[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.”This seemed to bring Sean"s hackles down.“I see.Well, let"shope the falconry thing goes as smoothly outside your ivory tower, Mr.Devereaux.Less bird strike would be a good thing, no matter what.” Hewaved his flashlight at Mark.“Gotta run.Watch out for Mr.BirdHandler here, Mark.He seems to have a talent for wrong place, wrongtime.My pleasure, Mr.Devereaux.”“The pleasure is all mine, Officer Broderick,” Hunter said stiffly,and then Sean was gone.City Falcon67Hunter rubbed the back of his neck, murmuring something underhis breath.Mark clenched his fists to prevent himself from seizingHunter and shaking him.“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, his voice tight fromirritation.“And what the fucking hell did you mean to achieve withSean? Smooching with royalty gotten to your head?”“What are you talking about, Mark? I don"t understand.” Huntersounded genuinely confused.Mark took a deep breath and forcedhimself to calm down.“Sorry.It"s just that I don"t understand, either.I mean, last time Isaw you, you were kissing some Arab"s hand like you were his prodigalson, and now you pop up here, right out of left field, and talk downyour nose to my partner like he"s a moron.What am I supposed tomake out of all that?”“I didn"t mean to… I didn"t….” Hunter stuttered, and then pausedand raked his hair with both hands.“I did, didn"t I?” He shook his head.“I"m sorry, really.I didn"t mean to sound condescending.It"s just…I"ve been explaining the falconry project to so many people recently,most of them officials of some sort, I just answered like I always do.Ididn"t think.” He put his hand to Mark"s forearm, searching his eyes inthe semi-darkness.“Mark, I really don"t think you stupid, or yourpartner, either.Please believe me.” He sounded contrite.Mark nodded slowly, involuntarily covering Hunter"s hand withhis own.“Apology accepted,” he said.Hunter"s hand squeezed his armfor a moment, and Mark suddenly became aware of the physicalcontact.He took his hand away, and after a moment, Hunter pulledback too.“Actually, you needn"t apologize to Sean,” Mark said, coveringup his awkwardness.“He already got back at you, did you notice? Hecalled you a geek.”Hunter shrugged.“How"s that supposed to get to me? For all Iknow, that"s a cap that fits me.Should I be offended?”“Geeks make your dick shrink,” Mark said.Immediately, hewould have liked to eat his words.Hunter's gaze drifted down toMark"s crotch, where it lingered for a moment before sliding back up.68Feliz Faber“Seems he was wrong about me, then,” Hunter said softly, thefamiliar amusement back in his voice.“Hmm.Well.As for your firstquestion, I"m here to thank you.For saving Ahmad"s life.”“I didn"t do anything you"d have to thank me for,” Mark saidautomatically, still distracted by the bodily reaction Hunter"s gaze hadcaused.Then he paused, working the thought over more professionally.“That was a very near thing, wasn"t it? And for that matter, I think youknow it was mostly your fault.I could hardly believe my eyes.Seriously, what were you thinking?”Hunter sighed.“I know, it wasn"t one of my brightest ideas, but…anyhow, those men thought I was up to something shady.So I tookIman out of her crate in order to show them there wasn"t a bomb inside,or whatever they thought.The rest just happened so awfully fast.Ididn"t know what to do.All I could think of was Ahmad.I could havenever forgiven myself if he"d been harmed because of me.”Hunter wrapped his arms around himself and started walkingtoward Mark"s bike as he spoke.Mark fell into step next to him,understanding perfectly the need to move.“I understand you were invited by this sheik—Al-Jabar, is it?What I don"t understand is how you come by such illustriousacquaintances.And why you thought you had to drag your falcon alongfor the occasion.Enlighten me, will you?” he said, aiming for casual.As he"d hoped, Hunter picked up on his tone.“This mystery is easily solved.I worked for him, Sheik Nasir, Imean, back in Kuwait.Lived at his house.I"ve known Ahmad since hewas a little boy.When Sheik Nasir asked me to bring a falcon as asurprise for Ahmad, I couldn"t deny his request.They were only herefor one day, and Ahmad is already a good falconer, as young as he is,just like his father was.”They stopped under a streetlamp next to Mark"s bike.Mark couldsee Hunter"s face closing up again with emotion.He waited, andHunter spoke on.“Anyway.I"m glad you were there today.Must havebeen kismet.”“Kismet,” Mark echoed doubtfully.Hunter wrinkled his nose.“It means fate
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]