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door. But more than that, he wished she'd dropped something loudly enough to wake him
up, so that he could have convinced her - one way or the other, he frowned at the thought
- not to leave at all.
With a start, he realized that she was important enough to him that if it was the house
that bothered her, he'd be perfectly fine with selling it and buying something else. That
house had been a reflection of Claire's tastes, and was very much a part of them as a
married couple. But if it caused problems between himself and Mina, then he would send
her looking for a house they two of them could share.
Regardless, one way or the other, he was going to get her the hell out of that apartment.
And away from that damned David, whoever the hell he was.
Chapter 10
When he got back to her room, she was awake, but just barely. She came to full
alertness, however, when she saw what he had in his hand.
 You -  Mina swallowed the boulder that had suddenly lodged in her throat.  You went
to my apartment?
Hunt didn t address her, immediately. He stowed her things in the cabinet near her so
that she would be able to get to them if she wanted them, then tucked the valise into the
utilitarian closet.  Yes, I did.
 Mina s heart was trying to thump its way out of her ribcage. If she was going to have a
heart attack, and it looked like she was, this was the place to do it, she thought. He d been
to her apartment. He must ve seen her work. The picture of Claire.
He had her suitcase.
He d been in her closet. Chances were pretty good he d seen the portrait of himself.
Why, oh why, hadn t she burned that damned thing instead of practically praying to it
every night and obsessing over it endlessly? It had become her icon, her idol  and it
should have been smashed to pieces long ago. Instead, he d seen it, seen himself through
her eyes and her naked desire for him played out in his own features.
Eager to be deferred from the topic that was seething between them like a chasm full of
hot lava, Mina asked the first question that came into her mind.  How d you get into my
apartment? I don t remember giving you a key . . . Then she answered her own question.
 I didn t realize you d kept the one I gave Claire.
Hunt s eyebrows rose automatically in surprise at that simple, non criminal answer to his
earlier dilemma, but then he pasted a blasé look on his face, saying in an overly casual
way,  Oh, yeah, I kept it. Technically, he was sure he had. It was probably still
somewhere in the box of Claire s personal effects he d never been able to bring himself
to paw through, on her jailer s ring keychain. He had very scrupulously neither confirmed
nor denied that that was his method of entry into her home.
He approached her and kissed her as gently as a soft breeze, then took up his usual
residence  the subtly torturous hospital chair. Before he delved into what he wanted to
talk to her about, he asked quietly,  How are you? Is there anything I can get you? When
did you have your last pain meds? He wasn t about to let her be a brave little soldier
about being in pain, if he had to give her the shots himself.
 They just gave it to me. I was hurting, and I asked for it.
 Good girl, he praised.  At this point, you re healing, and you don t need to be in pain.
If  when  they make you do P.T., then you ll have to shake hands with it.
 Yeah, I know.
A relatively comfortable silence fell between them, until Hunt said,  You re a fantastic
painter.
Mina drew a deep breath, wishing he would just let things lie, for a while anyway. But,
that wasn t in Hunt s make up.  Thank you.
 You have enough canvasses. You should have a show.
 She was shaking her head, very slowly, very carefully, back and forth.
 Why not?
 No interest. I paint for myself, not anyone else.
 No one says that has to change.
 I don t want a show.
Well, he d come back to that eventually.  Who s David?
Mina frowned. She d never painted David, and there was really nothing around her
apartment with his name on or in it except her address book. Had he gone through her
address book, just for shits and giggles?  How do you know about David?
Hunt watched her reaction carefully when he d said his name. She looked surprised and
puzzled, but not alarmed in any way. If he was someone she was involved with, then she
should have looked a lot more worried.
A lot more worried, because Hunt was going to kill him.
 He left a message on your answering machine. Hunt couldn t get his voice above an
angry growl.
Mina tried to smile, then regretted it. Every bone in her head hurt, and smiling  or any
expression except bland boredom  tugged at the various cuts and bruises beneath her
bandages.
Hunt was bamboozled. She was smiling  or trying for a reasonable facsimile thereof.
What was going on?
 David Maddox is a very good friend of mine, and I d appreciate it if you wouldn t look
like you want to throttle him with both hands.
 Just a friend? he ground out.
 Just a friend. A very, very good, close friend.
 How close?
Mina could see that nothing she was saying was alleviating his anger any, but she found
it very interesting that he was jealous of David. That he was jealous of anyone on her
behalf. She cleared her throat.  I don t have to justify or explain my friendships to you,
Hunt.
 Why did you leave me last night?
 When he was talking about David, she d met him head on, even though hers wasn t in
the best shape right now. She stood up to him, quietly, but didn t back down. But when it
came to her behavior last night, she turned away from him. He could see her fidgeting [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]