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Solomon allowed himself to sink below the water, into the blue-green oasis, the only place that seemed to offer any calm at that point in time.
He was supposed to be taking a group of tourists out into the waters in half an hour but was in a mind to blow them off.
It was in tranquil moments such as these that Solomon found himself contemplating everything in his life that had brought him to this moment.
He found himself thinking back to his dinner with Yasmina, thinking about what she had said to him.
It couldn’t have been true. It couldn’t be. He was all too familiar with the baby trap, the sure-fire way to tie you down. He told himself that it had been her way of putting his balls in a lifelong vice. It was often the case with women, fluttering around him like bees around a beehive. But sooner or later, they wouldn’t be content with fleeting honey. They’d want the whole hive. And Solomon wasn’t willing to give that part of himself. And Yasmina was the latest in a long line of women who were coming up with creative reasons why he should put himself on hold for them.
But what if it was true? Those six words ricocheted around Solomon’s head over and over. He remembered the scraping rawness of Yasmina’s emotions, remembered how she had spoken at length about their – her – son, thought Solomon, trying to shake her poisonous words from his mind.
The tears that had flown from her eyes, flowing down her beautiful face. That had not been mere acting. Those tears had come from a very real place. And the level
Thinking hypothetically, Solomon tried to imagine if the kid had indeed been his. Given the lifestyle he led, Solomon wouldn’t have been too surprised if there was a squadron of Solomon Juniors running around.
He tried to imagine the type of father he would have been. Would he have been attentive, teaching his child the tricks of the trade, how to stay afloat in a world that constantly threatened to pull you under? Or would he have seen the kid as an irritation and been looking to cast him off the first chance he got.
Solomon had once heard a friend of his say that despite our best intentions, we all end up turning into our parents. Solomon would never find out if that had been the case. He had never really known his father, who seemed to have disappeared from the earth altogether, a non-entity in young Solomon’s life.
Attempts to query his mother on the type of man his father had been, were sternly deflected. In all the years growing up, Solomon had never once heard a single utterance about his father.
From an early age, he had had a vivid imagination and with his mother unable to fill in the gaps. Sometimes, he imagined that his father was an important man; a hero who had been forced to leave his child to take up arms in a conflict far away from home. But as he grew older, and his bitterness over leading a fatherless childhood continued to gestate, Solomon wondered if his father had been a bad man, and that they might have been better off without him. The exact moment he changed his stance on his father came as a young man was watching the footage of the Almeria anti-immigrant riots. As he saw the flashes of brutality for the first time, saw what people were capable of under the worst possible circumstances, he gradually saw his father as a symbol of evil, as though trying to tell himself it was a good thing, he wasn’t a part of his life.
Not that it stopped his mother from finding a string of boyfriends. They had all varied in age and occupation, some had come across as decent people, others only treated his mother as a means to an end, discarding her once they had done what they had wanted with her.
But the most consistent thing linking all of these men was that none of them ever tried to step into the role of father, if only briefly. They gave polite interest to Solomon whenever he was expected to interact with them, but they had never tried to nurture him, never seen him as anything more than an obstacle they needed to maneuverer around to get to his mother.
As he grew older, and the trappings of innocence fell away, Solomon found himself loathing everything about his life. Particularly his town. Solomon had been raised by his mother in the town of Rupit I pruit. As a boy, Solomon had loved walking down the cobbled streets, feeling a sense of comfort that comes with familiarity. But as Solomon grew older and blossomed into maturity, he began to feel the trappings of his environment; the whole town felt like a relic, a part of history that had been abandoned and left to decay. His mother had lived in Rupit I pruit her entire life and had never made any plans to venture beyond the confines of the town. But Solomon was determined to have experiences for himself, to know that life could take many exciting forms. But what?
The answer had finally come to him when he was sixteen, when he had ventured out to Saint Sebastia, one of the longest beaches in the country. He remembered swimming out into the infinite sea, feeling a surge of freedom like nothing else in his life. As the waves lapped against his body, he swam hard, determined not to let yet another force master his life.
And then Solomon had witnessed a tourist drowning; presumably an inexperienced swimmer who had swum out too far. Solomon had dashed out into the sea and pulled the tourist – a young boy about four years younger than Solomon himself at the time – back into the shallow water.
Of course, this heroic act caught the attention of several attractive young female tourists, who were eyeing him admiringly. It was the first time Solomon had ever found power in his body and physique. His charm wasn’t as well developed back then, but that didn’t matter. Courage attracted women like a magnet.
And one of them had shown their appreciation for him that night, making love on the far end of the sandy beach, far from prying eyes. The girl had looked at him and seen a knight in shining armour. But when Solomon looked into her eyes, he saw himself triumphant, realizing the power he possessed over life and women. That day had pushed Solomon into his current lifestyle, the adrenaline rush that came with scuba diving, every majestic breaststroke, a rebellion against higher forces wanting to control him, and the hedonistic conquests he enjoyed in the arms of many women.
Now he had taken to living life at a breathless pace, moving from one conquest to another. Partly was because of his belief that there were ‘plenty of fish in the sea waiting to be caught’, as well the unspoken truth that if he slowed down for introspection, he would worry how much like his father he was becoming.
He thought about his impending marriage to Sarah. He had never pegged himself as the settling-down type. And many of his friends had joked that maybe Sarah would make an honest woman out of him. Indeed, he had found a certain calm when he was with her, a sense of peace.
But it wasn’t in Solomon’s nature to embrace peace. He only felt at ease when he was dancing in the fire. And that was what he had found when allowing himself to get enthralled by Yasmina. There was an untameable fire burning in her belly that had attracted him to her. A darkness that couldn’t be quelled.
Solomon wondered if he would ever stop his philandering ways, whether he could indeed settle down and play the role of the family man. He hadn’t had a father who taught him about the importance of a man providing. So, what was there to stop him from making the same mistake? What if someday, Solomon himself would become a ghost in his child’s life? Would the sins of the father become the sins of the son?
He pushed the thought to the back of his head as he returned to the surface. He had offered for Sarah to join him for a swim, but she had declined. Solomon wondered if Sarah had her own secrets. Maybe one day, some good-looking man would turn Sarah’s eye.
That’s what had started him about Nathaniel; there had been this allure, this enigmatic quality of a man who had seemingly come from nothing and was now worth everything.
He knew a lot of this was down to the enigma surrounding Nathaniel. Everyone in Formentera knew Solomon and his reputation. But Nathaniel was a man cloaked in mystery. Solomon had hoped that Nathaniel would fall prey to ‘small island mentality, with the residents rejecting him on the grounds of not liking what they didn’t understand. But instead, they seemed to have embraced the outsider as though he had been one of their own from the beginning. And the man could certainly be charming when he wanted to be. Solomon had caught wind of Nathaniel’s measure tone, able to simultaneously disarm you and put you at ease.
No. Sarah was loyal to him and him alone. Her feelings for Solomon were far too strong for her to even consider letting another man into her life.
***
SARAH THREW HER ARMS around Hyienna, enveloping him in a hug as he stood on the doorstep of Casa Hermosa.
Hyienna hadn’t realized until now just how much he needed that hug. The past few days had been a whirlwind of emotion for him. He was still reeling from the revelations surrounding Nathaniel. Everything he thought he knew was being called into question. Solomon, Nathaniel, the Stream... it was too much for Hyienna and for now, he was grateful to find comfort in the arms of his cousin.
But even so, he felt the ground beneath them tremble considering what he had learned about Nathaniel. He wanted to be an ally to the man to guide him through the darkness, but he wondered how infectious that darkness would become.
“Well, this is nice” said Sarah, taken aback by the affectionate gesture, but leaning into the hug, nonetheless. “So, what’s this in aid of?”
“I just wanted to see you” said Hyienna breathlessly.
“Love the gesture,” said Sarah. “But you hug as though this is going to be the last time you ever see me.”
Though Hyienna wouldn’t say it out loud, it had crossed his mind that sense of foreboding, the possibility that he would hear that Sarah had been in an accident or fallen prey to another’s evil. Everything in life felt so fragile, like foundations turned to glass, easily shattered by outside forces.
“I’m glad you popped round” said Sarah, finally pulling away from the embrace. “There was something I needed to ask you about...” She paused, trying to carefully measure her next words. “...I found something. A rucksack.”
Hyienna blinked, staring at her blankly as though those previous two words had just bounced off of him. “What?” he asked, a half-whisper.
“I found a rucksack” sighed Sarah. “And there was a blanket inside.”
“I...” Hyienna stammered, knowing that every second of hesitation that passed would only harm his eventual answer. His first instinct was to lie, to tell her that he had found it discarded on the beach, but with Sarah, he felt that his capacity for deception was lessened in her presence. But every time he tried speaking the truth in his mind, it sounded more and more ludicrous with each attempt. Somehow, Hyienna didn’t feel he could get Sarah to take him seriously with, “An old woman in a lighthouse gave it to me.”
Instead, Hyienna zeroed in on the other key revelation that had arisen. “How do you know about it?” He was sure he had kept it tucked away out of the reach of unwanted hands.
Now it was Sarah’s turn to be on the offensive. The circumstances under which she had discovered it were most dubious at best.
She remembered paying a visit to Yasmina at the Lizard, hoping to have a chat with her regarding her complicated feelings for both Nathaniel and Solomon. She would have liked to have spoken to Kate about the issue, but she knew that if she confided in Kate, then by nightfall, the whole island would be caught up in the drama. And Solomon was known to be a possessive man, especially when it came to people, he felt were his. If he assumed that Nathaniel was trying cause a row in Solomon’s house, Solomon would beat him black and blue.
So, she had gone to Yasmina to try and speak to her. But when she had got there, Sarah had been forced into a role reversal, with Yaz as the hysterical one and Sarah as the calm and collected one.
Yasmina had been inconsolable, her words incoherent, the words, “Samuel” and “dead” were only a few of the words that Sarah had been able to pull from the incoherent babble. Sarah had tried to soothe her, but to little avail. It was though she had just been hit with the full force of a lifetime of suffering.
She was pointing at something in the corner. A rucksack. And inside it, a small, worn blanket that looked like it had once belonged to a child. Sarah only had to remove a fraction of it from the bag for Yasmina to begin bawling again.
Sarah remembered looking at the blanket, almost transfixed. And as she looked, she was sure that she heard whispers coming from it. But as soon as she stuffed it back into the rucksack, the whispers ceased.
“I don’t understand” said Hyienna finally.
“Whatever it was somehow managed to knock Yaz for ten” said Sarah, trying to sound rational. “I couldn’t do anything for her. The way she was reacting to that thing... I’m trying to think of a better word than abnormal.”
And Hyienna thought to himself, that’s because the contents of that rucksack were definitely not normal. But he couldn’t tell Sarah that. “So... how can I help?” asked Hyienna, wanting to make himself useful.
“I wondered if you would speak to her” pleaded Sarah. “You’re good with people and I’m pretty sure she will take to you.”
Hyienna was coming to the weary realization that everyone was now treating him as a human confessional, someone to confide their deepest, darkest secrets to. “Look, Sarah. I’d love to help, I really would. But... I wouldn’t even know where to start.” For starters, he cursed himself for not doing more to conceal the rucksack. If he had, perhaps Yasmina would still have her wits about her.
“She needs this” insisted Sarah. “She’s an innkeeper, so she has a very public presence in Formentera. Two people came in looking to book rooms around the same time I was there. She only had to start screaming about someone called Samuel and it scared them off. Everyone on the island will think she is going mad. And from what I’ve seen, they have a point.”
Before Hyienna could say anything else, he heard the sound of an irate voice in the distance, which he quickly recognized as Solomon’s. He braced himself, waiting to receive a verbal beatdown...
...but when he turned around, Solomon was venting whatever frustration had been built up over time. “I told you not to call me” he was saying in exasperation, not even acknowledging Hyienna’s presence as he pushed past them into the house. “I told you I am not falling for your phantom-kid bullshit.” Suddenly conscious of his partner being within earshot, Solomon slammed the door behind him and began speaking in hushed terms. “You say anything to her, and I swear to God, they won’t even find what’s left of you.”
Leaving Solomon to his conversation, Hyienna asked Sarah, “Was there anything else abnormal about Yas?”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “You’ll have to be more specific.”
Hyienna tried to recall his own experiences with the rucksack, recalling when he wanted to hurl it into the ocean, if only to rid himself of the burden, only for a voice to ring out in his voice, imploring him to keep hold of it. The voice alone should have been enough to startle him, but he remembered trying to throw the blanket, mustering every ounce of will in his body, and yet his muscles failed to act in accordance with his thoughts, as though an unseen force had taken hold of him, acting like a puppet, imploring him to keep hold of the dangerous object. He wasn’t sure what kind of danger it would bring, but he knew he was dealing with something that was not a part of this world. He had thought that he had successfully concealed the rucksack, chiding himself for how easily Yasmina seemed to have stumbled across it.
He needed to be able to speak to someone about it, to find out what he was dealing with. If this was to be his cross to bear, he wanted to know what kind of burden he was carrying. Something told him that he was carrying more than a faded blanket. But he knew with utmost certainty that if he went back in search of the old woman, he would not find her.
He could always contact the Stream again. That man seemed to have his fingers in many pies. But he felt as though the Stream would be an elusive figure, never one to put the puzzle together for Hyienna, but more content to watch from the shadows as he struggled to put the pieces together himself.
Something was coming for him. What it was, he couldn’t explain, but based on Yasmina’s explosive reaction, he wondered if he had painted a target on all of their backs.
For her part, Sarah searched Hyienna’s face for answers, but found none. She was interrupted from her thought process by a buzzing of her phone. She reached into her pocket, taking it out and looked at the notifications.
It was from Nathaniel. ‘I want to tell Solomon about us.’
Sarah felt her entire world darken in that moment. She had worked tirelessly to keep her two worlds separate, and now they were in danger of colliding. Sarah didn’t respond immediately, but she could tell that Nathaniel was stood on the other end, waiting expectantly for a confirmation. She tried to keep herself composed.
She still wasn’t sure how she felt about Nathaniel, hadn’t considered what any future with him might look like.
When she was comparing Nathaniel and Solomon alongside one another, she thought of them in regard to how they seemed to treat her. She knew right away that while Solomon could be affectionate with her, she knew that he likely saw her as a trophy, a prized possession that he could show off and make him feel elevated among the people of Formentera. He often spoke at great length about her beauty. But how long would that last? How many years – or possibly even months – of happiness would they enjoy before Solomon would start thinking of the countless female tourists he could be bedding?
And what about children? Solomon had shown no outward interest in starting a family and Sarah had struggled to entertain the idea of herself as a mother. She remembered once having a dream many years ago in which she had a baby, and rather than feel the typical maternal pride one normally felt, she felt a strong sense of revulsion.
And in the world of the dreaming, time seemed to speed up, the baby grew into a toddler, then into a child, then into a teenager and finally into a beautiful woman who resembled Sarah...
...who had aged rapidly, her skin growing more wrinkle and loose, her hair grey and matted. Her body had started to decay into dust when Sarah woke up with a start. The idea that having a child would drain any youth from her had scared her off the notion of having children for a long while.
But while the future laid out with Solomon seemed somewhat dismal, she had trouble envisioning what lay ahead for her and Nathaniel. She knew that the whole island would treat her as a pariah and would ostracize her. She trusted that Nathaniel would be able to provide for her, but she wasn’t sure whether he loved her. Whenever he looked at her, there was no mistaking the tenderness in his eyes, but it always felt as though he was looking through her. He had spoken at length about the time that they had shared together in their younger years, and it made Sarah wonder whether he was seeing her or an idealized version of her that she couldn’t hope to live up to.
And when he looked back on their memories together, Sarah noticed that Hyienna seemed to gloss over some of the more negative aspects of their time, and on the very few occasions Sarah had drawn attention to them, he had dismissed them or pretended as though he hadn’t heard them. It gave Sarah the impression that he was only capable of looking on their experiences through rose-tinted glasses.
“Anything to be alarmed about?”
Sarah snapped out of her pensive trance as Hyienna spoke up.
“Oh, nothing” she said, not wanting to involve Hyienna at this point. Not down to a lack of trust. She already knew that Solomon would crucify Hyienna if he had even an inkling of his involvement in the proceedings.
She needed to think about this. If this was going to be the start of the next chapter in her life, she needed to make sure the right mechanics were put in place.
Without looking up at Hyienna, she quickly typed in, ‘Come to the mainland with me first, then we’ll tell him.’
Admittedly, this wasn’t a long-term solution. She knew that she was just kicking the issue into the long grass until she had time to think of something more permanent.
“Hey, guys!” The sudden sound of the new voice almost made Hyienna keel over. It was Kate. “So, anybody want to tell me why you’re gathered outside the front of the house?”
“Just wanted to let Solomon finish up a call,” said Sarah.
For his part, Hyienna avoided making direct eye contact with Kate. The last time she had seen him, he had laid himself bare, told her things that he never thought would pass his lips to anyone. And from what he understood about Kate, passing information to her was tantamount to loading a weapon and waiting for her to fire, where it would no doubt ricochet and destroy his life. He had originally chalked this down to Kate being a gossipy hen, but he could see the danger in her.
“What’s going on in there?” asked Kate.
“No idea,” said Sarah. She knew there was a 50/50 chance that Kate would later come by the information by herself.
Solomon finally exited the house, rubbing his face and shoving his phone into his pocket. “Sorry about that, bit of business that went sideways.” Nobody believed him for even a second, but no one seemed willing to contest him.
Solomon surveyed the gathering outside his house. “So, what brings you all down my way?”
Hyienna was about to speak up when Kate interrupted. “I was looking at taking Sarah out for a bit of shopping, have a girly day out.”
This was certainly news to Sarah, who looked at Kate and mouthed, “What?”
“Oh, come on, girl” scoffed Kate. “I’ve seen the contents of your wardrobe. If you’re going to make an impression with the locals, then you need to dress like you belong in this century.”
Solomon chimed in. “She’s got a point, sweetheart. When I take you out for a night on the town, I want to be able to show you off to everyone. I’m proud to have you on my shoulder, so you need to look the part.”
The plan made sense to Sarah, and at the very least, it would give her time away from Solomon and Nathaniel, time to gather her thoughts.
What was the worst that could happen?
***
THEY HAD MADE IT TO the harbour with five minutes to spare before the ferry took off for the mainland. Solomon had accompanied them, as though he wanted to see Sarah off, to verify that she was going where she said she was going. Kate had assured Solomon that she would be keeping a close eye on her. Something about the way she said it sent a chill down Hyienna’s spine.
This wasn’t exactly how Hyienna had wanted things to go down. He still felt as though there were so many things left unsaid between him and Sarah. Feeling as though he may never get another chance, he tapped her on the shoulder, halting her.
He leaned close, whispering into her ear, “I’ve found something through a local...” He paused, trying to find the right words to describe the Stream without it sounding too far-fetched. “...search agency.” He wondered, momentarily, whether he was betraying Nathaniel’s trust, but given that Nathaniel had already informed Sarah of his troubled past, he pushed those fears to one side. “When you get a chance, go to the Barcelona library.”
Sarah looked at him quizzingly. “Hyienna, I will not be caught dead in a library.”
“I’m serious, there are things you need to find out. And...” He looked at Kate, who was talking with Solomon. “Be careful what you tell Kate. The woman’s got the loosest tongue of anyone I know.”
“So, what am I supposed to be looking for?” asked Sarah, noting the seriousness in his voice.
“It’s about Nathaniel. Where he came from. Look in the records.” But before Hyienna could say any more, Solomon and Kate stepped forward. “Anyone would have thought you were trying to steal your cousin away from me.”
“Perish the thought” said Hyienna, suddenly realizing how his pulling Sarah to one side must have looked to the others.
“Come on” said Kate, taking Sarah by the arm. “Unless you fancy paddling to the mainland.”
She ushered Sarah onto the ferry just in time.
Hyienna and Solomon watched as the boat pulled out, Sarah and Kate getting smaller and smaller as they waved to each other.
There was something about this goodbye that left a disturbing feeling in Hyienna that he couldn’t quite shake off... a sense of finality...
“So, while the ladies are taking care of themselves, what are your plans, my friend?” asked Solomon, patting Hyienna on the shoulder with such force, Hyienna thought his entire shoulder was going to cave in.
“I think I’ll look at getting back to the inn” said Hyienna, suddenly feeling the need to be alone again.
“Well, I tell you wait, I’ve got nothing better to do, I’ll give you a lift.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose” implored Hyienna.
“Trust me, Hyienna, you’ll collapse from the heat before you get back to the inn. No, I insist.”
There was a forcefulness in Solomon’s voice that put Hyienna on edge. And he did not want to run the risk of saying ‘no.’
***
HYIENNA WAS GRATEFUL that he took the drive, feeling the sweat dripping down his skin. It was so hot that he could even feel the wind in the air.
“I can wait an eternity for the ‘I told you so’” said Solomon smugly.
Right now, Hyienna didn’t want to give him the courtesy, his mind focused on Sarah and Kate.
“You know” said Solomon, not taking his eyes off the road. “Unless I’m mistaken, I think you will have been in Formentera for the better part of a year now.”
“How time flies” said Hyienna tonelessly.
“Is the place everything you wanted it to be?” asked Solomon.
Hyienna looked back on his near year in Formentera, thought about the relationships he had established in that time, the forces he had come into conflict with, and the mysteries that had yet to be solved.
“It’s grown on me” Hyienna finally said. And there was no sarcasm in his words. For better or worse, Formentera felt like a part of him now, and he felt as though he was spiritually bonded to the place. Even if he decided to pack up and leave tomorrow, he imagined he would always carry the island around in his soul like an unwanted weight.
“I imagine it would have gone down a lot smoothly without me getting involved,” said Solomon. He sighed. “Look, Hyienna...” Hyienna noted that Solomon was taking care not to mispronounce his name. “I know we didn’t exactly get off to the best start. More my fault than yours. I know I came at it a little heavy with the big ‘I am. Can’t have made it too easy to settle in.”
Hyienna seemed taken aback by how forthcoming Solomon was being. “You may not believe this, but I was once like you.”
Hyienna fought the temptation to roll his eyes. Was there anyone on this island who wasn’t trying to outrun something or someone?
“I know what it’s like to come from very little, to want to be able to find your own place in the world, not being content with playing the hand life deals you. I think that’s the thing about Formentera. It’s an island of strays and lost souls.”
“No apologies necessary” assured Hyienna graciously.
“No, please, let me” insisted Solomon. “I’ve been on your case a lot when in all honesty, you were the one I needed to make a good impression with more than anyone.”
Of all the things Solomon had said to him, this was the one that took Hyienna by surprise the most. “How did you work that one out?”
Solomon shrugged. “Because soon we’re going to be family. I’m going to be marrying your cousin.”
That is assuming you’ll stop doing all your thinking with your dick, Hyienna wanted to say, but chose not to.
“I know I am probably not ideal husband material. But I generally love Sarah. She makes me want to be a better man.”
Hyienna fought back the urge to laugh. Knowing his cousin as he did and her flighty nature and desire for the finer things in life, he figured she would make Solomon want to be a richer man.
Solomon continued. “I’d travelled down here a few times, often on holidays. When you compare it to the rest of Spain, it’s not much to boast of. It has the necessities, making for a mundane paradise, but offers little more. When I was a kid, I always felt like I didn’t belong in my own little town. I wanted to get out in the world, see everything sample all the cultures.”
“So, what made you stick around Barcelona?” asked Hyienna, genuinely interested.
“Time lends a certain clarity” admitted Solomon. “I felt like this whole area was a part of me, and I wouldn’t shed it, no matter how much I tried.”
“I suppose I’ve got to ask” said Hyienna, moved by Solomon’s honesty and yet at the same time, wanting to get certain things off his chest. “Why Sarah? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know you had a reputation.”
Solomon shrugged dismissively. “News travels very fast.”
“So do you from the sounds of it” dared Hyienna.
But Solomon maintained his composure. “Fair play. But I generally want to make it work with Sarah. That’s why I agreed to move to Formentera in the first place.”
Hyienna felt a pang of guilt knowing that the only reason Sarah had wanted to move to Formentera was so that she could be close to Nathaniel. But that guilt faded at the reminder of Solomon’s philandering nature.
And then, as if he had read Hyienna’s mind, Solomon said, “It’s your friend Nathaniel I’m concerned about.”
“How so?”
“Well, look at everyone on the island, everyone is trying to pretend they come from something better, we’re all hiding things, but Nathaniel seems to have it down to an art form. He has worked tirelessly to integrate himself into the island and the culture and the people. And in my experience, the more you claim to belong, the more you’re hiding.”
Knowing that he was now sitting on an explosive truth regarding Nathaniel, Hyienna shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“And I’ve notice he’s been spending a lot of time trying to catch Sarah’s eye.”
Hyienna tried to relax, knowing that because Nathaniel had buried his tracks so deep, the Stream was the only one likely to be privy to the information. And Solomon was hardly likely to have come across him.
“But I was put in touch with a friend in high places.”
Hyienna gulped.
“There’s been a lot of conflicting information regarding Nathaniel. They say he was a bit of a church boy. Some say that he is a self-made man. Some have even said he is God’s gift to the island. I say he’s full of shit. You can tell with the way he uses the local language like a parrot.”
Hyienna tried to play it down, making out that he knew less than he actually did.
“Everyone has secrets, you pull the thread hard enough and my, my, how it unravels.”
“What did you find?” asked Hyienna hesitantly, knowing that he would not like whatever came out of Solomon’s mouth.
“My man knows a social worker who works for a judge. And apparently, he arranges closed adoptions.”
Hyienna blinked. “I’m sorry, Solomon, you’re going to have to come back to Earth and pick me up.”
“Think of it like a regular adoption, only difference being that the biological parents’ records are either sealed or wiped out altogether. It prevents either the kid or the parents from ever being able to find one another.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.”
“You’d be surprised,” said Solomon. “Everything that’s now legal was at one point illegal. If there’s one guarantee about the system, it’s that it always finds ways to work against you while calling it legal. You take you and me, for example. You wind the clock back a few decades, you and I would have been treated no better than cattle.”
Trying not to think about those last words, Hyienna pressed on. “What has closed adoption got to do with anything?”
“Closed adoption is perfectly legal in some areas. Nuns get a lot of mileage out of them, taking kids that have been born in less-than-ideal circumstances. If the parents say, are a pair of bastards, then it’s in everyone’s best interest that the child keeps away from them. And apparently, Nathaniel’s records are sealed off. So, whoever he used to be in his previous life must have been quite damning.”
Knowing both the details of Nathaniel’s backstory as well as the fact that Solomon was disturbingly close to the truth, Hyienna tried to divert Solomon’s attention away from the negative. “Look, I won’t deny that Nathaniel probably has a few skeletons in his closet. But you want to be careful, Solomon. You don’t want to make the mistake of confusing secretive with dangerous.”
“You know, you’re absolutely right” said Solomon, to Hyienna’ s brief relief. “I’m a man of principle. I like to know if I’d dealing with a dangerous man. Hence the reason for this trip.”
Hyienna suddenly felt an urge to jump out of the car. “What little trip?”
“I know that Nathaniel has been trying to worm his way into Sarah’s knickers. And I know that you have been at least party to it.”
Hyienna opened his mouth to speak, trying to think of anything to say that might absolve him of any blame.
“Now, I could thump you, and believe me, I considered it. But given I didn’t do much to endear me to you to begin with, I can understand why you might have kept a tight lip.”
This surprised Hyienna. He had pegged Solomon as the type of man who would stumble into a situation with fists flying.
“Truth is,” said Solomon. “I need your help.”
“My help?”
“You have been getting closer to Nathaniel more than anyone. For whatever reason, he trusts you more than anyone. If shit ends up hitting the fan, and believe me, it’s looking more and more likely, I will need someone with me to help sort Nathaniel out. I don’t know why he trusts you, but whatever the reason, he’ll let you get closer to him. If I went into this myself, he’ll see me coming a mile off, he’ll be working to cover his tracks. At least with you, he’ll be willing to let his guard down.”
Hyienna chuckled nervously, not liking the idea of playing the middleman in Nathaniel and Solomon’s war. “I think you overestimate my importance in relation to him.”
“No, I don’t think I do” said Solomon, unwilling to hear anything that didn’t fit with his logic. “He trusts you, and I need to use that trust to safeguard myself and Sarah. I know I’m not exactly Romeo, but I love Sarah. I know that in my heart. Now, Nathaniel, I know enough to know that he’s dangerous. And he has Sarah in his sights. So, I need to protect her.”
“I’m not sure what you’re asking of me” said Hyienna.
“I’m asking you to help me keep her safe” said Solomon firmly. “You’ve not got a woman in your life, have you, Hyienna?”
“Last time I checked” said Hyienna dryly.
“Well, if you did, and you felt she was in a situation where she was dancing very close to the sun, would you honestly tell me you would stand by and let it happen? Or would you start working out how much heat you’d be willing to bring your way to save her?”
Hyienna could see Solomon’s point. Although he couldn’t help, but wonder if Solomon’s knight in shining armour attitude was less because he was concerned for Sarah’s safety and more because Nathaniel was encroaching on what Solomon considered to be his?
“So, where am I supposed to fit into this little soap opera?” asked Hyienna, unable to maintain his sarcasm.
Ignoring the comment, Solomon said, “We’re going to meet somebody who knows a bit more, someone who can clue us in on all the details.”
It was in that moment that Hyienna felt himself hurling into an abyss, feeling as though he had lost control of the situation and was never going to get it back. “Who are we going to see?” he croaked out.
Solomon smiled thinly. “That would be telling.”
“And you couldn’t tell me any of this man to man? You had to put up this façade of male bonding?”
“Hyienna, if I had outright asked you to help me, you would have said no and sided with Nathaniel.”
Hyienna nodded slowly, reluctantly seeing the logic.
“When we get there, hopefully we’ll be getting some answers.”
“And what about Sarah?” asked Hyienna. “What are her thoughts on all this?”
“Oh, she doesn’t know,” said Solomon. “I figured if she knew, she’d try and warn Nathaniel. I needed her out of the way, if only for a few hours while I sort out this situation. When Kate said she wanted to take her out for the day, I figured, ‘why not?’ Perfect excuse. And there I was thinking I would have to spin a tapestry of bullshit.”
Hyienna couldn’t help but be impressed with Solomon’s Machiavellian thinking. “Have you thought about how Sarah will take all of this?”
“Oh, she will get over it” said Solomon dismissively. “You know the type of things your cousin wants in life. You honestly think Nathaniel can provide her with all of that? Let’s say, Nathaniel is revealed to be bumping shoulders with some really bad people. Best case scenario, they arrest Nathaniel and seize all of his assets, leaving her without a penny to her name. Worst case scenario, they decide to take Nathaniel out of the picture and make an example out of Sarah. And I will not have that.
“There’s something else too...” He hesitated, not sure how to say what he was about to say. “...I think Sarah might be pregnant.”
This made Hyienna bolt upright in his seat. “What?”
“All the signs are there. She’s eating a lot; she’s got morning sickness. She told me a few days ago.”
“And how do you feel about it?” asked Hyienna.
Now, Solomon looked ashamed. “If I’m honest, I didn’t react in the best of ways. I told her that neither of us were ready to be parents, that we’d be putting our entire lives on standby, so... I told her she should get rid of it.”
Hyienna choked back his anger, listening to Solomon carry on.
“And it’s not just our own issues. You look at all the demented shit that can happen around here. Would you really want to raise a child on an island of uncertainties?”
Having been on Formentera for nearly a year, Hyienna’ s opinion of the city had changed drastically, and he no longer saw it as a place of salvation. “No, I guess not.”
“Exactly” said Solomon. “We’ll go there, here this guy out, and depending on what he tells us, we’ll be taking it from there.”
Knowing he had no way out of the situation, Hyienna reluctantly accepted his place in the situation. “Fair enough.”
“And there’s something else” said Solomon, taking his eyes off the road to look directly at Hyienna. “I found some information on you too, my friend.”