[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

occupying your time.”
I ignored him and stared at the boy approaching slowly from the far side of the seating area. He’d
been hidden from view in one of the far booths. He passed the group of minders but they didn’t
seem interested in him. Miki wasn’t surprised to see him, either, but that was because he’d
brought Kit here himself.
“Stay there, kid,” he called, sharply. Kit stopped walking, pausing about three feet away from us.
The other men were muttering amongst themselves, engrossed in a call that was coming through
for one of them. One glanced at the three of us, then another one started growling angrily and
their interest was distracted away.
Kit’s head was bent forwards so that he didn’t meet our eyes, but his body was rigid with tension.
“Are you all right?” I asked him, directly.
He peered up at me, then, his eyes wide and dark and puzzled, as if he were trying to read my
mood from those few words. “Yeah,” he said, quietly. He glanced at Miki and shrugged: he
looked pale and tired. He pushed some hair back off his forehead. In my opinion, he didn’t look
remotely all right, but I respected his reply. His eyes told me more than his words. I saw fear
there; surprise at seeing me; something warm; something sorrowful. All kinds of emotions.
“Freeman?” He looked confused, as if he didn’t know what to say next. He was cautious of me.
Or cautious for me?
“It’s OK,” I said, and I meant it. I wanted him to understand that. He watched me closely, his eyes
widening: he caught his lip between his teeth.
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
Miki cleared his throat, loudly. I looked over at him. He folded his arms, leaned back on his heel
and gazed at me.
“Freeman, enough of the lingering looks, I’m going to heave. Why the fuck are you here? Surely
not just for him. You’ve only been playing with him, I know – and so does he.”
“You’re wrong,” I said, calmly. “So very wrong that it’s laughable.”
I glanced back at Kit. He flushed and something sparked in his eyes.
Miki hissed, as if his breath had caught on something sharp as he exhaled. “Right. So how come
when I called at the flat, he was on his own?” He glanced between us, smiling gently, including
both of us in his entertainment. “Did you wonder how I got in to your sanctuary, Freeman? After
all, I’m not the type to go breaking down doors.”
“Depends how mad you are, being told you’re not welcome,” I said.
His eyes narrowed. “You don’t mean that. Anyway, I didn't need to - the kid let me in, willingly
enough. You’d left him, Freeman, without a word. He had no idea where you were – no idea what
you were doing.”
“Fuck you, Miki!” Kit’s voice broke in, surprisingly strong, and we were both startled by it. “You
think I’d have told you, even if I did?”
Miki was angry, now: I knew the signs. “Shut up, kid. Seemed to me you couldn’t wait to pack
your bag. Couldn’t wait to leave.”
I remembered the fallen plate; the discarded sock. All the signs of a hasty exit, for whatever
reason. I spoke sharply, pulling Miki’s attention back to me alone. “What did you say to him so
that he went with you?”
Miki glared at me. “I just explained things to him. How things really are. Time he grew up, you
know? It couldn’t last - playing happy house with you; pimping his ass to you. Using you as some
kind of rock to crawl under every time he has a kid’s nightmare.”
“No,” hissed Kit, “not true!” but neither of us looked at him.
Miki moved closer to me: he lowered his voice, though it was still loud enough for Kit to hear
every word. “If you wanted a good fuck, Freeman, I was always here.” His eyes glinted like the
reflection on a blade. “I told you that. You know that’s what you really want – what you need.
Someone who knows what he’s doing. Someone who can make you cry out your need; someone
who can make you ache to fuck, and be fucked, through every nerve of your body. You know it’s
true. Don’t you?”
I took one step nearer in return. I looked into those dark, angry, fearful eyes that no longer
moved me. “Crap,” I said.
He paled. "Don't be pathetic. Lying to me, just because your pet is listening."
I shook my head. I never let his eyes leave mine. "No. I don't need to lie. You sound like you're
in a cheap porn novel, Miki, and one I'm not interested in reading. You do what you like, but it's
time I grew out of that puerile stuff."
His fists tightened at his sides. I don't know what would have happened – G came into the club
right then.
PDF Created with deskPDF PDF Writer - Trial :: http://www.docudesk.com
"Freeman," he called over. "I suppose I should have expected you’d turn up." He paused in the
doorway, looking between the three of us. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. "Come for that
job interview after all?"
I turned my back on the others. I could feel Kit’s eyes on me. "I came for Kit," I said. "You have
nothing else that interests me."
G laughed, softly. Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the minders stirring from his seat,
trying to attract his boss’ attention. Maybe that engrossing call had been for G, rather than the
thug who now grasped the phone in an over-large paw. But G frowned at him, refusing to be
distracted, and walked on over towards me, stopping a couple of feet away. Behind him trotted
the blond boy I’d seen before, though G seemed to ignore him. I glanced between his thin, pale
face and G’s robust smile.
“Seems your interest has shifted elsewhere, anyway,” I said. “So we’ll be on our way.”
“No,” said G. “You’ll wait.” With his gaze locked on my face, his hand reached for the blond head
and grasped the boy’s hair, loose and long on his shoulders. G tangled his fingers slowly into the
locks, and clenched his fist, still not looking at his captive. I looked at him. He was close to tears.
“I’ll decide whether you can go or not,” G said. “Just as I do with Danny, here.” He sounded quite
amiable, though his hand moved sharply, tugging Danny’s head around. The boy gave a soft
whimper and G’s face twisted with a mixture of distaste and excitement. I started forward, but
then G seemed to lose interest again. Obviously, the moment had passed. He let go of the boy,
who stumbled awkwardly back over towards the booths and the other men.
G looked briefly at his hand as if he wanted to wipe it, then glanced back up at me. “Whatever it
is you want, Freeman, the kid stays with me. He’s with us.”
“Not any longer,” I said. “He left already.”
G’s gaze didn’t waver. “And then he came back. It was his decision, Freeman: he knows this is
the place he has to be. And you know why, don’t you?”
Miki had moved back into my line of sight, his hand around Kit’s wrist. They stood halfway
between G and me. If this were a re-make of High Noon, I’d have said they were taking up
position for the shoot-out.
“Yes,” I said. “I do know.” At last.
Kit gave a small gasp.
G nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer. His eyes were fixed solely on me. The tension [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]