Leah hesitated. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “Oh. I thought maybe you and Toran…” Julia trailed off.

  “You thought wrong,” said Leah shortly. She shifted uncomfortably, aware of the voice in her head calling her a coward. She knew that she was running away. She hadn’t gone back to the hospital, too scared to see Toran again, too scared to think about what she might do if he asked her again to stay.


  It was too easy when she was with him to forget, to think only about being in his arms. But that wasn’t reality, she told herself fiercely. She had seen with her own eyes that he didn’t need her. And she needed to get back to her own life. Her flight was leaving in a few hours and, by tomorrow, she would be back to her old life in London. She could put all this behind her. It would be for the best.

  “What about your father’s villa?” Julia asked.

  “I don’t know.” Leah frowned. “I guess I should sell it. Stanford Lim, my father’s colleague, can help me sort that out.”

  “Don’t make any hasty decisions,” said Julia. “Sit on it for a while.”

  “I’ll be sitting for fourteen hours on the flight back to London,” said Leah with a laugh. “Anyway, at least thinking about the house will be nicer than thinking about everything else that’s happened.”

  “Yeah, Bentley Warne….” Julia shook her head. “Who would have thought, huh? I still can’t get over it!”

  Leah smiled at her friend. “I’ll bet that’s one society party no one will forget in a hurry.”

  “They’ll be talking about it for years!” Julia rolled her eyes. “You know the kiasu culture here. No one is as competitive as the Singaporeans—all the top society hosts are probably busy figuring out how to be a criminal now, so they can create a scandal at one of their own parties.”

  Leah shook her head and laughed again as she turned to get in the car.

  Julia put a hand on Leah’s arm. “Listen, Leah… about Toran… you know, when you left twelve years ago…”

  “Yes?” Leah looked at her friend curiously.

  Julia hesitated, then smiled brightly. “Nothing. Never mind. Have a safe flight.”

  The car door slammed shut. Leah waved to her friend, then settled back into the luxurious leather seat as the car glided smoothly out of the driveway and started making its way across town. Leah looked out of the windows, watching the city flash past, remembering a similar journey riding in from the airport only a week ago. How much had happened since then!

  I’m going to miss Singapore, Leah thought with surprise, looking at the huge tropical trees lining the roads, the mix of colonial architecture and futuristic skyscrapers, the neon lights twinkling through the city as dusk fell. Despite her best efforts to forget her life in Singapore, she had left a part of her heart here and she hadn’t even realised it until she had come back this time. It had felt like coming… home.

  Leah shifted uncomfortably in her seat. What was she thinking? Her home was in London now. And that was where she was returning to.

  Julia’s driver dropped her outside Terminal Three at Changi Airport and Leah wheeled her case into the terminal building, which stretched several football fields wide and seemed to be all gleaming glass and steel and huge, airy spaces. She joined one of the check-in queues and went through the motions mechanically. She had just finished and was walking towards the gate for Departure Immigration when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

  “Leah.”

  She turned to see Toran standing behind her. He looked tired, his clothes rumpled, and she could see him favouring one side slightly as he walked towards her. But his green eyes were clear and intent.

  “Toran! Shouldn’t you be in hospital?” she asked.

  “I discharged myself early.” He grimaced. “I called Julia’s house. They told me you’d left already so I came straight here.”

  There was an awkward pause. Leah avoided his eyes. Above them, a tinny voice advised travellers not to leave luggage unattended.

  Toran gestured to the ticket in her hand. “So you’re really leaving.”

  Leah licked her lips. “I was supposed to be back at work yesterday.”

  “And you weren’t even going to say goodbye.”

  “I left a note for you with Dieter.” She looked down at the floor. “I thought it was for the best.”

  “Best for whom?” he asked harshly.

  “For both of us,” she whispered. She looked up and met his eyes. “Toran, please… You know it won’t work.”

  “We don’t know that unless we give it a chance,” he said, his voice low and angry. “You’re running away.”

  She stiffened. “I’m being realistic.”

  His green eyes were bleak. “Once, you were willing to take chances… willing to believe in possibilities.”

  Leah felt something like pain, deep inside her, but she said lightly, “I guess we’re both not the people we used to be. We’re grown up now, Toran, and what we had is in the past.”

  “It’s not in the past and you know it!” he said, grabbing her wrist, his eyes blazing now. “Are you telling me that you felt nothing in the past few days? That you haven’t been remembering what it was like between us?” He pulled her closer. “I have. And when I saw you fall in that pool… when I thought I had nearly lost you…” He shut his eyes briefly. “I don’t care about what happened in the past anymore, Leah. I want to try again. I want the chance of a different ending to our story this time.”

  “I…” Leah stared up at Toran. He was so close now that she could feel the heat from his body. A part of her wanted to throw her arms around his neck, to surrender to the demand in his eyes. But another part of her was warning of another time, another goodbye, when Toran had said beautiful words too and never lived up to them. Could she really give up the new life she had built for herself to take a chance with him again?

  He lowered his head slowly and she closed her eyes. His mouth was soft at first, lingering and tender, reminding her of stolen glances and first kisses, of a time when they were both shy dreamers together. Then he deepened the kiss, demanding a response, wanting her to feel the new passion that burned between them now. Leah stopped thinking about her flight, about the future, about anything at all.

  Finally Toran broke the kiss. They were both breathing heavily. The tinny voice sounded again, this time calling passengers for the Singapore Airlines flight to London to begin boarding.

  “That’s my flight,” whispered Leah. “I have to go.”

  Toran’s arms tightened for a second, then he stood back and let her go.

  Leah felt the cold as his arms left her. She wanted to change her mind, to throw caution aside and just listen to her heart, but she forced herself to move away from him. She could feel his eyes following her as she walked towards the Departure Immigration gate. His words rang in her ears: “…a different ending to our story this time…”

  She wasn’t fourteen anymore. She was a woman now and it was up to her to write the ending this time. Did she dare try again?

  Toran watched her go. He couldn’t believe that Leah was walking away from him. He clenched his fists at his side, feeling frustration and anger and something else he couldn’t name burn in his chest. How could he reach her? How could he convince her to believe him? He didn’t care what she said—he knew she felt it; this bond, this passion which burned between them.

  Leah was approaching the guard at the gate now. She paused and hesitated, and Toran felt his heart lift in hope. Then he felt the sharp stab of disappointment as she pulled her passport from her handbag and handed it to the guard.

  No.

  She was going to turn back, he told himself. She had to turn back.

  The guard waved her through and Leah walked past, fumbling again with her handbag. Toran watched her, his eyes boring into her back, willing her to stop with every step. Then, just before she walked behind the barrier, Leah paused.

  Toran held his breath.

  She turned around and their eyes met, just as they had that day, so many years ago, across a classroom. Slowly, she gave him a shy smile and after a second, Toran smiled in return.

  He knew then, just as he had known all those years ago. Something special was just beginning…

  ***

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  Toran and Leah’s story continues in

  TENDER TREACHERY

  (The TENDER Series ~ Book 2)

  READ NOW: Amazon | Amazon UK

  Read an excerpt from Tender Treachery:

  “You can still change your mind,” Toran said quietly.

  “And what about Angela?” asked Leah.

  Toran said nothing. He slid the car into a space in front of the ferry terminal and cut the engine. Leah took a deep breath and got out, slinging her holdall onto her shoulder. She walked into the terminal building and went down the steps at the back to the jetty. A group of people—several holding bicycles—were waiting beside one of the boats. Leah did a quick head count. Eleven. And now she made twelve.

  “Looks like I won’t have much of a wait,” she said to Toran as he joined her. He had taken off his shades and his green eyes were dark and serious.

  “Leah, listen… I did some research on satellite imagery yesterday. There’s an old, abandoned jetty on the south side of the retreat island,” said Toran. “It’s in the middle of some mangrove swamps. I’m going to bring a boat out, the day after tomorrow, and I’ll make sure that I’m at that jetty by sundown. If you don’t return before then, come and meet me there. You should be able to find it easily enough.”

  “Isn’t that against the rules of the retreat?” said Leah. “Outsiders—especially men—aren’t allowed on the island”.

  “I don’t give a damn about the rules of the retreat,” Toran said. “I want to know that you’re safe.”

  “Toran, I’m not planning to do an Angela and just disappear! I promise you, we’ll be able to keep in touch—I’ll text you as soon as I’m in and we’ll stay in contact. Anyway, I’m hoping to be coming home the day after tomorrow.”

  “One thing I learnt from being a war correspondent and reporting from the front line is that the best-laid plans often go wrong,” said Toran grimly. “You need to have a contingency.”