Page 35 of Rafi

“Will it help if you talk to him?” Rafi asks, his tone careful.

I bite my lip, unsure. “I honestly don’t know. What would I even say? He didn’t send me here to get into trouble. If he finds out, he might order me back home. And that’s the last thing I want.”Back to my ivory tower, a little voice whispers internally.

“You need to call him,” Rafi says after a moment. “I’ll organize a phone.”

“What will I tell him?” I whisper, more to myself than to him.

He sighs, his expression softening. “I don’t know, Tayana. You know your father best. But whatever you decide, I’m right here if you need me.”

His words settle over me like a fragile promise, and as he steps out of the room, I’m left alone with my thoughts. The walls feel closer now, the space too quiet. I sit on the edge of the bed, the conflict inside me churning like a storm. Rafi’s world is dark and dangerous, but there’s a light in him I can’t ignore. And yet, my father’s shadow looms large, his warning echoing in my mind.

I don’t know how he’s going to take this latest development, but I do know that I have to do something before he gets ona plane and comes out to drag me kicking and screaming back home.

“What the fuckwere you thinking, Tayana!”

My father’s voice booms down the line, and there’s not enough space between his words for me to break in and defend himself.

“The deal was that you wouldn’t ditch your bodyguards!”

I don’t tell him I’ve been ditching them for the duration of my time here, hiding behind fake employment records they fell for, hook line and sinker.

“And now you’rewhere?”

“In the countryside; I came to get away for a little while.”

“Why, Tayana? Why? Why would you do that?”

“I needed some breathing space.”

“From what? From who? What about university? Is this a stunt so you miss the last semester and have an excuse not to finish your studies? I swear to God, Tayana…I’m getting on a plane first thing in the morning. Send me your address. I’m…”

“Papa! Papa!” I screech, to get his attention.

He’s quiet on the other end of the line as he digests the fact that I’ve cut him off.

“I heard that Igor is here. Is it true?”

More silence. I think he’s hung up, until I hear his rapid, shallow breaths coming down the line.

“Igor’s there? Who told you that, Tayana? He never leaves the country.”

His voice comes out in a rush of words, as though he’s trying to convince himself more than he’s trying to convince me.

“Can you check, daddy? I heard that he’s here.”

“Well, what is he doing there?” he asks quietly.

My father is another one who’s managed to remove Igor off his speed dial. I don’t know what happened between them, but once upon a time, they’d been thick as thieves, and the next thing I knew, they were at each other’s necks. My father still won’t talk about what happened between them. I know my mother, God rest her soul, hated him with a passion while she was alive.

“I don’t know, Daddy. I thought you’d know.”

“You haven’t seen him?”

My father sounds like he’s on a fact-finding mission.

“I haven’t. I don’t want to.”

“Good. Good,” he says, obviously distracted now.

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