Race

BLURB

Noah and Ronan are half brothers. They co-own a stud farm in South Africa. The brothers couldn't be more different; Noah is shrewd and volatile while the laid-back Ronan is in the grip of alcoholism.

Owning a farm isn't the only thing that ties the brothers together; there are also women in their lives: Noah's long-term girlfriend Chantelle, who is an American ramp model, and Alice, Noah's personal secretary, who is in love with her boss.

But true love doesn't always run smoothly, and both Chantelle and Alice become involved with the wayward brother Ronan. When emotions run high, violence often plays a role. Now, there is a murder, and a contract killer is on the loose.

Who is next on the target list? And can sharp-tongued Detective Harry Rodgers, with the help of his quirky assistant Mini, solve the crime before another murder takes place?

RACE

A NOVEL BY BETHANY WALKERS

COPYRIGHT © BETHANY WALKERS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Noah drove down the road calmly, ready to go back home after meeting Chantelle. But then, a truck purposely blocked his path, its boot filled with hundreds of huge, heavy steel poles. The driver pushed a button down angrily and all of the poles fell onto the road. Noah’s car flew up with a bang. When it dropped back down, the car shattered into a thousand pieces. The driver of the truck grinned in victory, and drove off, ready to collect his money for doing the deed.

Noah only hoped that he would survive the crash.

ONE MONTH EARLIER …

CHAPTER ONE

THE LOST RACE

Noah walked out of his silver race car, smartened up like a boss. He buttoned his blazer and put his sunglasses on his eyes. Then, he began to make his way to the stadium.

There was a massive horse race going on at the stud farm, Stallion’s. Racing was Noah’s passion, his business, and in fact, his whole life. He co-owned the stud farm with his younger brother Ronan. The horses would race and then they’d make money from selling them on and from betting with the opposition.

Noah also loved outdoor sports. He’d fly high on a parachute, and then on the ground there’d be lots of pretty cheerleaders encouraging him and screaming in awe, dancing around with their pink pom-poms. Noah would jump out of the parachute, harnessed, and then would land in the front seat of his car. He’d pull off tremendous tricks, like driving right to the edge of a cliff and then not falling over. The audience would always roar their approval.

Then, Jacob Hoover arrived to see the horse race. Noah’s biggest opponent was Jacob Hoover. Jacob was very wealthy, and was also not one of those men who you would trust. He'd try and make out that he was a decent man but he had his own cunning ideas. He had secret plans that he’d set up, determined to make sure that Noah would lose the races. Noah was a good sportsman and would always shake hands with Jacob before a race began, no matter how much they hated each other.

There was one thing that was really important to Noah, and that was his girlfriend, Chantelle, an American ramp model. Whenever she strutted on the catwalk, wearing beautiful clothes that complimented her very pretty face, Chantelle always stole Noah’s heart away. She’d wink at him whilst he was in the audience, and he’d grin to himself. Noah and Chantelle were an unseparable couple, both undeniably in love. The only thing that was left in their relationship was the proposal to get married.

Ronan walked into the stadium. Ronan was more laid back than his older brother Noah. In the mornings when he’d wake up from bed, he’d have someone send him a glass of vodka instead of a cup of tea. Wherever Ronan went, he’d take a silver container with him that would be full of any alcohol of some sort. When Ronan hugged his brother, Noah would feel something in Ronan’s back pocket: the silver container. He’d accuse Ronan of drinking too much but Ronan would just laugh it off. Noah wanted nothing more than to have his younger brother stop drinking.

Alice strolled up to the stands and joined Noah and Ronan. Alice was Noah’s secretary. She was incredibly pretty, with wavy black hair, chestnut brown eyes and a lovely figure. In the mornings when she had to take Noah’s blazer off and hook it on to his chair, she’d take longer than she needed purposefully. She was madly in love with Noah. On Noah’s birthday, she left him a giant birthday card that said ‘Happy Birthday to a WONDERFUL boss’, and she’d even left a beautiful white rose with it. When Noah looked at it on his desk, he just sighed and tossed it in the bin as Alice watched him.

It was time for the horse race at the stud farm. The horses began galloping with their riders, as Alice, Noah and Ronan watched with their binoculars at the stands.

“Come on, come on …” Were the continued repeated cheers from the crowd. Noah and Ronan watched impatiently as Alice jumped in and out of her seat. Noah's horse was galloping at a fast pace and Jacob Hoover's horse was just a few paces behind. Ronan put his hands behind his head in a casual manner, certain that they would win. But … something was wrong. Noah’s horse was whinnying, and slowing down. The rider looked worked up and his face had began to build up red. It was time for the final hurdle … and Noah’s horse didn't make it. For the first time, Noah hadn't won a race.

“YES!” Jacob Hoover exclaimed, along with his supporters. Ronan stared in disbelief. How had they lost the race? Ronan and Noah double checked with their binoculars, but it made no difference.

“God darn it,” Ronan muttered, and then stared at Jacob, who was grinning wildly. They knew that something wasn't right about this, that maybe Jacob had set someone up. It seemed so hard to believe. “That little bastard,” Ronan muttered angrily. Noah held him back as he continued to watch Jacob signing papers on people’s clipboards, smiling all the while and cheerfully saying his thanks to them all. Jacob met their gaze and strolled up to them casually, with his hands in his pockets.

“Tough luck,” Jacob shrugged. “You lost.”

“I don’t care,” Noah replied, trying not to meet Jacob’s eyes and act cool about it. “I also celebrate it if I lost, you know.”

“Nice attitude,” Jacob grinned, and then doubled up with laughter. He turned around and left.

“Attitude, huh?” Ronan murmured, his voice full of hatred.

“Don’t you sweat, Ronan. I’ll figure this out,” Noah replied.

CHAPTER TWO

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

Noah and Ronan were parked in their beautiful white racing car behind a black gate. Outside the gate, the man that had raced Noah’s horse, stepped out of his blue truck, grinning. His name was Nicholas.

Nicholas walked a little further up the pathway, and saw that Jacob was sat in his own car, waiting expectantly for him. Nicholas nodded at Jacob and joined him in his car.

“As promised,” said Jacob. He opened up his briefcase, which was filled with stacks and stacks of money.

“Thanks,” said Nicholas, taking the briefcase from Jacob. Then, he walked back to his own truck. Noah and Ronan watched him from their window.

“Well?” Ronan asked his brother..

"Well?" Noah repeated. “Well, now, it’s time for the explosion." He gave his brother a devilish grin.

As Nicholas’s truck drove, Noah and Ronan’s car overtook him. They drove at a steady pace ahead of Nicholas’s car, and then Noah took out an activator from his pocket. He pushed the button, and behind them, Nicholas’s car flew up and burst into flames.

Ronan smirked. The brothers grinned at each other and then they made their way back to the stud farm, hands in pockets and walking with swag.

CHAPTER THREE

THE CRASH

Noah drove down the road calmly, ready to go back home after meeting Chantelle. But then, a truck purposely blocked his path, its boot filled with hundreds of huge, heavy steel poles. The driver pushed a button down angrily and all of the poles fell onto the road. Noah’s car flew up with a bang. When it dropped back down, the car shattered into a thousand pieces. The driver of the truck grinned in victory, and drove off, ready to collect his money for doing the deed, certain than Noah was dead.

Noah only hoped that he would survive the crash.

CHAPTER FOUR

SURVIVAL

Noah lay in his hospital bed. His neck had a white supporter wrapped around it, and Noah could barely move a single part of his body.

But Noah had survived.

He had survived.

The doctor flicked through Noah’s file as Noah grunted in impatience, not wanting to be here. He had important things to be doing. Ronan had his arms folded, tapping his leg on the floor anxiously as he watched his brother and the X-Ray scan that lay above his bed which didn't look too good either.

The doctor shut the file, and smiled, straightening out his white jacket and doing up its buttons. “Remarkable. It's absolutely fantastic. You survived such a big accident. It’s a miracle.”

Noah grinned, even though it was painful to grin.

“I told you, Doctor. My brother is a damn tough guy, all right?” Ronan remarked, fisting his brother with his knuckle to his brother's knuckle as they both smiled at each other.

“Yes, he is. But he’s not getting out yet. There's some severe damage to the bone and muscle that we need to examine. Hopefully it won't be too long, as he seems a lot better now.” The doctor paused as a nurse walked in, wanting to discuss something with him about another patient.

“Listen guys, I’ll be back soon. How about you have some time alone with your brother?” the doctor suggested to Ronan, and walked out of the room with the nurse.

“Don’t you sweat, bro, we’ll be out of here in no time,” Ronan reassured, and then met Noah’s gaze. “Must have hurt, huh?” he sympathized.

“Don’t worry, Ronan. I’ll be fine,” Noah reassured, trying to sit up straight, but then groaned in pain because of his neck, and slumped back down in the bed, restless and angry that he couldn't do anything. "Goddammit, I hate hospitals!" Noah cursed.

“Are you sure you're all right?” Ronan pushed on, finding it agonizing to watch his brother in so much pain.

“Yeah, sure,” Noah said, reaching for a glass of water at the bedside table and raising it to his lips.

“How about a bit of my champagne, huh?” Ronan offered, showing Noah his silver container. "Straight from France, the finest of it's brand."

“Oh, leave off it, Ronan,” Noah cursed. Ronan took a huge gulp of the liquid. “RONAN!” Noah shouted, his voice threatening.

“OK, sorry,” Ronan sighed, trying to laugh it off. “I’ll drink this outside. All right, so I'll see you in a bit, yeah?” Ronan made his way out of the ward, his phone ringing in his trouser pocket. Grunting with effort, Noah got up to go to the toilet.

CHAPTER FIVE

CELEBRATION

“And now, to my brother’s safe recovery!” Ronan roared to the cheering crowd, as he drank more alcohol. Noah grinned modestly. He’d been released from the hospital and was better now. The crowd were wild for Noah. They were all hugging him and congratulating him, happy that he was better now. Nobody imagined life without Noah.

Above all the cheering, Ronan broke away from the crowd to go and get a drink, but then - something caught his eye. Something beautiful, something powerful, something irresistible.

Chantelle was walking through the crowd, dressed in a pink top with a blue denim skirt. Her hair fell over her shoulders like a lustrous shiny waterfall. Her eyeliner complimented her eyes, making her look cat-like, bold and  utterly gorgeous.

Noah stared at his brother Ronan, wondering what on Earth he was staring at so passionately. Then, Noah saw Chantelle, and smiled, instantly distracted.

“Hey babe,” Noah said softly, hugging her as they kissed each other’s cheeks.

“Hey Noah,” Chantelle replied, smiling at him widely. “I'm so sorry I’m late."