At Wit's End by A.K. Lawrence Page A

for asking. I wish to share my condolences on the loss of your friends. Mr Smith was always a pleasure to see.” He was talking about Kevin who used to come up to the penthouse once a week for cigars, whiskey and poker. “He was quite handy with a joke.”
    “Yes, he was. Thank you, George. Anything interesting I need to know about?”
    “Yes, sir, some boxes came for you. They’re marked as being sent from Jamaica.”
    “Did they look like they had been opened?”
    “No, sir. Shall I have them sent up?” George’s hand moved to the phone to call one of the bell boys.
    “Yes, please , but it’s not urgent, whenever they have time.”
    “As you wish, sir.”
    “How are you feeling?” Wit asked her when they’d reached his floor.
    Marie sighed. “A little shaky and antsy. My stomach is in knots.”
    “That’s the reaction from the adrenaline. In the olden days they’d have offered brandy. I’m afraid I’m all out of that but I do have some scotch or whiskey.”
    “I honestly don’t think a drink is going to help,” she told him, “but thank you. You never answered my question.”
    “Which question is that?” he was in the living room section and bent over the fireplace. She heard a whoosh and flames kicked up.
    “You said something about torturing Michael, er, I mean James?”
    “Oh, right. I haven’t planned it all out or anything, not yet. I’ll have a better take on that in,” he checked his watch, “36 hours, max.”
    “36 hours?”
    “Give or take. I entered his name into IGGY’s search before I met you to start cooking. By my estimates it will take anywhere from 12-48 hours for a search and complete compilation. Once I can see what this guy is interested in I can come up with some creative ways to make his life miserable.”
    “That sounds good in theory but this really does feel like overkill.”
    “And committing murder didn’t?” Wit raised an eyebrow.
    “I’m uncomfortable with the idea of breaking the law for revenge. Bad karma.”
    “Karma again?”
    “I know, I know that James wasn’t worried about karma when he spent months scamming me and then taking my money. Speaking of the money-“ , she trailed off.
    “That will be priority one. I already have his banking information so it’s just a matter of getting in there and circumventing some security. I’ll have to drag the money around a few places so there’s no trail that can be followed. It should be a day or so before I have that figured out.”
    “My hero,” she told him and her tone gave no indication if she was joking or not.
    “If I’m a hero my hat is gray, not white,” he quipped.
    “Was it ever black?”
    “Ah, yeah, that. We haven’t really talked about my past much.”
    “Nor your present and future, either,” she commented.
    “I don’t mean to be secretive. I have to tell you, Marie, normally I don’t meet my clients in person. It can create,” he thought for a second, “complications.”
    The fire threw shadows across his face showing her a stark contrast. Marie felt a tightening in her stomach and an urge to wrap her arms around him. After the night she’d had, why resist?
    Steadily she walked to him until her hands could reach his chest, slide up that muscled slope and come to rest at the base of his neck. His hair lightly brushed the backs of her hands.
    “Does this feel complicated?” Marie curved into his body and pulled his lips down to meet hers. She felt a slight resistance before his lips softened and his arm slid around her waist. His hand skimmed the side of her throat as he reached for her hair clip and let the wild curls fall free.
    Wit wrapped his hands in the silky mass and cupped her head, increased the pressure until their lips met.
    The emotions of the night churned within Marie, desperate for an outlet. Now she had one. Her stomach turned a hard somersault and she nearly moaned against his lips.
    With a tug on her bottom lip Wit skimmed across her jaw to nibble lightly