Spiral (The Salzburg Saga Book One) Read online

  “Wait a second, Frank.” Jake leaned against his bathroom door. “Who’s become our new number one?”

  “Parker Drayton.”

  Jake froze.

  “Rush?”

  Jake took a deep breath. “Yeah…still here.”

  “Drayton is–”

  “I know who he is and what he owns.” There was no escaping this. Taking a deep breath, Jake rolled his suddenly tense shoulders.

  “Great. We’ll speak later.” Frank rang off.

  Jake stared at the dead phone in his hand, six words in his head:

  Be careful what you wish for.

  CHAPTER TWO

  “I can't apologize for what I said to him, Neen.” Seated in the plush VIP area of Gatwick airport, Hazel stretched out her green denim clad legs and contemplated the tops of her matching green Converse trainers.

  Beside her, Nina watched a group of stewardesses in matching red and white uniform stroll past outside. Gatwick was her favorite British airport; not having the frenetic pace of the others in Britain, it was colorful, bright, and always welcoming. With a sigh, she focused on her sister. “Alex and I have been having problems for...for a while.”

  “I don’t think it was a good idea for him to move into your place.” Hazel’s hazel eyes held wisdom far beyond her nineteen years. “I think it dented his manhood. He knows he can’t afford a place like that of his own.”

  “I was the one who got him out of the dump he was living in before,” Nina reminded her. But she understood what Hazel was saying. The fact that her sister, fourteen years her junior, could diagnose the issue so quickly was sobering. “But you’re right." She blew out a breath. "He’d feel better if he had his own place and I’d been the one to move in.”

  Hazel perked up suddenly. “Here’s Neil. Shayna and Luke are with him, too. Are Shay and the baby going on the trip, too?”

  Nina smiled as Neil, her friend and business partner, entered. “I doubt it. It would be lovely, but they’ve likely just come to see him off.”

  “Parker will have a Jacuzzi.” Hazel pouted. “You’ll call me from it and I’ll have to try to not be jealous.”

  “A Jacuzzi?" Nina chuckled as Neil and his wife, Shayna, approached. "How do you know Parker even has one?”

  Hazel rolled her eyes and grinned. “All rich people have a Jacuzzi, Neen.”

  Nina shook her head, still grinning. “Well, if he does, I promise not to call you from it.” They rose to greet Neil and Shayna. Shayna looked lovely in a camel wool coat. Her perfectly plucked dark brows arched high above her wide-spaced eyes, and she had accentuated her olive skin with a dusting shimmery bronze powder.

  Nina gave Neil a tight hug. With their other friend, Angela Akra, who had yet to arrive, the three of them had set up their own law firm Akra, Varly, and Bishop three years ago. Having met at university, they had all been friends ever since. “Shay and Luke came to see you off?” she asked him, unable to forget Alex's reluctance to budge from her sofa.

  In his grey ski jacket and black jeans, Neil rested his elbows on the bar of his large trolley. “Shay pointed out that I don’t get to spend much time with Luke. I called Parker and asked if they could come. He said yes.”

  Nina smiled. “That’s so sweet of him. He appreciates the crazy hours you put in.” The crazy hours they all put in. The negative side of running your own business. But it was a small price to pay for being in control of her own destiny and income. No one could ever pull the rug out from under her feet.

  “I’ll be eternally grateful to Mr. Drayton.” Shayna smiled.

  “Can I hold the baby?” Hazel asked her with a smile at the baby.

  “Of course.” Shayna lifted Luke, bundled in a royal blue baby grow, out of his pram and into Hazel’s arms.

  “So.” Neil sat beside Nina and stretched out his long legs. “How's Alex?”

  She merely sent him a look.

  “Still difficult, hmm?" He winced. "I’m sorry. I know he wanted to join us for this trip.”

  Nina frowned. “You knew? How?”

  Neil gave a wry smile. “He dropped enough hints whenever he called you at work and I picked up.”

  Caught between embarrassment and anger, Nina looked away. “I’m sorry. Obviously, you didn’t rise to the bait.”

  “This has to be a productive trip. We’ll be networking with potential clients. Where’s Ange?”

  “I got a text from her.” Nina watched Hazel and Shayna fuss over the baby. “She’s on her way.”

  “And that makes The Awesome Three complete.” Neil grinned.

  Nina groaned. “Are we ever going to ditch that awful nickname?”

  “Unlikely.” Neil chuckled. “Parker gave it to the press after we won that case last year for him. I think it's going to stick.”

  A tall, broad shouldered man in a pilot uniform entered the lounge then. He wore his ginger hair in a ponytail that brushed his shoulders. His light brown eyes smiled at them. “Party of Drayton and Sons?”

  “That's us.” Neil raised a hand and stood.

  The man came forward with his large hand extended. “Ben Denny. I'm your copilot for this trip.”

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Neil Varly.” Neil indicated Nina. “Nina Bishop. This is my wife, Shayna, and Nina’s sister, Hazel.”

  Ben shook hands with each of them, his grip brief and firm. “The lead pilot’s on his way. We’ve had a brief change in pilots, and Mr. Drayton has been informed. We wanted to make sure you're all comfortable while you wait for the lead pilot to set up. It shouldn’t be long before we’re underway.”

  “Thanks for letting us know," Nina said. “Is Parker here?”

  “Not yet, ma’am; he’s been delayed.”

  Hazel beamed at Ben as she juggled Luke in her arms. “You’re getting the jet ready?”

  He smiled back. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Hazel couldn’t help chuckling. She wasn’t often called ma’am. “Can I talk to the lead pilot when he arrives? What’s his name?”

  “Uh, Haze,” Nina began uneasily, shooting an uneasy look at Ben. “Let’s not bother the pilots."

  “No bother,” Ben assured her with an easy shrug. “Jake’s always open to answering questions from passengers before takeoff.”

  Hazel pouted. “I’m not a passenger. I’m only here to see my sister off. I’ll be the one being told what a great time she’s having.”

  Nina rolled her eyes, and everyone else laughed.

  “But I'd love to have a chat with you guys,” Hazel hinted. “The name’s Hazel,” she reminded him.

  “I’ll let you know when Jake’s ready, Hazel.” With that, Ben bid them goodbye and left.

  Hazel gave Nina a triumphant smile. “You don’t ask you don’t get.”

  Nina only shook her head. She’d never understood her sister’s fascination with aircrafts, but sincerely hoped that Hazel fulfilled her dream to one day become a pilot. One lost dream in the family was enough.

  “Here’s Ange,” Shayna said and waved at Angela who swung through the door.

  “Hello, fans,” Angela drawled in her soft Los Angeles accent. Unlike Nina and Neil who were both British, Angela hailed from the States. Despite relocating with her parents to London at the age of fourteen, her American drawl still remained. She strode towards them now in a red colored ski jacket and brown ski boots. A bright yellow flower adorned her ear length shiny wooly black hair. Though she smiled when she spotted them, her clear dewy walnut complexion was tight with strain.

  Neil’s gaze narrowed with concern when she reached them. “You’ll be okay?”

  Angela sighed and set her own roller bag down, took a deep breath, and made a show of squaring her shoulders as if preparing for battle. “I’m going to sleep for the entire flight.”

  Nina linked her arm through Angela’s and squeezed gently. A fierce competitor, both in and out of the courtroom, it took a lot to unnerve Angela Akra. But just mentioning planes and flying always made Ange jittery. “We'll be t
here soon.”

  “Did you remember to pack your inhaler?” Hazel asked Angela.

  “First thing, sweetie.” Angela grimaced at Nina. “I've heard scary stories about small jets, Neen. But how could I get out of this? It’s Parker Drayton.”

  “Indeed.” Nina held back a chuckle. It would not have been good business sense for any of them to turn down a networking opportunity from their biggest client. “We’ll be off soon, and you’ll be just fine.”

  Jake pressed his hand up against the roof of the jet as he undertook the pre-flight check. Though he knew other professionals had checked the jet, he liked to take the time to look over every jet that he flew himself to be sure. Fussy? Maybe. Did he care? No.

  His mind focused as he continued his check. As far as he was concerned, nothing beat the workmanship of the Challenger 605. Challenger planes focused on luxury and comfort. He'd been piloting them for several years and had never tired of them. There was more headroom and cabin volume and the windows were larger. He ran a hand over the flight deck, fully equipped with dual controls for both the lead and copilot.

  For the hundredth time since he’d ended his call with Frank, Parker Drayton popped into his head, and Jake’s lips twisted cynically. So Drayton was Frank's new number one client, he thought. He couldn’t do about that. Jets by Gwynne had built a formidable reputation over the last twelve years, aligning themselves with the biggest airports around the world, and attracting even bigger corporations to fly with them. It had the monopoly on excellent aircraft fleets and pilots. Jake was one of those pilots, but since his call with Gwynne, he’d wished that he wasn't. Though his colleague, Buzz, didn’t deserve to pilot number one jets and have responsibility for number one clients, for the first time Jake resented his own skill and experience. There had been no way to get out of doing this job. He outranked Buzz, Frank had thrown Buzz a bone, but Buzz, being Buzz, had royally messed up. Consequently, he’d lost this number one job and it had been given back to Jake.

  He consulted the list he held. He’d checked the landing gear already. Challengers used retractable twin-wheel tricycle type landing gear, each unit fitted with Dowty shock absorbers. Satisfied that he'd covered everything, he tucked the list away. Time to get Ben so they could clear with flight dispatch, check the luggage had been stowed properly, and then choose a route, altitude and speed limit.

  A few minutes after Ben had left to get the stewardess, Emily, and ask the airport staff to assist with boarding the passengers, a knock sounded on the jet door. He went to open it.

  A young girl waited there, an excited expression on her face as she all but vibrated with enthusiasm.

  “Let me guess,” Jake said with a grin. “Hazel?”

  “That’s me.” Hazel grinned at the tall man in front of her. He had to be at least six-three. He had thick dark brown hair that brushed the back of his nape and slate gray eyes. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. She read his name badge: E. J. RUSH. “You're Jake?”

  “Bingo.” He offered his large hand and she shook it.

  “What does the ‘E’ stand for?” She indicated his name badge on the front of his shirt.

  He looked down at it, and to her surprise, unclipped it, slipping it into his side trouser pocket. “It’s my first name, but I never use it. I go by Jake. Ben said you wanted to look around the jet?”

  She peered over his shoulder, eager to see inside the jet. “If it’s no trouble.”

  “I can spare about five minutes, and then we’ve got to start boarding.”

  “Got it. I appreciate you letting me take a peek.” As he stepped aside, she hurried inside, eyes wide and awestruck. “This is my first time on a Challenger. I’ve only ever read about them. I’ve never actually been in one. This is so great.” She immediately came to an abrupt halt, her mouth forming a perfect ‘o’ as she took in the splendor of the cabin. "Oh wow...”

  Jake tried to look at the interior of the jet from Hazel’s eyes – a newbie's eyes – but couldn’t. Though he fully appreciated the wonder that was the Challenger 605, his eyes were now trained to see different things, his ears attuned to certain sounds.

  Hazel smiled as she admired the rows of cream leather seats. Each row had its own footrest, television, music stereo set, and drink cabinet. Wooden engravings ran alongside the walls of the jet, the contrast of teak and cream sublimely perfect. At the back stood a sparkling granite fitted kitchen and three adjacent doors next to that which she knew would be bedrooms.

  She turned and saw that Jake was checking his radio. “This is a Challenger 605.”

  He looked up. “Sure is.”

  “Dimensions?”

  Jake eased a hip against a row of seats. "It's a standard nineteen square meter cabin."

  “Which seats up to nine people?”

  He smiled. “That's right. You sound ready to become second in command, kid.”

  She drew a deep breath. “I hope so.”

  He arched a brow. “So you're studying a BEng in Aviation Engineering?”

  She looked away. “No. I'm reading Maths and Modern Languages at the moment. I'm in my second year. My sister won't let me get started on the BEng until I complete this degree. She says maths and a language are a good safety net in case piloting doesn’t work out.”

  Jake tried not to wince but wasn’t sure he succeeded. “A big deal to do two degrees. You don't mind?”

  She shrugged. “I understand where she’s coming from.”

  Not many people would be that flexible, he thought with a soft smile.

  As if she’d heard his thoughts, her eyes darkened a little. “Neen – that’s Nina, my sister, taught me how to be flexible. Our parents were killed in a robbery when I was four. Neen had to support our brothers and me. They were only seven and twelve themselves. Nina was seventeen.”

  Jake hissed between his teeth. “Seventeen?”

  Her expression saddened as she ran a hand over the soft leather of one chair beside her. “Neen wanted to be a gymnast. She used to take lessons before our parents died.” It saddened her to remember it. She often wondered how often Nina lamented, or if she did at all. She never referred to it, but maybe it was too painful. “But she had to quit when our parents died. She worked to keep us all together so the system wouldn't separate us. She's used to looking after people.”

  Saddened himself, Jake nodded and checked his watch. As much as he’d like to talk to the young girl more and avoid having to come into close contact with Drayton, time was getting on. They needed to brief the airport. With some regret, he gestured for Hazel to walk back to the door of the jet. When she obediently preceded him toward the exit of the jet, he slanted her a thoughtful glance. “Looking forward to the skiing trip with Parker Drayton?”

  She pouted. “I'm not coming. It’s a networking business trip, but Parker organized it with skiing so that his sons would enjoy it, too.” She carried on, not noticing how Jake’s shoulders had stiffened. “They like to ski apparently. Who doesn’t?”

  Jake had stopped, and now he stared at her. “Drayton’s bringing Hugh and Justin?”

  “Mmm,” she responded, and then noticing he had stopped, she did so, too. “Is everything all right?”

  With an effort, Jake took a fortifying breath and nodded. “Of course.” Forcing his legs to move again, he reached her and led her out of the jet. He’d had little time but to merely skim over the job brief Gwynne had emailed him that morning as he’d rushed around trying to get to Gatwick. Darn it. But even if he’d known, he’d have agreed to do the job. Could he have called Gwynne and opted out of this job with a lame excuse such as he’d changed his mind?

  No.

  But he would have been more mentally prepared.

  This was becoming more and more complicated. But he’d be fine. After all, all he had to do was dump them in Salzburg then return home.

  A straightforward job.

  “We’ll be taxiing in ten minutes, sir.” Ben spoke loudly over the hailing breeze of the wind as he
stood with Parker outside the jet. Everyone had already boarded, only Parker and his sons remained standing outside. Justin looked bored, and Hugh, hung over.

  “Good.” Parker smiled at the copilot before looking over at his sons as he pulled a cigarette from his pocket. “You can go up and get comfortable if you like.” He turned back to Ben as Justin and Hugh trudged up the ramp and onto the jet. “What's the captain like?”

  “Jake?” Ben gave an easy smile. “He's one of the company’s best, sir.”

  “So I’ve been told.” Parker lit his cigarette and took a drag. “He hasn't come down to introduce himself.”

  Ben looked toward the cockpit. “I can ask him to if you like?”

  “Please.” Parker blew out smoke. “I always like to meet those whose hands I’m putting my life into.”

  As Ben signaled toward the jet, and then made his way up the stairs, Parker savored the cigarette. He’d promised himself that this would be his last smoke until they returned from the trip. He didn’t want to smoke around his business associates. So that meant three days without nicotine; he planned to make the most of this last one.

  Jake cursed under his breath when Ben signaled to him from outside the window. Ben didn’t need to do more than signal. After working closely together for almost five years, they had their own code of communication.

  Parker Drayton wanted to meet before takeoff. It was a request made by only the most pedantic of clients. Jake told himself that he shouldn't be surprised that Drayton was included in that category.

  Leaving the cockpit, Jake entered the cabin. As usual, before takeoff, there was the flurry of activity and excited chatter among the passengers. Jake kept his face impassive when Hugh raked him with a derisive glance from where he lounged in his seat.

  I have zero interest in you either, buddy, Jake thought and almost bumped into Ben as the other man entered the jet and headed to the cockpit.

  Drayton should have looked relaxed, Jake thought as he descended the steps toward the older man. Instead he saw anxiety in Drayton’s light brown eyes.