Crash Course by Derek Fee (pdf to ebook reader .txt) 📕

I had intended making a subtle approach to Kane but your little folly today has forced me to accelerate the process. I don’t like being placed in this position.”

Barrett didn’t like the turn the conversation was taking. He had been associated with Safardi for long enough to know how the Arab’s mind worked. The smooth exterior hid one of the cruellest and most sadistic streaks in Europe. If Safardi didn’t need him anymore, he was in even more danger than he had been when the prow of his boat had begun to disappear over his head earlier that afternoon.

“How do you know that you can trust Kane?” he asked, wetting his lips with his spittle.

“I don’t,” Safardi replied. “All I know is that Kane seems to thrive on danger and he appears to have a moral sense which is no higher than yours. He’s a former soldier down on his luck and looking for the main chance. I assume that he is driving the Penhalion boat simply for the money or possibly for both it and the chance to bed Morweena Penhalion. All of which seems to indicate that he is an ideal candidate to work for me.”

“That’s only the surface picture.” Barrett shifted uneasily in the bed.

“Come now, Graham.” Safardi smiled displaying twin rows of sharp white teeth. “Your jealousy is beginning to show. Granted Kane is untried, but I have no doubt that he is one of us. Your stupidity has only speeded up the process.”

“And what happens to me?” Barrett asked.

“You concentrate on getting yourself out of here and back on the payroll. I don’t like to mention that you now owe me the advance I paid for completing the delivery.”

A pretty nurse in a white uniform entered the room and was surprised when she saw the visitor. “Excusez-moi, Monsieur,” she said. “Je dois faire des vérifications.”

“Je comprends,” Safardi replied in perfect French. “I’m finished here. Don’t forget, Graham, get in touch as soon as you feel up to it.” Safardi rose from the chair and moved slowly to the door.

Barrett followed his every movement. Fucking bastard Kane, he thought as he watched the nurse lay out the tray at the foot of his bed. You’ve stolen everything from me and I’ll get you for it. He saw the nurse approach shaking a thermometer. Watch my words.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

The sun was already high in the sky and light streamed in through the windows of Kane’s bedroom at the Majestic Hotel when he finally opened his eyes. Minute particles of dust floated like specks of gold in the yellow beams which slowly illuminated his world. He shifted his weight slightly in the bed and reached out to touch Morweena. The warm comforting feel of flesh eluded his fingers but a sharp ache served to inform him that his body was potentially wracked by pain from the top of his head to the tip of his toes. The secret to combating the pain associated with a hangover was immobility, he turned on his back and observed the white ceiling above his head.

There had certainly been a party but Kane was unsure of either its location or its duration. He was also totally oblivious about the quantity of alcohol he had consumed. However, the sharp pain which shot intermittently through his head told him that he had consumed a lot. An awful, awful lot.

Slowly memories filtered through his addled brain. He remembered David celebrating in true Cornish fashion by trying to spend the $200,000 second place prize money cheque in one evening. He lay staring open eyed at the ceiling and praying that he hadn’t succeeded.

He found himself amazed at his level of concern about the future of the Penhalion team. It had been quite a long time since anything in his life had been important. The race had finished twenty hours before, but he still felt a thrill at being on the podium again. Karakatis, Tadeka, Jackson and the rest of the offshore racing fraternity now represented the challenge in his life. He suddenly wanted very badly to be the best. He wanted to win all the races. Who was he kidding? He found the idea amusing and a little bit strange. He didn’t belong with the likes of Jackson, Hakonen and Tadeka. He was a London copper. That was the reality. In a couple of hours, he would be on the phone telling Davenport that the operation was in the toilet and Doc and he should be recalled. It was time to get back to the real world. Being a member of David’s team had rekindled something in him that he had long believed dead. He thought of Morweena. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind he remembered leading her to his bedroom and her absence from his bed was a mystery. His mind reeled as he remembered their feverish lovemaking. His head wouldn’t lay off. Maybe he’d dreamed it. The operation was over and Morweena and David wouldn’t give him the time of day when they heard how he had deceived them. He thought of phoning her but any kind of movement seemed beyond him He wanted her badly but the drummers inside his head were pounding away.

Kane closed his eyes. Did he really need to call Davenport? In one week he would be racing over the blue waters off Barcelona. He couldn’t wait. A placing in Spain would ensure the Penhalion team of one of the three coveted slots at Key West and a chance at the big money. He lay back fighting his hangover with thoughts of world championships and trophies stuffed with dollar bills. His thoughts turned to Barrett as he wondered what injuries the bastard had sustained and where their rivalry might lead.

The loud ringing of the telephone cut into his mind with all the force of a jackhammer digging up a road. He prayed that the noise would stop but when it didn’t, he knew that it would continue until he picked