Melissa James

Dangerous Illusion


Скачать книгу

heading for the curtain where heavy tapping sounds indicated Danny’s obedience was wearing thin. “I’ll be right back,” she said, her voice filled with quiet bitterness. “You seem to think you know all about me.”

      Yeah, that precious moment of trust between them had been just that—a moment; but what choice did he have but to do it? He couldn’t gain her confidence at the cost of Danny’s happiness. He might be a lowlife, but he hadn’t gone that far down yet.

      McCall let the door fall to behind him, trying not to listen in as the woman on the run fought with the loving mom, faced with a vivid, passionate boy who just wanted to play—a child’s birthright that had become a rare privilege to him.

      “It’s just practice, Mummy. I need to practice so’s I can make the team! An’ you know Mr. Richards is nice!”

      Beth said something to Danny, low and pleading. McCall squelched the temptation to use his earpiece to hear better.

      “Why can’t you be like the other mums?”

      Silence for a few moments, then Beth asked something. Even muffled by the curtain, McCall could hear the bewildered hurt in her voice, and he ached for her.

      “The kids all make fun of me ’cause of you. I just wanna play football, Mummy. I just wanna play with my friends!”

      The throb and lilt of anguished passion came so clearly through in Danny’s voice, McCall ached for him, too. He’d never realized how hard life must be for them both….

      Beth’s next words were again muffled and indistinct; but Danny’s were not. “Why?” he cried, kicking something, and it thudded with the impact. “I never go anywhere without you but at school. All the other kids get to play, and their mums don’t watch them all the time. It’s not fair. It’s not fair!”

      Beth’s voice, discernible now, throbbed with anguish. “I’m sorry, sweetie,” she muttered in a thick tone, obviously fighting tears. “But that’s the way it is.”

      The halting words touched McCall’s soul. Why hadn’t he ever realized what she’d been through, what she’d sacrificed to have this strange half life of fear? What price had she paid for her son to live untainted by Falcone’s corruption?

      “I’m almost seven, Mummy! I’m big. I wanna play football! An’ I’m goin’ to play with Ethan an’ Mr. Richards!” Danny pulled the curtains open, storming out.

      Reacting on instinct, he reached out, snaking an arm around the boy’s waist, lifting him off his feet and whirling him around in a playful motion. “Hey, there, big guy. Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

      Taken off guard, Danny giggled and squirmed.

      “Let him go. Put my son down!”

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEBLAEsAAD/4RS7RXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgABwESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEaAAUA AAABAAAAYgEbAAUAAAABAAAAagEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAUAAAAcgEyAAIAAAAUAAAAhodp AAQAAAABAAAAnAAAAMgAAAEsAAAAAQAAASwAAAABQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIDcuMAAyMDEzOjEy OjE3IDE0OjQ4OjUxAAAAAAOgAQADAAAAAQABAACgAgAEAAAAAQAABXigAwAEAAAAAQAACMwAAAAA AAAABgEDAAMAAAABAAYAAAEaAAUAAAABAAABFgEbAAUAAAABAAABHgEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAIBAAQA AAABAAABJgICAAQAAAABAAATjQAAAAAAAABIAAAAAQAAAEgAAAAB/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABI AAD/7QAMQWRvYmVfQ00AAf/uAA5BZG9iZQBkgAAAAAH/2wCEAAwICAgJCAwJCQwRCwoLERUPDAwP FRgTExUTExgRDAwMDAwMEQwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwBDQsLDQ4NEA4OEBQO Dg4UFA4ODg4UEQwMDAwMEREMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDP/AABEI AIAAUAMBIgACEQEDEQH/3QAEAAX/xAE/AAABBQEBAQEBAQAAAAAAAAADAAECBAUGBwgJCgsBAAEF AQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAEAAgMEBQYHCAkKCxAAAQQBAwIEAgUHBggFAwwzAQACEQMEIRIxBUFRYRMi cYEyBhSRobFCIyQVUsFiMzRygtFDByWSU/Dh8WNzNRaisoMmRJNUZEXCo3Q2F9JV4mXys4TD03Xj 80YnlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vY3R1dnd4eXp7fH1+f3EQACAgECBAQDBAUGBwcG BTUBAAIRAyExEgRBUWFxIhMFMoGRFKGxQiPBUtHwMyRi4XKCkkNTFWNzNPElBhaisoMHJjXC0kST VKMXZEVVNnRl4vKzhMPTdePzRpSkhbSVxNTk9KW1xdXl9VZmdoaWprbG1ub2JzdHV2d3h5ent8f/ 2gAMAwEAAhEDEQA/AOU6i97MRzmP9Nwc3X4n6P8AaVTCsaQ12XULtpc0uaS12v5vtKsdYdt6e8/y m9p1lB6S/pf7JyL8mwtyaXkNxmNlzmuA2ur+j+dv9Tc79GpfiQ/WA0T6QNN95LsUblXEIAa3L5W8 8dMZRbfa5rAfawPkWGyJ9lLf6yy3HC1dQ972SRte2DIH7wO36f5qi3GpNtTaMiuw5TSaqy6Ht9xr bTk7mtrryHbf30fK6V1DBd6WXi24saucWRImH7HH2OftVIREf0jr3XgmUgDHbs1HZNhO90Oq7g9j 4rXZ0os6e3JeG222jfUwyK216+71Jb6ljo+iugyunYV/QmOwH47cWnHc5trG6jJaGubba8+3bb7/ AKf56l9XsirJ6dk2PYLnbGOcyiC5jnN3Ob6bnM/P9/os/lqpPm7x8UImPBLhkOv7sb/db+PlIiY4 /VxRJB/R4v0uGP6Tyg6SOoeu6sMwbqm+p7g5tRbOzY6PU2u9389/Nf6b/SrIy8fMxLnY2VW+q5sE tcOx9zXNP0XVvb72WN+muxd03HryusYl1BrfVifaKbg0kgtfX6vosnY+i3e+uz1VznUc9mc+oOJA qrbUyx+rhGjt7vpen+4z/BqzgyymdNYUP8HijxR4S1OYxCMiAetdrciZ0ATlmmgPnPiuiw+kC+y3 HrbW3IqHu9WZP7pGz6O5ZOVj+hkOouYGWNP0RqP5OoO1zVPHLGRMRuNWAwkIiRBEZbF//9DkusNc /p9gYC925hgCdJWRgYz7a3Po/nGkO9AuLC4D86t/0X+78xy28xxGO5wdtLSCSRIGqfp92I/HbW+v 1HNe6LA3UT3DvpKX4jMxyChfpH5yW2499LWQ28uD3AEVvjeJGkfvLrcfr/7WwcfoNdLxZurD8m14 sLmtl+SNvtezdHs/4NDr6PRn42XazOooGJUbgy4t2vg7fzt3o8rBbj29P6lTocfPx8hjXM3b63Ak bSH1k/2tn6O6pUDIZIkA1MA15s2KMhUz8l+ofvRj8zvdU6nfT09mXjmzp+dj2fY7Gt2iu6qPUrPp v9lvptd7djf0SxundSuxMqnqUgnHIr9Fo2h1cenY0/y3bvU3/wClWj06sdUy8hwqD33Fzud762D3 e6tw9tPs9lv+nZXTb/OrJ6m2jHyLsaozuJLmx7WuPuIrd/J/MUWGEPViMfUR6/7k94X/ANF0MxlQ yiXpugP6/wCjJ2utdTc9uTl9Pt3My8f0HuIO6toex7qvT/Ne99f01zXV7mZOU7LbSMY5EvfU3+aB naXUH939/wD4RQdk2bB7joCHHxB/NKHjGq0uZc8s49Ow6sYS5ose9gDnP/R/msVjDhGICumnjw+P +K1M+UZZ8VUT9luo3KZm25nUb724t9ljN1XL3m1ztrqCdnp/ZW+56uZ2Z0fFrsxaKW9Qsrrh+U8O aWuaf9EN9eQ9u7Z6n819BYePViubYdxstDiGSNNvaz+s5XMjKxhZ6tOMcc2V+lvDnESB6Vg9rh+j sb/g3oSxjiA9VDYD0DTh4R++xzEuAG78Bq//0eR6rY6rBfYIMObIInQnXQqtg9Rx/szaoFbgTBEE jvz9JXslrXUFrtoDiJ9SS357Vnn6t5bqxbQdzQSG7Y+73Oa//oqX4hwe6BI16Rr9ZLQ28fKws2wN sAPtO4EgF2o2u9hWoz6v35jQcOp1jqT/ADm5rQ1oG5o/dd/IWFiYD8O0l1O55aW+nYSwyfzhtNbt 27+UtzEzrsIMt6c631r2FmTQ5pLKy0w136Q+/wDkem5Zuax/NnXpfy/+gs2AxEwZyIxjWXjW3p/S crA6fl/b8+m692Jl4NF1lFlG4vNtRrLqWen7rGWUuf8A+fFU601vrsuqtdd60ussftDzZo2z9BV/ Me3atvIuzGdOszskurtvt9Pex7mh5Lds3Cvb6m1rfoKv9Xeg4vX8u3GZY9v2er1nPcfbFcC9z2tG 5rLXu20M+mnQyanJLaA4ZcIv+82JxBHBCVifrjxGv7v/ADWmel1bCBYH7wCACYB0+lH7qz7WNqIo eHMjd6pjuDNe0afm7fpr3PE+qH1d+ykHFY82a6gtAP5vpMJ/Rs/cXCfWb6q4d/1jHRq7n1Z2bQ6+ ixx31