Taking Flight (A Devereux Novel) Read Online Free Page B

play.
    Derek looked at Sara,
sighed, and turned to face Rex. “What is it, Rex? Do you really want to go
through this whole song and dance again?”
    The other pilot stopped just
out of arm’s reach.
    “What song and dance? I’m
just here to tell you to stop saying things behind my back, making grand claims
about how things will go this season. If you think you can beat me this year,
then say it to my face.”
    Seriously?
    “Rex. Do I look like I need
to go around boasting about my abilities?” Derek spread his arms to either
side. “That’s the mark of an incompetent coward. Anyone secure enough in their
abilities doesn’t need to go spouting off at the mouth about their skills.”
    There were a few guffaws and
“oohs” from the crowd, but they quieted so everyone could hear Rex’s response.
    The other man beat his fists
against his chest. “You’re calling me a coward? Me? Do you even know who you’re
dealing with?”
    Eyes swung back toward
Derek. “I know exactly who I’m dealing with. I’ve beaten you more times than
not over the past year, remember? You talk a huge game, and I can’t help
wondering if you were starved of attention as a child.”
    It wasn’t a jab Derek liked
using, since it hit uncomfortably close to home for himself, but he knew
exactly how effective it could be.
    Rex stepped close, invading
Derek’s personal space. “How dare you, you asshole.” His nostrils flared as he got even more visibly angered. The stench of
alcohol on his breath was overpowering. “You want to go?”
    The audience was breathless,
caught in the drama Derek had hoped to avoid.
    “Step away, Rex.” Derek kept
his voice calm, easy. It goaded Rex even harder that his adversary was
seemingly unaffected by his antics.
    He got even closer, the two
men’s face mere inches apart. “Why don’t you make me?”
    Something snapped inside of
Derek. He’d had enough of this bullshit.
    He shoved Rex hard in the
chest. The other man was shorter but also more solidly built, and while he
stumbled backward a few feet, it wasn’t as effective as Derek planned.
    The two men came together
with blinding speed. Rex had superior strength, but Derek had a background in self-defense and used it to his advantage, trying not to
strike and injure Rex but merely subdue him. It quickly became a moot point as
event security rushed in to separate the two men moments after they began.
    As Derek stood there,
staring at the other man, his blood boiled and the crowd cheered and shouted. A
small part of him even noted that the DJ had put on fast-paced music as a
soundtrack to the fight. What the hell? He grew suspicious. It was as though he were taking part in an orchestrated
event, designed to titillate and entertain. He caught sight of Frederick at the
side of the podium, watching with narrowed eyes and a slight smile.
    “You’re a pussy!” Rex
shouted. “If you’re so sure of yourself, why not put your money where your
mouth is? Fifty million dollars says I’ll beat you in the first race of the
season, Devereux.”
    The guests muttered amongst
themselves. Even for this crowd, fifty million dollars was no chump change.
Even Derek, with a wallet as fat as his, would feel the effect of that much
money disappearing. Not much of one, but it was a tangible amount.
    Derek’s mind, sharp and
calculating, worked the numbers. Weighed the odds against the satisfaction of
taking that money from the insufferable prick staring him down.
    “You’re on, asshole.”
    Derek turned on his heel and
swept through the press of people, a corridor through the bodies opening as
though the Red Sea parting for Moses. The flash of cameras and grumbling of
spectators was like a constant thunderstorm.
    The fresh air outside the
venue was calming. Derek’s rage cooled from its frenzied peak.
    “Wow, that was intense.”
    He swung around, nearly
knocking over the intriguing blonde. He hadn’t noticed her follow him out.
    “You must really hate him,
to