Read Online Velocity by Steve Worland - Free Book Online

laugh he fell in love with. The sound jars. It’s strange to hear it when he isn’t the one making it happen. Rhonda’s a serious woman, not humourless but, well, earnest much of the time. She doesn’t just laugh at any old thing. You have to work at it, so when she does laugh it means something. When was the last time he made her laugh like that? He doesn’t remember but it was a long while ago.
     
    He grabs hold of the balcony’s railing and pulls himself up. His feet slip on the grass but his arms take the weight and he peeks over the railing. He can see her hand, draped across the back of the sofa, the white-gold ring he gave her visible on her finger. He can’t see anything else. The back of the sofa is too high. Leather creaks. Something’s happening on the sofa.
     
    Adrenaline takes over. Judd pulls himself up and over the railing, drops quietly to the balcony, crouches low, the back of the sofa providing cover, and edges forward. What is this feeling in the pit of his stomach? Fear, at the thought of losing the woman he loves. He stands, to reveal his presence and learn the truth.
     
    Rhonda lies on the leather sofa, head and shoulders propped up by a pillow. She’s alone, reading a report. She shifts and the leather creaks. In front of her the coffee table is a mess of paperwork.
     
    Will Thompkins is in the kitchen, his back to her and Judd. They’re in the middle of a conversation. ‘Think so?’
     
    Rhonda doesn’t look up from the report. ‘Worth investigating.’
     
    ‘It just adds so much weight.’
     
    ‘— it might be the trade-off we need to make. There must be a lighter compound in the works that could do it. If it had the right elasticity it could be an option —’
     
    Judd ducks down behind the sofa, unseen. Christ! There’s nothing untoward going on. From the tone of Rhonda’s voice she’s deep in work mode. That’s why she’s been distant. She’s been busy doing her job! But then why are they at Thompkins’ place?
     
    As if on cue Rhonda speaks: ‘Thanks for doing this. I’m sorry about the conference room being double-booked this week.’
     
    ‘Not your fault.’
     
    ‘I’ll get going in fifteen. Judd’s cooking and I don’t want to be late. We’ll have to pick this up after the mission. I won’t have time before that.’
     
    ‘No problem.’
     
    Judd again feels fear, but this time it’s about whether he can find a way out of this. He’s made a huge mistake, except it’s neither a mistake nor huge until somebody finds out about it.
     
    He hears Will walk from the kitchen and sit on the sofa. Good. It means they’re both facing away from him. Judd backs up until his left heel touches the balcony’s railing. He stands and climbs over it in one swift, silent movement, lowers himself to the ground below, his arms taking the strain. His feet touch the ground and he holds the railing tight; doesn’t want to take an inadvertent trip down the hill. He waits a moment. No movement at the sofa. They didn’t hear him. He’s going to get out of this! He turns to go, then stops dead.
     
    The tubby guy is now standing on the next balcony, still naked from the waist down. He sways from the effect of the Corona in his right hand as he looks out at the twinkling lights of Houston and takes a monster leak over his railing, making exuberant figure eights in the air with the stream.
     
    Judd draws himself into the shadow of Thompkins’ balcony as the leak goes on. What’s the saying? You don’t buy beer, you just rent it for an hour. Tubby finally runs dry, puts the Corona down on top of the railing and makes to zip up his pants. Shocked to find he’s not wearing any, he turns and walks unsteadily into the apartment, presumably to find them.
     
    Judd breathes out and edges his way past Tubby’s balcony. Halfway along and everything’s going swimmingly. In his mind he’s already navigated the balconies, vaulted back onto the walkway, hot-footed it to the