“I had no idea,” Chris said sympathetically. “When I see you in the library working by yourself, it’s easy to forget that you have this kind of baggage waiting for you at home.”
Daniel spread his arms wide, encompassing the entire room. “This library is my refuge. I cling to it like a life raft.” He wheeled about to face Chris. “You have no idea what this place means to me. What your friendship means to me!”
The librarian stood up and advanced toward the scion. He placed his hands on Daniel’s shoulders. “I’m always here for you. Whatever you need.”
“Thank you,” Daniel murmured. Impulsively, he wrapped his arms around Chris. The librarian returned his embrace. They stood together that way for a long time, just holding one another. Daniel felt all his anxieties draining way. It was a rare experience for him to derive comfort from the touch of another person. He usually recoiled from physical contact of any kind. He couldn’t fathom the strange effect his friend had on him.
Eventually, Chris held him at arm’s length and searched his eyes. Daniel didn’t know what the librarian was looking for but, apparently, he didn’t find it. Chris released him. “I imagine, by the rules of the Nephilim, you’re doing pretty well for yourself. Three wives, four kids.”
Daniel returned to his seat. “I never wanted any of it. I would have been content to live like one of the medieval monks who penned these beautiful manuscripts. No wives, no children. Just my precious books.”
Chris returned to sit beside him. “What about your physical needs? Conjugal visits?”
Daniel flinched. “I could easily do without marital relations.”
The librarian raised a skeptical eyebrow. “So, you’ve never been sexually attracted to anybody in your whole life?”
“I have never desired any woman in that way. Not once.”
“Maybe that’s because your interests lean in another direction,” Chris suggested quietly.
Daniel registered puzzlement. “I don’t know what you mean.”
The librarian grinned at his friend. “Oh, Danny Boy, you’re a babe lost deep in the woods and you can’t even see the forest for the trees. Someday you and I are going to have a long talk about the birds and the bees and the fairies.”
“What?”
“You aren’t ready yet. You’ll know when it’s time for that conversation.”
“How on earth will I know that?” Daniel asked earnestly.
Chris gave a sly smile. “Trust me, you’ll know.”
Chapter 23—Steak Out
Chopper peered anxiously over the top of his menu toward the door of the restaurant. Eyeing the clock on the wall, he realized Leroy was ten minutes late. Just as he was starting to fret that his plan might be a bust, he saw the maȋtre d’ threading his way down an aisle of linen-covered tables followed by a man in a western jacket and string tie. The maȋtre d’ seated the new arrival opposite Bowdeen and silently handed him a menu before departing.
Hunt glared after him. “God damn fancy man in the penguin suit snatched my hat right off the top of my head.” He held up a claim check accusingly. “And he’s holdin’ it for ransom. I ain’t never seen the like!” Leroy swept a hand over the top of his head to make sure the wave in his hair hadn’t gotten mussed.
Chopper decided to ignore Leroy’s pique. “So how you been keepin’?”
The cowboy shrugged, “Can’t complain. Wouldn’t do no good anyhow.” He flipped the menu open and scanned the selections. His eyebrows rose. “Pretty high-toned establishment with prices like these.”
“Your money’s no good tonight, pard,” Bowdeen replied.
Hunt withdrew his attention from the menu long enough to treat his companion to a suspicious stare. “What’s the occasion?”
Bowdeen shrugged. “I feel like I owe you. This gig with the preacher lasted a lot longer than I expected. I made a bundle off it.”
A waiter arrived to take their drink orders.
Just as Bowdeen expected, Hunt ordered whiskey. The mercenary had called ahead to make sure the restaurant kept several bottles of the cowboy’s favorite brand on hand. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
“A bundle, huh?” Hunt asked. “What’s the old man got you doin’ now?”
“Weapons training at every compound between here and Siberia. On top of that, he had me set up surveillance equipment at all those places too.”
Hunt relaxed at the explanation. He chuckled appreciatively. “Brother, it sounds like he’s keepin’ you busier than a cat tryin’ to cover crap on a marble floor.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Bowdeen agreed jovially. “It’s all to the good though. More work means more pay. I figured taking you out for a steak dinner was the least I could do to thank you for hooking me up.”
Their drinks arrived. Leroy raised his glass. “Now that’s a proper ‘thank you.’ I guess the last time I schooled you on manners, some of it sunk in.”
Bowdeen winced briefly at the memory of Hunt’s previous etiquette lesson, but he offered no comment. Instead, he raised his glass. “To flush times.” He took a small sip.
As expected, Leroy finished half his drink in one gulp.
They paused their conversation long enough to study the menu and place their orders. Two prime rib dinners with all the trimmings. When the waiter left, Leroy leaned in closer.
“Now that you’re back stateside, I imagine the old preacher’s got you tailin’ that whistlepig out in the sticks.”
Bowdeen stared at him. Leroy wasn’t far enough into his cups to be talking crazy quite yet. “Come again?’
“You know. That little foreign doctor. Lives in a hole in the ground some twenty odd miles from the compound.”
The mercenary gawked at Leroy blankly.
“He ain’t told you nothin’?” The cowboy mirrored his surprise.
“What doctor?”
Leroy leaned in further. “Well, it ain’t like I’m talkin’ out of turn. The old man said he’d put you on the job soon as you got back. It was like this. He had me stake out this hole in the ground to keep tabs on some Ayyy-rab doctor goes by the name of Aboud. He’s workin’ on somethin’ so hush-hush that
