"Laurell K. Hamilton - Anita Blake 02 - Laughing Corpse" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Laurell K)

Venus. All Brunos had to be bodyguards. It was a rule. Maybe a cop? Naw, it
was a bad guyтАЩs name. I smiled.
Bruno sat up in his chair, one smooth, muscular motion. He wasnтАЩt wearing a
gun that I could see, but there was a presence to him. Dangerous, it said,
watch out.
Guess I shouldnтАЩt have smiled.
Bert interrupted, тАЬAnita, please. I do apologize, Mr. Gaynor...Mr. Bruno.
Ms. Blake has a rather peculiar sense of humor.тАЭ
тАЬDonтАЩt apologize for me, Bert. I donтАЩt like it.тАЭ I donтАЩt know what he was
so sore about anyway. I hadnтАЩt said the really insulting stuff out loud.
тАЬNow, now,тАЭ Mr. Gaynor said. тАЬNo hard feelings. Right, Bruno?тАЭ
Bruno shook his head and frowned at me, not angry, sort of perplexed.
Bert flashed me an angry look, then turned smiling to the man in the
wheelchair. тАЬNow, Mr. Gaynor, I know you must be a busy man. So, exactly how
old is the zombie you want raised?тАЭ
тАЬA man who gets right down to business. I like that.тАЭ Gaynor hesitated,
staring at the door. A woman entered.
She was tall, leggy, blond, with cornflower-blue eyes. The dress, if it was
a dress, was rose-colored and silky. It clung to her body the way it was
supposed to, hiding what decency demanded, but leaving very little to the
imagination. Long pale legs were stuffed into pink spike heels, no hose. She
stalked across the carpet, and every man in the room watched her. And she knew
it.
She threw back her head and laughed, but no sound came out. Her face
brightened, her lips moved, eyes sparkled, but in absolute silence, like
someone had turned the sound off. She leaned one hip against Harold Gaynor,
one hand on his shoulder. He encircled her waist, and the movement raised the
already short dress another inch.
Could she sit down in the dress without flashing the room? Naw.
тАЬThis is Cicely,тАЭ he said. She smiled brilliantly at Bert, that little
soundless laugh making her eyes sparkle. She looked at me and her eyes
faltered, the smile slipped. For a second uncertainty filled her eyes. Gaynor
patted her hip. The smile flamed back into place. She nodded graciously to
both of us.
тАЬI want you to raise a two-hundred-and-eighty-three-year old corpse.тАЭ
I just stared at him and wondered if he understood what he was asking.
тАЬWell,тАЭ Bert said, тАЬthat is nearly three hundred years old. Very old to
raise as a zombie. Most animators couldnтАЩt do it at all.тАЭ
тАЬI am aware of that,тАЭ Gaynor said. тАЬThat is why I asked for Ms. Blake. She
can do it.тАЭ
Bert glanced at me. I had never raised anything that old. тАЬAnita?тАЭ
тАЬI could do it,тАЭ I said.
He smiled back at Gaynor, pleased.
тАЬBut I wonтАЩt do it.тАЭ
Bert turned slowly back to me, smile gone.
Gaynor was still smiling. The bodyguards were immobile. Cicely looked
pleasantly at me, eyes blank of any meaning.
тАЬA million dollars, Ms. Blake,тАЭ Gaynor said in his soft pleasant voice.
I saw Bert swallow. His hands convulsed on the chair arms. BertтАЩs idea of
sex was money. He probably had the biggest hard-on of his life.