"Lover At Last" - читать интересную книгу автора (Ward, J.R.)

Blay shifted his eyes to the windshield only because he was too tired to argue. Out in front of the flatbed, the headlights illuminated everything, the snow-covered landscape blindingly white, the figure walking at the side of the road like a shadow thrown.

Red drops of blood marked the path of the footprints.

QhuinnтАЩs hands were bleeding from when heтАЩd bashed up the dashтАФ

Abruptly, Blay frowned. Sat up a little higher.

Like puzzle pieces sinking into their proper slots, the random details about where they were, from the bend in the road, to the trees, to the stone wall beside them, came together and completed a picture.

тАЬOh, shit.тАЭ Blay banged his head back against the rest. Closing his eyes briefly, he wanted to find another solution to this, anything other than him going out there.

He came up with a big, fat nada.

As he pushed open the door, the cold rushed into the warm interior of the truck cab. He didnтАЩt say anything to John. No reason to. Things like going out into a snowfall after someone were self-explanatory.

Taking a deep drag, he clomped through the accumulation. The road had been plowed earlier, but that was a much-earlier kind of thing.

Which meant he probably had to act fast.

Here in this rich part of town, where the tax base was as broad as the rolling lawns, youтАЩd better believe that another one of those house-size yellow muni plows was going to come by right before dawn.

No need to play this out in front of humans. Especially with the pair of leaking, dead-and-gones in the Hummer.

тАЬQhuinn,тАЭ he said roughly. тАЬQhuinn, stop.тАЭ

He didnтАЩt yell. DidnтАЩt have the energy. ThisтАжthing, whatever it was between them, had gotten exhausting long agoтАФand this current side-of-the-road showdown was just one more episode he didnтАЩt have the strength for.

тАЬQhuinn. Seriously.тАЭ

At least the guy slowed down a little. And with any luck he was so pissed off, he wouldnтАЩt put all the clues to their location together.

Jesus Christ, what were the chances, Blay thought as he glanced around. It was right about in this next half mile or so where that Honor Guard had done their businessтАФand Qhuinn had nearly died from the beating.

God, Blay remembered tooling up that night, a different set of headlights picking out a dark figure, this time bleeding on the ground.

Shaking himself, he gave the name game one more shot. тАЬQhuinn.тАЭ

The guy stopped, his shitkickers planting in the snow and going no farther. He didnтАЩt turn around, however.

Blay motioned for John to kill the headlights, and a second later all he had to deal with was the subtle orange glow of the truckтАЩs parking lights.

Qhuinn put his hands on his hips and looked up to the sky, his head tilting back, his breath escaping upward in a cloud of condensation.

тАЬCome back and get in the flatbed.тАЭ Blay took another drag and released the smoke. тАЬWe need to keep movingтАФтАЭ

тАЬI know how much Saxton means to you,тАЭ Qhuinn said gruffly. тАЬI get that. I really do.тАЭ

Blay forced himself to say, тАЬGood.тАЭ