Keep Me Alive by Natasha Cooper Read Free Book Online Page A

He’d hoped it would give him enough courage to embark on an explanation of why he wouldn’t fly again until he could be sure no one was going to ask questions about the man Bob had kicked to death.
    ‘Got any idea how long I’ll have to wait till you feel safe
again?’ Bob said at last, in a voice so casual that Tim was deceived.
    He started to say that he wouldn’t know till it happened, when he saw Bob’s eyes bulging, as they always did when he was about to let his temper rip. Tim grabbed his tankard as though to drink, but there was nothing left in it. Feeling like a fool as well as a coward, he said, ‘Don’t you think it would be mad to take such a risk?’ He hated the way his voice quivered. He coughed, but it didn’t help. ‘It’ll probably only be a month or two. Till we’re sure no one’s going to come looking for us. By then there’ll be much less evidence anyway. So we should be all right even if they did come nosing around. You must see that, Bob.’
    Waiting for the usual explosion, Tim found himself staring at the scars on Bob’s hands. As he watched, they curled into fists, then slowly relaxed again until they lay flat against his powerful thighs. They looked as if they belonged to a man fighting every instinct to hit out. When Bob finally spoke, his voice was tight with suppressed fury.
    ‘We can’t stop now. It’s taken too long to set this up and get it working to throw it away. I’m paying all the pet-food people to keep quiet. If I stop their money, they’re going to be tempted to grass you up, and I can’t afford to bung them without the profits from your flights. You wouldn’t want them knowing how you killed that man, now would you?’
    Tim’s mouth opened, but he couldn’t produce any sound. All he’d done that night had been to watch as Bob had kicked the snooper to death. Tim would have called the police straight off, if he hadn’t been terrified for his own life. No one could pin any of the blame on him. He considered pointing that out, then saw Bob’s face and thought better of it.
    ‘I suppose if you won’t fly, you won’t,’ Bob said, as though he hadn’t noticed Tim’s shock. ‘But I’ll have to look around for someone else who will. There’s bound to be someone.’
    Tim forgot everything in the glorious sensation that
enveloped him. It was as though someone had lifted him off his uncomfortable chair and wrapped him in the softest duvet. Bob could get another pilot. It was so simple. Why the hell hadn’t he thought of it for himself? Trying to hide his relief, he produced a noncommittal shrug.
    ‘I couldn’t quarrel with that.’
    ‘Good.’ Bob got up and leaned over him, holding him down with one heavy, scarred hand on his shoulder. His grip was tight enough to hurt. ‘But that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. If I ever hear so much as a whisper that you might’ve talked to anyone, I’ll be round your place to make sure you never talk again. Got that?’
    Tim nodded. He knew it was true. Bob let him go at last and shoved his way out of the little pub. When Tim could move again, he cranked himself to his feet and got another pint from the bar. He needed it to take the taste of fear out of his mouth and give him the illusion of control over his life.
    When he got home again, he fed Boney, made himself a pot of tea and settled down to do his accounts. He’d been putting them off for weeks, but even they weren’t as scary as Bob.
    An hour later, sweating, Tim reset the calculator and added up each column all over again. The totals came out the same. He couldn’t believe it. All his relief drained away. He’d been right up against the overdraft limit for months, but he hadn’t realized he had only six pounds fifty left. He’d started to grow cherries on some of his land years ago, when he’d first understood how the price of lamb was collapsing, and the fruit had made just enough difference to keep the farm going. But this year’s harvest