The Scribe - Hunter Elizabeth (библиотека книг бесплатно без регистрации TXT) 📗

A voice from the television caught her attention.

“What was that?” she asked.

Leo lifted an eyebrow. “What?”

“The TV.”

He’d already flipped past the channel. The one he’d stopped on looked like a soap opera set in Topkapi Palace.

“Turn it back.”

“Turn it back to what?”

Ava stood and grabbed the remote.

“Hey!”

Not that. Not that. Not that… There.

“Him.” She pointed at the TV. It was a news program, and an old man was being interviewed on the screen. “That man. What language is he speaking?”

Leo frowned. “That’s Farsi. It’s a Persian program; I’m surprised they even have it at this—”

“No.” Ava shook her head. “I’ve heard Farsi. I’ve been to Iran. That doesn’t sound like Farsi.”

The bodyguard shrugged. “Well, it is. His accent is odd. Let me…” Leo’s voice trailed off as he listened intently. After a few minutes, he said, “He’s Assyrian; that’s why it sounds different. He’s speaking Farsi with an Assyrian accent. They’re interviewing him for a cultural program. It’s just a different part of Iran. The accent is different.”

Her heart sank. “Oh.”

“Why did you want to know?”

“I didn’t… It just reminded me of a language I heard once. That’s all.” Ava watched the old man for a few more moments, memorizing the rise and fall of his voice before she handed the remote control back to Leo. It had to be a coincidence, but for a brief second, the man had sounded like he was speaking the silent tongue of the voices she’d heard her whole life. Ava had studied languages. She’d traveled the globe, listening to accents and intonation. The peculiar rhythm of foreign lands. She’d spent years searching for the language that haunted her.

She was never successful.

Leo was still watching her, clearly suspicious of her excitement over the news program. She concentrated on the computer screen, ignoring him, but his silent voice was colored with curiosity.

Ava tried to change the subject. “So how many languages do you speak?”

“I…” He hadn’t been expecting the question. “I’ve never counted, to be honest.”

“That many?”

Leo shrugged. “I’m not fluent in all of them, but I speak many. It helps when you travel.”

“Have you worked for Malachi long?”

“We, uh, we work for the same company. He’s more senior than I am, but we’ve both worked for the company a long time.”

“Oh?” She continued fiddling with the color balance on one file. “You’re not from Istanbul, I’m guessing.”

“Outside Moscow, originally. But I’ve traveled a lot.”

Ava snorted a little. He couldn’t have been older than his late twenties. Of course, she knew firsthand you could cover a lot of ground when you wanted to avoid home.

Leo asked, “How about you?”

“Malachi didn’t tell you?”

“No.” His answer caused Ava to look up. He’d finished his sandwich and was wiping his mouth. “He wouldn’t. He hardly talks at all except to yell at me and my cousin if we drink his beer and don’t replace it. He’s known for being very focused when he’s on a job.”

For some reason, Ava found that endearing. It sounded like her shadow was a cranky old man to more than just her.

“I’m from L.A.”

“Really?”

“Yep. And I hate it.”

Leo laughed, a deep chuckle that filled the lounge and made her smile.

“So that’s why you travel all the time? Because you don’t like home?”

“Among other reasons.” She couldn’t concentrate on her work. Leo’s silent voice was alive with excitement, like a little kid just begging to play. She finally snapped her laptop case shut. “Why don’t we go for a drink? There’s a cafe on the corner. I feel like getting out of here.”

“I don’t know…”

She could tell he was uncomfortable with the idea, but Ava knew drowning out Leo’s presence would be easier in a crowd. Hopefully, he could blend in with the group of people and create a white noise affect that wouldn’t pierce her temple.

“Okay,” she said, standing. “How’s this? I’m going to go for a drink because you’re not, in fact, my babysitter. Then you can follow me, like I know Malachi told you to do. You can either sit with me or lurk suspiciously on the edge of the room. It’s up to you, but I’m going.” She packed her laptop in the case and walked down the hall to her room. Within moments, she was back in the lobby, and Leo was waiting, glancing at his phone like he was expecting a message.

Ava nodded at it. “You already tell on me?”

“It’s just… Malachi said you usually stay in at night.”

“That’s when I’ve been walking all day. I’m not tired. I want a drink.” She brushed past him and opened the door, nodding at the burly doorman on the way out. “See you.”

She was barely at the curb when Leo caught up with her.

“Are you always so stubborn?” he asked.

“Yes.”

The man was looking around as if he expected commandos to come pouring out of the fashionable doorways of the Sultanahmet. Ava shook her head.

“Seriously, Leo, relax. You’re too young to worry this much.”

“Haha.”

“You’re not even going to drink, are you?”

“Not if I want to remain living.”

Ava was halfway through a bottle of very mediocre red wine when she noticed it. First one had drifted in. Then another.

“Whoa.”

“What?” Leo looked up from his phone. He’d been madly texting someone for the last ten minutes. Ava was guessing Malachi was busy. Too busy to worry about her, anyway. Poor Leo. He was tense, poised on the edge of his seat like a dog waiting for a command. He hadn’t drunk anything, not even the tea the waiter had set in front of him at the cafe that looked down to the water. Ava had visited before, but not at night. It was a decidedly different crowd. A football match was playing on the television, and young people of every nationality hung on the score. It was definitely a tourist place, but a friendly one. And that night, it had more than its share of very pleasant scenery.

“You probably haven’t noticed unless you’re into guys, but this bar has suddenly become hot guy central.” She looked around in wonder. It couldn’t just be her imagination. Every woman in the place seemed to be under a spell. The whole place was full of wildly handsome men. “Is there some kind of… modeling conference in town? Fashion week or something?”

“I don’t know,” Leo said tersely, still typing madly on his phone.

“This is so weird. I mean, I’m not complaining—”

“Whatever you do,” Leo interrupted as he stood. “Do not leave this spot. I need to make a call, and I need to be able to see you through the window.”

She sneered automatically. “Hey, buddy—”

“I’m serious, Ava.” He did look serious. “Don’t leave. And avoid talking to anyone if you can. I’ll be right outside.”

Her eyes narrowed as she watched him walk away. Leo glared at one of the handsome men who sat in the corner with two women draped over his arms. The man turned and locked eyes with Ava; she glanced away, looking for Leo, but he was already outside. What was with him? Was one of these guys with his ex-girlfriend, or something?

There was the one Leo had passed, sitting by the door with two women. He looked like someone she’d seen in an underwear ad. There were two other men sharing a table on the opposite side of the bar. They might have been brothers with their stunning blue eyes and dark brown hair. They were currently the focus of at least five fawning women. There was a blond by the hallway leading toward the restrooms, and still another sitting directly across from her, giving her sultry dark eyes that did absolutely nothing but make her think of a self-absorbed actor she’d dated once in college.

“Whatever,” she muttered and refilled her glass. She was starting to get a perfectly nice buzz that was helping to drown out the voices. The last thing she needed was bossy men ordering her around or coming on to her. She was tempted to leave the place, just for spite. But… She wasn’t going to waste a perfectly good—well, adequate—bottle of wine.