Touch the Horizon by Iris Johansen Read Free Book Online
Authors: Iris Johansen
hard face softened with a smile of amusement. “Yasmin told you about that? David’s not going to be at all pleased. That little sobriquet embarrasses the hell out of him.” The smile faded, and the keen eyes once more became guarded. “However, it’s just as well you’ve been made aware of how everyone in Sedikhan feels about David. You’re wrong about his being worshiped by the people here in Zalandan, but they do love him.” His lips tightened. “And you can see David is protected by both Karim and Alex Ben Raschid, the two most powerful men in the Middle East. They’re both very ruthless men, Miss Callahan, and David is very special in their eyes. Should I tell you what would happen to anyone who tried to harm him?”
Billie’s eyes were wide with shock. The threat in Donahue’s words had been too plain to be missed. “This is as absurd as all the rest,” she said blankly. “For heaven’s sake, are you actually suspecting me of being some kind of threat to your precious Lisan?”
“I’m a very suspicious man, Miss Callahan,” Donahue answered quietly. “I’m especially suspicious of coincidences like the one that brought you and David together. You may not be a physical threat to David, though that’s a distinct possibility. Actresses have been known to be hired to play Delilah before. Particularly second-rate actresses, as you confess to being.” He shrugged. “Even if you’re not in cahoots with Ladram, there’s a chance you may be trying to hook a rich husband or protector. I assure you that Karim and Alex wouldn’t like the idea of David’s being used like that any more than they’d like him to be in physical danger.”
“I don’t even know the man,” Billie sputtered, her violet eyes blazing. “I know nothing about him. How could I possibly know that David Bradford was wealthy?”
“A little investigation would have revealed that Karim transferred a few acres of property to David three years ago as a birthday present,” he said cynically, “along with the fact that those acres are capable of yielding approximately the same amount of oil as the state of Oklahoma. It would also have made you aware that David was then in a state of near-mental retardation, a child in a man’s body. He would have been ripe for any unscrupulous manipulation you might have had in mind.”
Mental retardation. That golden man, with his wise, clear eyes? She felt a sickening pain somewhere deep inside. “No,” she whispered. “You’re lying. There’s nothing wrong with David. There couldn’t be.”
Donahue’s eyes were narrowed on her face. “You didn’t know,” he said slowly, and then a little smile lit the sternness of his face. “Unless you’re a far better actress than you claim, I’d say you didn’t have any prior knowledge of David’s background.”
“He’s not retarded,” Billie said desperately, feeling her throat tighten with tears. “He’s intelligent, sharp, witty. He may be a little eccentric, but you can’t tell me there’s anything wrong with him mentally, dammit.”
“Easy.” For the first time there was a spark of warmth in the coolness of Donahue’s eyes. “You’re right, there’s nothing wrong with David now. His mind is as keen as a scalpel, and as far as creativity goes, he’s quite brilliant. I just said that three years ago he was still suffering from a…a state like mental retardation.” His voice hardened. “While he was in college he experimented with one of the so-called mind-expansion drugs, and it damn near made a vegetable out of him. For years he was like a child, but gradually he began to regain the full powers of his mind. When Sabrina and Alex brought him to Sedikhan four and a half years ago, they weren’t sure he’d ever be well again.”
“But he did get well,” Billie murmured, feeling a profound relief and thanksgiving that was as mysterious as all her other emotions in regard to David Bradford.
“Yes, he did get well,”
Billie’s eyes were wide with shock. The threat in Donahue’s words had been too plain to be missed. “This is as absurd as all the rest,” she said blankly. “For heaven’s sake, are you actually suspecting me of being some kind of threat to your precious Lisan?”
“I’m a very suspicious man, Miss Callahan,” Donahue answered quietly. “I’m especially suspicious of coincidences like the one that brought you and David together. You may not be a physical threat to David, though that’s a distinct possibility. Actresses have been known to be hired to play Delilah before. Particularly second-rate actresses, as you confess to being.” He shrugged. “Even if you’re not in cahoots with Ladram, there’s a chance you may be trying to hook a rich husband or protector. I assure you that Karim and Alex wouldn’t like the idea of David’s being used like that any more than they’d like him to be in physical danger.”
“I don’t even know the man,” Billie sputtered, her violet eyes blazing. “I know nothing about him. How could I possibly know that David Bradford was wealthy?”
“A little investigation would have revealed that Karim transferred a few acres of property to David three years ago as a birthday present,” he said cynically, “along with the fact that those acres are capable of yielding approximately the same amount of oil as the state of Oklahoma. It would also have made you aware that David was then in a state of near-mental retardation, a child in a man’s body. He would have been ripe for any unscrupulous manipulation you might have had in mind.”
Mental retardation. That golden man, with his wise, clear eyes? She felt a sickening pain somewhere deep inside. “No,” she whispered. “You’re lying. There’s nothing wrong with David. There couldn’t be.”
Donahue’s eyes were narrowed on her face. “You didn’t know,” he said slowly, and then a little smile lit the sternness of his face. “Unless you’re a far better actress than you claim, I’d say you didn’t have any prior knowledge of David’s background.”
“He’s not retarded,” Billie said desperately, feeling her throat tighten with tears. “He’s intelligent, sharp, witty. He may be a little eccentric, but you can’t tell me there’s anything wrong with him mentally, dammit.”
“Easy.” For the first time there was a spark of warmth in the coolness of Donahue’s eyes. “You’re right, there’s nothing wrong with David now. His mind is as keen as a scalpel, and as far as creativity goes, he’s quite brilliant. I just said that three years ago he was still suffering from a…a state like mental retardation.” His voice hardened. “While he was in college he experimented with one of the so-called mind-expansion drugs, and it damn near made a vegetable out of him. For years he was like a child, but gradually he began to regain the full powers of his mind. When Sabrina and Alex brought him to Sedikhan four and a half years ago, they weren’t sure he’d ever be well again.”
“But he did get well,” Billie murmured, feeling a profound relief and thanksgiving that was as mysterious as all her other emotions in regard to David Bradford.
“Yes, he did get well,”