Fragments (The Broken Series Book 2) (7 page)

Those words should have filled me with happiness, but for some unknown reason, I felt nervous.

After all that stuff with the paparazzi, I was still berating myself. I shouldn’t have encouraged Jack to walk so far. We could have waited for the driver to get closer to the circuit where we would have gone straight into the designated VIP entrance. There would have been security there, and we wouldn’t have had a problem with the photographers.

The smile slid from Jack’s face to be replaced by a scowl. He tenderly put a finger to my jaw and tilted my head up, searching my face for any bruises. I’d already looked in the mirror earlier and surprisingly the paparazzo’s elbow hadn’t really done much damage, although my lower lip was a little swollen. I looked like I’d had lip implants or collagen injections just like Jack’s ex-girlfriend, Joanna. But apart from a slightly swollen lip, there was no bruising yet. That would probably show up tomorrow.
Great
. That was something to look forward to.

“He’s lucky he didn’t split your lip,” Jack said, his eyes burning with fury.

I shrugged. “It could have been worse, and it
was
an accident.”

The guy hadn’t seen me reaching for the crutches just behind me and his elbow caught me off guard. That didn’t mean I wasn’t still pissed at him though.

“I shouldn’t have put myself in that position. I should have realized things were getting out of hand.”

“I’m sorry,” Jack said.

I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. Do you think he’ll go to the police? You won’t get into any trouble for hitting him, will you?
 

I couldn’t help noticing that Jack’s fists clenched at his sides.

“Probably,” he said. “No doubt I will have to instruct my lawyers to pay him off.”

I frowned. Did that mean it had happened before?

“Let’s not talk about him,” Jack said. “Tell me what you thought about your first Grand Prix?”

“Pretty impressive,” I said with a grin. And that was an understatement. There had been people here today from all walks of life, from the ultra rich, dripping with jewelry, who had traveled to Monaco on their luxury yachts, to everyday folk wearing jeans and t-shirts, trying to take photographs of the cars on the circuit.

I had tried to take a few snaps myself. I wasn’t exactly the world’s greatest photographer. Kate inherited all the artistic abilities in the family, and I didn’t really stand much chance with the incredible speed of the cars. Every time I’d pressed the button to take the photograph, the car had already sped past, and I ended up with a photograph of the empty track.

I glanced up at Jack. “Do you think you would want to go to another race?”

Jack smiled. “Maybe.”

It was then I remembered what Dominic O’Brien had said about the simulator. He’d been very keen for Jack to try the project and promised to come and find us after the race. Only he hadn’t. Or maybe he had come to find us, only to find we had already left.

I considered mentioning it to Jack, but there was something about Dominic that seemed to annoy him, and I didn’t want to bring him down. He seemed so happy right now, and I just wanted to enjoy the moment, so I linked an arm around Jack’s waist and smiled up at him as we walked along.

At that point, I had no idea that Dominic was not the type of man to put his plans aside. But even though I knew nothing about the man’s character at that stage, I had a funny feeling that wouldn’t be the last we heard of Dominic O’Brien.

The following morning, I was just as surprised as Jack when Maria announced that Dominic O’Brien had turned up. I looked at Jack to try and gauge his reaction, but his face was disconcertingly blank.

Jack had only just finished his workout, so he was still wearing his sweatpants and a t-shirt. I poured Jack a glass of water and handed it to him as we waited for Dominic to enter the room. I’m sure it had to be my imagination, but the air seemed to crackle with anticipation. Whenever Dominic O’Brien’s name was mentioned, I got nervous.

Dominic O’Brien walked in, wearing a huge smile. He had obviously paid a great deal for dental whitening treatment and wanted to show it off. His teeth practically glowed against the deep tan of his skin, and his dark hair was slicked back. He wore casual clothes, dark blue jeans and a colored cotton jacket. His clothes may have looked casual, but I was pretty sure his outfit probably cost more than the entire contents of my closet.

I couldn’t help noticing the chunky gold watch on his wrist. A clear sign that his job in Formula One paid very handsomely.

“Jack,” Dominic said, with a broad smile, holding his arms up as if he was going to engulf Jack in a hug.

Jack held the glass of water in front of him defensively, stopping Dominic from getting too close. He gave Dominic a curt nod.

Dominic read Jack’s body language and stopped in his tracks, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “You left so quickly yesterday. I came to find you.” He turned around and looked at me.

I stood behind the counter in the kitchenette. His eyes were questioning, as if he wanted to know why I had left without finding him first. I broke eye contact and said nothing. This wasn’t anything to do with me.

But Dominic wasn’t about to leave it there. “I had a nice conversation with Kristina yesterday,” Dominic said. “She said it was her first race. You know, I still remember my first Grand Prix as if it were yesterday.”

Jack says nothing. The situation was getting very awkward.

We all turned as Brian entered the room, carrying a pile of paperwork in his hands. “Can I get your signature here, Jack,” he said. “Your brother is insisting I get these forms back to him today, and…” Brian stopped talking when he noticed Dominic was in the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Dominic moved towards Brian with his hand outstretched. “Not a problem. I’m Dominic O’Brien, and I used to work with Jack.”

Brian juggled the paperwork in his arms so he could shake Dominic’s hand. But as he did so, he was looking at Jack. I guess he was trying as hard as me to work out Jack’s reaction.

“I hear you’ve been doing a great job on Jack,” Dominic said. “You’re the guy behind his dramatic improvement, aren’t you?”

“I can’t take credit for that. Jack’s the one who has put the hard work in.”

It was a bit creepy the way they were talking about Jack as if he wasn’t there. As if he was a prize stallion rather than an actual person.

“Credit where it’s due. You’ve done well,” Dominic said repeating himself. “It’s amazing how much Jack has improved in such a short period of time.”

When Dominic turned away, Jack shook his head almost imperceptibly and took a sip of his water.

“I don’t mind telling you,” Dominic said. “I’ve never worked with a driver with as much natural talent as Jack Harding.”
 

Jack walked past Dominic O’Brien to the kitchen counter to stand next to me. “I think I’ll make some coffee,” he muttered.
 

“I’ll make it,” I said in a false cheery tone. I couldn’t cope with all this tension. I reached for the coffee pot. I wanted to do something to keep my hands busy and not just stand there like an idiot.

“Who would like a cup?” I asked.
 

Everyone said they would like some coffee, so I set up the cups for all of us and put the coffee onto brew as the three men continued talking.
 

“How long are you in town for?” Brian asked.

“Not long. We’re getting most of our gear packed up today and we’ll be heading off tomorrow. Which reminds me…” Dominic turned to Jack and licked his lips, nervously.
 
“I’ve got something you might be interested in.”

“Really?” Jack’s face remained blank and his voice sounded bored.

But Dominic didn’t seem discouraged. “It’s just like a game. It’s perfectly safe. You’ll love it. It’s an improved version of the racing simulator. It’s a foolproof way of testing reaction times, so we can see if you’ve still got the talent, Jack.”

I saw Jack bristle with annoyance. “Not interested.”

Dominic’s smile slid from his face and his lips closed in a firm line. For a moment there was only silence in the room as I poured the coffee.

As I handed everyone their cups of coffee, Dominic tried again. “I know you still got it, Jack. Hell, I’d let you drive one of the race cars. That’s how much confidence I have in you. But the cars are already packed away, ready to be shipped on for the next race. It’s just a simulator. What’s the worst that could happen? Why don’t you give it a go?”

Dominic waited a beat before delivering his killer line. “I know you miss it, Jack.”

Jack was staring down at his cup of coffee, watching the tendrils of steam rise up from the cup. I had no idea how he was going to respond to Dominic.

Dominic was right. Jack did miss the racing.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Dominic said. “I can’t see any downsides. It’s safe, and I think you’d actually enjoy it. What do you think, Brian?”

That struck me as odd. No one had actually introduced Brian by name yet, and Dominic already knew his name. It occurred to me that Dominic must have been doing some serious digging around.

“I don’t think it will do any harm,” Brian said. “But it’s really not up to me.”

Jack set his coffee cup down on the counter. “When do you want to do it?”

The trademark broad smile returned to Dominic’s face. “Does this afternoon suit you?”

Jack

It was a quick and easy drive. The crowds of the day before were long gone, and the traffic was back to normal levels. As the chauffeur drove us through the streets, I found myself wishing there was construction ahead or something to hold us up. I’d delayed leaving the house until I was completely out of excuses.

Kristina sat beside me in the backseat of the car, staring out of the window enjoying the sights of Monaco. I wished I could relax enough to do the same. I still wasn’t sure if this was a good idea, and I hadn’t really wanted her to come. What if I screwed it up? I didn’t want her to see that. But she had really wanted to come with me, and it seemed I could never say no to Kristina.

When we arrived at the address Dominic had given us, we could hear Dominic shouting as soon as we got out of the car. He was berating someone for a mix-up on an order of engine parts. Now
that
was the Dominic I knew. I barely recognized the smiling, friendly Dominic that came to see me yesterday. The real Dominic was all about money, targets and working people to the bone.

He kept up his shouting, directing it at some poor mechanic, until we were right outside the garage at the base of the building.

As he looked up at us, the change in his expression was almost comical. A broad grin spread over his face and I could almost see the dollar signs light up in his eyes.

“Jack, thanks for coming,” he said, striding over to us. “Kristina, it’s nice to see you again,” he added flippantly before turning his attention back to me.
 

“We got held up,” I said and didn’t offer any further explanation.

“Oh, don’t worry about that.
 
We haven’t packed up the simulator yet. We’ve still got plenty of time. It’s this way.”

As he led us inside the garage and through a set of plain grey doors into an equally grey corridor, he looked at me over his shoulder, giving me another broad grin.

I was regretting coming already.

The inside of the building was depressing. The walls were all painted the same light grey, and dark grey carpet covered the floor. As we walked further into the building, the lights grew dim. The walls were scuffed in this section of the building and they hadn’t even bothered with carpet. Our footsteps echoed as we followed Dominic.

We stepped around the bright yellow “wet floor” sign, and Dominic scowled at the poor janitor mopping the floors.

Even that job seemed appealing to me right now. Hell, I could think of a million and one jobs I’d prefer to be doing instead of this.

Dominic stopped in front of a door with the initials S.I.M. printed on it.

I took a deep breath. I was really feeling uneasy now. What if I screwed this up? I felt a shooting pain in my leg, and I tried to tell myself it was all in my head.

Dominic opened the door with a flourish. “Here we are!”

We stepped inside the dark room. The only light was coming from the faint glow of the electronic dashboard of the simulator.
 

The simulator was larger than a car and it was fully enclosed, so when the driver was inside he was sealed off from the external environment. I knew why they did that. It was supposed to make you concentrate more on the track and eliminate potential distractions, but the sight of the machine made me swallow hard.

I’d spent a high percentage of my career in simulators of one type or another. They had been a cornerstone in my training program, so this wasn’t anything new. Sure, the machine was slightly upgraded, but how much could have changed in one year?

I’d done this thousands of times before, so why did I suddenly feel so scared? I tried to shake it off and stepped further inside the room, moving towards the blue glowing lights of the simulator.