Free A Dangerous Arrangement by Lee Christine Page B

shoulders, leaned forward and kissed her, first on one cheek, then the other. European style. ‘Ciao, Marina.’
    â€˜Ciao.’
    Before he could say any more, she turned and began walking down the hill.
    A few minutes later she heard the Harley roar to life, and then he rode by, one black leather glove raised in farewell.

Chapter Nine
    The Tyrrhenian Sea, off Sardinia
    â€˜Are you all done, Mr Rask?’
    Hektor Rask looked around to find Alain’s girlfriend standing behind him.
    â€˜Danika … yes.’ He reached for the plate containing the cold remnants of his dinner. ‘Sorry, I didn’t hear you.’
    The diminutive chef and housekeeper always managed to catch him by surprise.
    â€˜That was very nice.’ He passed her the plate. ‘Thank you.’
    She smiled and bobbed her head a little. ‘Can I get you anything else? I have pastries left over from the party.’
    Rask pushed back his chair and stood up. ‘My dear, you have to stop feeding me. The skills you learned at that culinary school in Paris are making me too jolly.’
    Rask liked Danika, more than he liked her boyfriend. She went about her work in a quiet and unobtrusive manner, to the extent he sometimes forgot she was on board. And then suddenly she’d turn up, like now, to pick up a plate or ask if it was okay to clean his stateroom, always warm and unpretentious. Unlike Alain, who came off as superior and aloof.
    Rask hooked his thumb in the direction of the bridge. ‘I’ll relieve Alain so he can eat.’
    Alain was at the helm, watching the readings from the radar, sonar and Global Positioning System. They were headed towards the Napoli Coast, with no fixed destination in mind. The plan was to meet up with Dean somewhere, but as he’d taken a detour to Sicily, the operation remained an hour-by-hour one.
    Alain looked around.
    â€˜You should eat,’ said Rask. ‘Put the ship on autopilot. I’ll keep watch while you’re in the galley.’
    The slim, blond Frenchman did as Rask had asked, decreasing the rate of knots and engaging the autopilot.
    Alain departed with a nod, and Rask stood at the helm, looking out over the ocean. The yacht sailed itself, but the bridge still needed to be manned at all times. Occasionally the sonar would pick up something unexpected, like a submerged shipping container that had fallen off a passing freighter, and their course must then be altered quickly.
    But he didn’t expect anything to happen in the next ten minutes while Alain ate dinner. Conditions were mild, and they’d made quick time since collecting the chopper and leaving Cannes. More importantly, visibility was good. Apart from the occasional white top, the ocean stretched before him like endless folds of shiny black silk.
    He thought about Alain’s curt nod. The first mate didn’t bother hiding the fact he resented taking instructions from anyone but the boss.
    Memories flashed in his mind of a fifteen-year-old Dean, standing on the deck of a midsized cruiser, fighting to hold it all together.
    â€˜Down there,’ he’d said, traumatised brown eyes on Rask’s face as he pointed to the stairs leading to the stateroom below.
    He could still feel the boy’s bony shoulder under his fingers as he told him to stay where he was, that he needn’t go down there a second time. It wasn’t much, just a small gesture of kindness towards a boy whose world had spun off its axis that day.
    Rask sighed and checked the bank of computers in front of him. Dean was strong and confident and in the prime of his life. He’d grown and changed over the years, and so had their relationship, until their roles had almost reversed.
    Rask knew what Alain saw when he looked at him. A man past his ‘best by’ date and headed for old age.
    He frowned at the arthritic pain in his knees and for the first time wondered if he was up to spearheading an