"07 - Burnt Offerings 4.0" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

The growling voice was suddenly very clear. He'd taken the phone from Stephen.
"Who is this?"
"Anita Blake, and you must be Zane."
He laughed, and it sounded too low, as if his throat were sore. "The wolves'
human lupa. Oh, I'm so scared."
Lupa was the word the werewolves used for their leader's mate. I was the first
human so honored. I wasn't even dating their Ulfric anymore. We'd broken up
after I saw him eat somebody. Hey, a girl's got to have some standards.
"Gabriel wasn't scared of me either. Look where it got him," I said.
Zane was quiet for a handful of heartbeats. He breathed over the phone like a
dog panted, heavy, but not like he was doing it on purpose, more like he
couldn't help it. "Nathaniel is mine. Keep off of him."
"Stephen isn't one of yours," I said.
"Does he belong to you?" I could hear cloth moving. A sense of movement on the
other end of the phone that I didn't like. "He is sooo pretty. Have you tasted
these soft lips? Has this long yellow hair swept over your pillow?"
I knew without seeing it that he was touching Stephen, caressing him to match
the words. "Don't touch him, Zane."
"Too late."
I gripped the phone tight and forced my voice calm, even. "Stephen's under my
protection, Zane. Do you understand me?"
"What would you do to keep your pet wolf safe, Anita?"
"You don't want to push that button, Zane. You really don't."
He lowered his voice to an almost painful whisper. "Would you kill me to keep
him safe?"
I usually have to meet someone at least once before threatening to kill them,
but I was about to make an exception. "Yeah."
He laughed, low and nervous. "I see why Gabriel liked you. So tough, so sure of
yourself. Sooo dangerous."
"You sound like a bad imitation of Gabriel."
He made a sound that was somewhere between a hiss and a bah. "Stephen shouldn't
have interfered."
"Nathaniel's his friend."
"I am all the friend he needs."
"I don't think so."
"I am taking Nathaniel with me, Anita. If Stephen tries to stop me, I'll hurt
him."
"You hurt Stephen, I hurt you."
"So be it." He hung up.
Shit. I ran for my Jeep. I was thirty minutes away, twenty if I pushed it a lot.
Twenty minutes. Stephen wasn't dominant. He was a victim. But he was also loyal.
If he thought Nathaniel shouldn't go with Zane, he'd try and keep him. He
wouldn't fight for him, but he might throw his body in front of the car. I had
no doubts at all that Zane would drive right over him. Best case scenario. Worst
case scenario was Zane would take both Stephen and Nathaniel. If Zane acted as
much like Gabriel as he talked, I'd rather have taken my chances with the car.