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

What were the chancesтАж?

тАЬWe need to find those phones,тАЭ Qhuinn muttered, jumping up onto the flatbed again. тАЬAnyone got a flashlight?тАЭ

Vishous took off his lead-lined leather glove and held up his glowing hand. тАЬRight тАЩchere.тАЭ

As the Brother hopped up on the thin edge of the bed, Qhuinn went into a tuck and got back in the HummerтАЩs rear compartment. тАЬDonтАЩt hit me with that thing, will ya, V?тАЭ

тАЬItтАЩd be a spanking youтАЩd never forget, I promise you.тАЭ

Man, that hand was handy. As V put it inside, the whole interior was lit up bright as day, all the carnage inside throwing sharp, dark shadows. Crawling around, Qhuinn reached under seats, patting with his palms, stretching into corners. The smell was god-awful, a nasty combination of gas, burned plastic, and fresh bloodтАФand every time he put a hand down, it fluffed up the residue from the air bagsтАЩ powder.

But it was worth all the pseudo yoga positions.

He emerged with a pair of iPhones.

тАЬI hate these things,тАЭ V muttered as he put his glove back on and took the matched set.

Returning to the relatively fresh air, Qhuinn caught his breath and cracked his neck, then jumped down again. There was some kind of conversating at that point, and he nodded a couple of times like he knew what the fuck was being said.

тАЬListen, you mind if I take a T.O. and check in for a sec,тАЭ he interjected.

VтАЩs diamond eyes narrowed. тАЬWith who?тАЭ

Right on cue, John jumped in, asking about the Hummer and its rehab planтАФlike somebody waving a torch in front of a T. rex to redirect it. As V started talking about the SUVтАЩs future as lawn sculpture, Qhuinn nearly blew a kiss at his buddy.

No one knew about Layla except for John and BlayтАФand things needed to stay that way during this early period.

As Qhuinn was JohnтАЩs ahstrux nohtrum, he couldnтАЩt go farтАФand he didnтАЩt. He eased on over to the door Blay had put to good use and got out his phone. As he dialed one of the house extensions and waited through the rings, he stared at his ruined vehicle.

He could remember the night he got the damn thing. Although his parents had had money, they hadnтАЩt felt a great burning need to provide for him as they had for his brother and sister. Before his transition, heтАЩd gotten by selling red smoke on the sly, but he hadnтАЩt done a huge amount of trafficтАФjust enough to close the gap of his paltry allowance, and keep from mooching off Blay all the time.

The cash crunch had ended as soon as heтАЩd been promoted to JohnтАЩs personal guard. His new job had come with a serious salaryтАФseventy-five grand a year. And considering he didnтАЩt pay taxes to the bullshit human government, and his room and board were paid for, he had a lot of green leftover.

The Hummer had been his first big purchase. HeтАЩd done his research on the Internet, but the truth was, heтАЩd already known what he wanted. Fritz had gone out and done the negotiating and the official purchasingтАжand that first time Qhuinn had gotten behind the wheel, cranked the key, and felt the rumble under the hood, heтАЩd nearly teared up like a pussy.

Now it was ruined: He was hardly a mechanic, but the structural damage was so severe, it just made no sense to save itтАФ

тАЬHello?тАЭ

The sound of LaylaтАЩs voice snapped him back to attention. тАЬHey. IтАЩm just back. How you feeling?тАЭ

The precise enunciation that came back at him reminded him of his parents, every word perfectly pronounced and chosen with care. тАЬI am well, thank you very much. I have rested and watched television, as you suggested. They had a Million Dollar Listing marathon.тАЭ

тАЬWhat the hell is that?тАЭ

тАЬA show where they sell houses in Los AngelesтАФI thought for a little bit that it was fiction, but it turns out itтАЩs a reality show? I thought they made it all up. Madison has great hairтАФand I like Josh Flagg. HeтАЩs rather shrewd and very kind to his grandmother.тАЭ

He asked her a couple more questions, like what had she eaten and had she taken a nap, just to keep her talkingтАФbecause in between the syllables, he was looking for clues of discomfort or worry.