Tangled Passion Read Online Free PDF Page A

slow as that of an overfed tortoise with an oversized shell and his mind as blank as a recently erased chalk board. Then the sound of crushing dried leaves reached his ears, he came to a sudden halt, listened attentively, and concluded that somebody was heading his way, in a hurry. His first instinct was to jump into the bush and hide but the heavy breathing and panting suggested that the person approaching wasn’t an attacker—an attacker would approach slowly and quietly.
    So he stood his ground, looking around for anything he could use as a weapon in the event that he needed to defend himself. He was just about to reach for a dry branch to his right when he heard his name.
    “Jonah!”
    He recognized the voice and froze. It was Ashana’s.
    “Ashana!” he called out and it was with such intense excitement that his lungs suddenly emptied, sending him into a brief coughing bout.
    “Yes, Jonah!” she screamed out and crashed into his arms, sending him crashing to the ground along with her. He hugged her so tightly the perspiration on her body instantly seeped through his shirt and sank into his pores. She hugged him back, but this time Jonah could feel a difference in her hug; it was strong and tight, as if she was scared to let go and Jonah could not help but feel the occasional shudder that travelled down her body.
    “Ashana,” Jonah called softly, he wanted her to say something; anything would do, he needed to feed something to the monster of suspense that was threatening to tear him apart. But when she opened her mouth and barely whispered his name between gasps for air, he felt a bitter and chilly wind of fear hit him right across the face and his heart somersaulted.
    “What is the matter Ashana?” he asked, completely drained of strength before gently guiding her towards the tree under which he had been waiting for her all night.
    “No! I must return immediately,” she said, resisting very gently and still fighting to regulate her breath; she had run the whole way to meet Jonah.
    “Ashana please tell me now, don’t wait one breath longer, I beg of you. What is the matter?” Jonah said, holding her hands and looking straight into her eyes. She slowly bowed her head and then opened her mouth. He looked as if she waited a breath longer his breath would be cut off. “Please,” he begged, a chilly feeling beginning to crawl up his trembling legs.
    “It’s the Massa...” she said, coughing out the words as if they were about to choke her, tears swelling in her eyes and then overflowing onto her cheeks.
    The word ‘Massa’ hit Jonah like a ton of bricks; his knees begged to buckle and his grip tightened on her shoulder. “Wha...wha...what did he do to you...?” Jonah stammered, interrupting any further utterances from her. Air gushed out his rib cage like air from a punctured balloon and soon his formidable shape was reduced ten times less than its original.
    “No! No! No! Wait!” she said, bending over her knees, still trying to catch her breath and at the same time bracing herself for what she was about to tell him. He held her up gently and felt the warm tears from her eyes as they fell onto his wrist.
    “Ashana...” he cried, tears welling up his eyes. “Please tell me what he did to you,” he pressed. She sank to the ground and he followed.
    “It began with the Massa's son...” she started very reluctantly.
    “Yes? What did he want?” Jonah interrupted, a little impatient.
    “He visited our quarters two days ago to see Mama,” Ashana said and waited for the reaction she was sure would come from Jonah.
    “Mama! What for?” Jonah asked, almost yelling and completely lost as to why the Massa’s son would visit Ashana’s mother.
    “He was there to…,” Ashana began, then paused to swallow; what she was about to say had suddenly caused her mouth to become completely dry and her voice to squeak like wheels in a terrible need of greasing. Jonah waited patiently, he couldn’t do