Betrayed Hero (Atramento Book 2)

by Nix Whittaker

  The answer was sudden and it made so much sense. He flashed a fleeting smile at his sister. “Thanks, I know exactly what to get her.”

  ___

  Warren found Portland in his office at the Charter building. He was shuffling papers on his desk when he entered.

  Warren said from the doorway, “Aren’t you getting a bit old to be still stuck on clerk duty?”

  Portland chuckled, waving off Warren’s light-hearted concern. “This is something personal. Come in, tell me what brings you here.”

  Warren sat down. “You know that money the City owes Sergei?”

  Portland sat back. “Ah, Warren. You know I never had any kids. I see you more like a son than anything else. I have the bad feeling that whatever you are going to ask is going to make me use up all my political capital. And it is going to be difficult to tell you no.”

  Warren shook his head. He sat forward as the thought of his gift to Natasha excited him. “This should be easy. The city owns most of the Edge right?”

  Portland tapped the desk with his fingers. “Yes. Over the years the fishermen have been forced to sell their homes and the only buyer has been the city.”

  Warren grinned. “Perfect then. The rent from those places would be minimal, so it will be easy to convince the council.”

  He wasn’t so sure, but he knew it was right. It would give Sergei and Natasha what they needed and wanted when they hadn’t even realised that was what they wanted.

  Chapter Twelve

  Edge May, 2087

  The warehouse was large, but filthy. Natasha placed the box of clothes on the only table which was still standing. George had said she could use the warehouse for as long as she liked as long as she fixed up the engine of his fishing schooner.

  Natasha could see why George didn’t mind her using the warehouse as it was a dump. It did have potential though. The roof was solid and the room spacious. It had once been a large garage for a rather posh house which had been destroyed during the wars after global warming. George’s own house had been built out of the remains of the long-gone mansion.

  Natasha collected the rest of the things from her father’s truck. He was working today but he had lent her his truck so she could move her things to the warehouse. Looking around, she decided she would do what Hal had done and create a living space on one side and a workshop at the other. It was very rough living, but it would do in the meantime.

  A good clean with some hard work and she could make something out of this place. Natasha started on the side which would be the living space. She wasn’t afraid of hard work and this work came with the dream of an interesting future.

  It felt good to be moving forward. She could put Warren behind her, even though, thinking about him still hurt. Would things have been different if she had stayed? She shook her head. She knew one thing and that was she could never live in that academic world. Their love could be perfect and she would still slowly die if she lived there.

  It must have been much later when Sergei walked into the warehouse with a large box in his arms. “What a dump. I hope you aren’t paying rent on this place.”

  Natasha smiled as he approached. “Nah, just maintenance on his ship. Thanks, Dad.”

  He placed the box down and she saw it had food in it. Without any words he picked up a broom and started in the workshop area.

  Natasha loved her dad for his silence rather than his words. In silence, he supported her. She was exhausted but she knew her father was as well. He was working on the water desalination plant on his own as his latest worker was back in the city. Yet he came here in the spare time he had to help her.

  She picked up a washcloth and hesitated. “Dad, thanks for always being here for me. I know it must have been hard after your mother died, but I just want you to know that I appreciate it.”

  He snorted. “That is what family is for.”

  Natasha was glad it was easy for him to say that. Would Digger and Isabelle have been better people if their family had been different? She shook her head. No, those two had made their choices.

  She explained, “I saw a man in the city who was hit hard by the death of his wife. He would have run away from the world if he could, but he stuck around for his kids. It must have been hard is all I’m saying and I want to thank you.”

  Sergei snorted. “Only a coward would run from life and his children. I might not have fought in the army, but I am no coward.” He paused and added, “But you are right. It wasn’t easy. But it was worth it.”

  ___

  Natasha had decided to help her dad on the plant for the day. As there had been an emergency when one of the pipes had burst. She was working on maintenance while her father fixed the pipe. She saw someone approaching in the distance and put her tools away and leant against the machines to wait for the person to arrive. Her heart skipped and she steeled herself when she saw it was Warren.

  “What are you doing here?” Natasha glared at him as she spoke.

  Warren carried a box in his hands and looked a little sheepish.

  He paused in his stride and hesitated before he said, “Umm. Well. I thought… I’m sorry I took so long. I would have been here sooner, but I was organizing some things.”

  Warren came forward and offered her the box. She didn’t take it and only glared at him. He took the box and held it in front of him defensively. It seemed he hadn’t improved with his ability to talk to women.

  Natasha gave in and asked, “What are you doing here Warren? We are over.” It hurt to have him here and she wanted him to go away as soon as possible.

  He said, “I know. I gathered that when you left.”

  His voice shook with nerves as he continued. “I thought I’d say you were right and that I was an ass. I shouldn’t have let you leave. You deserve a proper apology. Maybe then you wouldn’t have left.”

  She scoffed. “You couldn’t have stopped me even if you had wanted to. That world is not my world. You being an ass just made it easier for me to leave.”

  He blushed. “Well, I came to apologise. Are you sure you don’t want this?” He offered the box again.

  Natasha grumbled. “I’m not a charity case, Warren.”

  He shook his head vigorously. “No, this is from my father. He said you deserved it for putting up with me. Mom would have wanted you to have it as well. He said she would have approved of you.”

  Natasha took the box and opened it up. It had a plant floating in some water.

  Frowning, she looked at him. “What is it?”

  Warren blushed as he said, “Oh well, it is a weather shield plant. You just need to have it floating in a tub of water on top of a tower and send power into the water. It will grow into a weather shield.” He pointed to some handwritten notes which were inside. “My dad put the dimensions needed for the tower in the box as well. He took your notes on Edge so it should cover most of the homes already here. I would suggest making the tower taller. The people in the city would love to have holiday homes out here.”

  Warren waved to the sea and the town. “That brings me to my gift. And trust me, it isn’t charity. I negotiated for those with the money which was owed to your father. I had to do some interesting accounting and a lot of arguing with really stubborn people, but I’m afraid this was all I could get. But with a Weather Shield and maybe if you build a few houses to sell, soon you will be the richest person in Edge.”

  He grinned, telling her he meant that as a joke. At the moment she was already the richest and it didn’t matter, anyway. Especially as she couldn’t really touch the rest of the money the City owed them.

  The one property she wanted to buy was out of her reach. She still couldn’t find out who owned her mother’s house. Her father had refused to tell her as he said it was too late.

  Warren dug in his pocket and handed her a stack of folded papers. She took it and opened it up. They were deeds. The first one though caught her eye.

  “You own my house,” she said in a voice brittle with e
motion.

  “Wait, no, I mean these are yours, Natasha. I had to sneak your father’s money out and I exchanged it for land.” He waved. “You own Edge, Natasha, and all the land which is around it as well. Your father was the only one who had owned his own land and he sold it to the city because no one else wanted it. I just got it back with some interest.”

  Warren shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched a bit. “I’m sorry about everything which happened. I should have listened to you and I should never have let that cow get between us. I don’t… Well, I never liked her and I don’t know what came over me. I think I had a fairy tale image of her from when we were little children. I shouldn’t have believed her or allowed her to get close when I knew she could be part of all that mess. I’m lucky she wanted to marry me and not kill me. I was a complete fool.”

  Natasha folded the deeds and put them into the large pocket of her cargo pants.

  She didn’t look at him as she said, “Well, you apologised and you delivered all your gifts now you can go.”

  He caught her wrist when she turned. She glared at his hand and he dropped it. “Sorry, but please listen to me.”

  She turned. She crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips.

  He took a deep breath before he said, “I didn’t just want to apologise, Natasha, I had to come here to tell you… to tell you that I love you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “It doesn’t matter, Warren. We were only temporary. A fling, but I knew that was over when you betrayed me.”

  He waved his hands empathically. “No, no, I didn’t, no I swear. What you saw wasn’t really what was happening. Isabelle set it up so you would leave. But you have to believe me that nothing happened. It is you who I love.”

  She sniffed in disdain. “That is what all men say.”

  He surprised her by going to his knees. “I love you, Natasha, with everything in my being and I know I will have to work to get back your trust but know that I love you, my beautiful rose.”

  Natasha huffed. “Get up, Warren, you are making a fool of yourself.”

  His voice was very determined as he said, “It is only fair. I made a fool of you before. I should have listened to you.”

  She sighed. “Fine. Well, you can listen to me now. You were an ass. I was there trying to help you and the moment you got back to your world and around Isabelle you turned into an arrogant ass. When I warned you that the Hausers were dangerous you ignored me and it almost got you killed. Still, you wouldn’t believe that they were both involved and let that cow draw you into her drama. She used you and made a fool of me. And all you had to do was listen to me. If you really loved me, you would have listened.” Her voice was bitter by the end. She had to dig deep for the feeling as a way to stave off her tears.

  Warren flinched back at the last. “Is that what you believe? That I don’t love you because I couldn’t believe that friends I had known since I was a child could betray me?”

  Anger flashed through her and she poked him in the chest. Making sure she stepped around the box with the Weather Shield as she stalked closer to him. “You knew it had to be someone close to you. Only someone close could have known enough to attack you. You knew. But you were a bloody fool.”

  He stumbled backwards. She threw up her hands. “I don’t know why I’m listening to you. We come from such completely different worlds. Our relationship was going to end sometime. Can’t you just let it lie? You were back in your world and I’m back where I belong. You are just making it so much harder. Just leave me alone.” Her voice was defeated by the end. She bowed her head and turned to leave.

  Warren scrambled to his feet. “No, wait, please. I can prove it. I can prove I love you. We aren’t so far apart.”

  He took another paper out of his pocket. He handed it to her. This was another deed, but it had his name on it.

  His voice was hopeful. “I don’t expect you to believe me now, but I’m going to stick around until you do believe me. Besides, I couldn’t work at the University anymore, not without you.”

  Natasha shoved the paper back at him. “You think stalking me is going to convince me you love me?”

  Warren looked lost. He probably thought would have won her over. She bent down and picked up the box. “You just made a bad investment. In a week or two you will find out you hate it here and you will have no one to buy the house from you. A waste of money. But at least you have the money to spare.”

  Natasha turned and walked away. He sighed, but she didn’t turn around.

  ___

  Edge July, 2087

  Natasha was waiting in line to use the telepad to contact Hal. Natasha could have used her cell phone, but the reception was notoriously bad outside of the Shield.

  The Weather Shield plant Warren had given her was sitting in her workshop hooked up to an old combustion engine battery. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do with it all but the thought of people having a safe place to come home to at night after being on the seas was enormous. They would go from their hand to mouth existence to what would seem like a luxury.

  Edge didn’t have a town council or anything like it, but since she and her father now owned the land best suited for the tower all they really needed was to wait for rent to come in to buy supplies. She was keeping an eye out for things she could re-purpose from the shells of buildings she had been exploring.

  Megan must have had a hand in it all as she had put in plans for a tower and a taller one than Warren had suggested. Megan had plans for Edge and so Natasha expected her to come out once the shield was grown.

  The person on the telepad turned and Natasha realised it was Warren. He hesitated, then approached her. Politely she said, “Talking to your dad?”

  Warren said, “He has told me I have to check in once a week no matter what project I’m working on. I think he is afraid I will starve to death if I don’t have someone to remind me to eat. At least here I’ve been able to get some work done.”

  Natasha wanted to know if he had been able to figure out any more of the atramento that would work on the body but she couldn’t bring herself to ask. He shifted on his feet uncomfortably and then asked, “Have you been good?”

  She nodded and then put him out of his misery. “We are too different, Warren. You should try to forget me.”

  He looked up, his eyes flashing with emotion. “We aren’t as different as you think. We both need peace to work. We both are focused and we both love our family. If it is money which makes you think we are different, then remember you now have money and if it is education, then I think you are being short-sighted. It is just a piece of paper.”

  She pursed her lips. “It isn’t any of those.”

  Though he was right. They did have things in common. She really wanted to tell him she was afraid. Afraid that if she loved him, he would just break her heart. All the rest was just a smokescreen for her to hide behind.

  His shoulders dropped and he said in a much softer voice. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said all that. You know where I live. I won’t bother you. But I hope you will come and visit.”

  The rest was unspoken but very clear. He wanted her to come to him for the forever he wanted. The forever she wasn’t sure she could give him. He hesitated and she knew he wanted to say more, but in the end decided against it and walked out of the Com office without saying anything more.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Edge August, 2087

  “Is anyone here?” Hal popped her head into the warehouse. It was different from when she had first set it up now that Natasha had moved back into the house. The building was all workshop now, but she had left a couch and some of the more homely things for her to take breaks during the day. Natasha had shuffled things around in the warehouse, but it looked very empty.

  Natasha called out, “I’m in here, Hal. Did you bring Misha?”

  Misha came in with a large box and made whatever Hal had intended to say moot. He smiled at Natasha and put the box on a table. Na
tasha frowned at the box curiously. “You said you were coming for a visit. I didn’t think it would be so soon or that you would bring stuff with you.”

  Hal jumped up to sit on the table next to the box and said cheerfully, “Rubbish. You are happy to see us. Just admit it.”

  Natasha laughed. “Of course, I am. I’m just curious.”

  Hal picked up something from inside the box. “I brought everything you need to set up a tattoo place here. Not as fancy as my Bioware place, but pretty close. I hear Warren came through and got the City to give you the Edge. About time.”

  Misha snorted. “Who would have thought simple ruskies like us would make out so well.”

  Natasha pulled her tongue at her cousin. He only acted like this around her father and she added. “Dad is working. You can drop the act.”

  He shrugged and started for the door, she assumed he was going to get more things. Natasha went over to the box to see Hal had brought more than just what Natasha would need to start putting the atramento on people out here. She picked up some tools and raised an eyebrow at Hal.

  Hal said, “I was cleaning out. It only clutters up the place. Better to dump it out here. It can now clutter up your place instead.”

  Natasha smiled at her. “Thanks.”

  “Bah.” And Hal waved it off with a flick of her hand.

  Natasha had missed Hal. She put the tools back in the box as Natasha asked Hal, “Are you going to be able to stay for long?”

  Hal said, “Just today. We already have a ticket for tomorrow. This place looks as bad as my place when I first started.” She hopped down from the table. “Where do you want me to set up the chair?”

  Natasha gestured to one end of the workshop which was emptier than the rest of the place. Misha came in wrestling the awkward chair.

  Natasha gasped and went to help him. “How the heck did you get all of this on the train?”

  Hal scoffed. “We hired a carriage of course. There is still more to come. I told you I was cleaning out.”