x
Cat savored the last remnants of her drink, feeling the coolness of the ice cube against her lips. Just as she thought the moment couldn't get any sweeter, Waverly's arm wrapped around her shoulders, pulling her close. His warm breath tickled her ear as he playfully nibbled on it, sending shivers down her spine. "Let's go up to the apartment," he whispered huskily. "We can't do it right here on the sofa." They were nestled in a cozy corner of the almost deserted lounge in the nearby hotel. The dim lights cast a romantic glow over them, and soft music filled the air, creating an intimate atmosphere that was impossible to resist. Cat felt her heart racing with anticipation as she followed Waverly toward their private sanctuary, knowing their night was only beginning.
She nestled her head against his strong shoulder, feeling the warmth of his body enveloping her. "Who's to say what the night will bring? Perhaps it was just a fleeting moment, a trick of fate," she murmured, a playful smile dancing on her lips. But when he gently lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers, all doubts faded. Her laughter tinkled like wind chimes in the breeze as he pulled her closer, their hearts beating as one. "And who cares about the broken air conditioning?" she whispered breathlessly, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Maybe it's fate's way of keeping us close together."
."On the contrary, Cat. I think we'll have to worry about sliding apart."
"You sure you wouldn't like just one more drink before we go into that hothouse?"
"I can't," he said, shaking his head in mock seriousness. "I'm going to be busy tomorrow and tomorrow night. Sobriety has to be the word."
"Maybe abstention would be a good idea too. I could go back to my air-conditioned place." But when she looked up at him, her sardonic expression softened. "I wouldn't do that, honestly. Air conditioning or no air conditioning, it doesn't make any difference to me as long as I'm with you."
"Okay, then it's settled. Let's trip on up to the Waverly hothouse." He tossed some money on the table, then waited until she checked how much he'd left. She'd learned he was one of those Americans who could never understand the value of another country's money. Twice he'd left too much, and twice a waiter had come running after them because he hadn't paid the whole bill.
"You're generous tonight, but not overly so. Let him keep that oversized tip. I'm so ready to get up there that I don't want to wait for your change."
They strolled through the warm streets arm in arm, occasionally slowing or stopping to kiss briefly, the anticipation of the night ahead enough to make words unnecessary. As the elevator carried them to his floor, he pulled her into his arms in a long, deep kiss. The automatic door had opened and was already closing when he realized they'd stopped at his floor.
"We've got a choice," he whispered, searching for the 'open door' button on the elevator panel. "We can do it here and ride up and down all night, or we can get off and go into my apartment."
She rubbed against him. "I'm ready to go anywhere with you, but the bed in there will be softer, my love." The door reopened for the 3rd time as the warning buzzer sounded, and they stepped reluctantly out and down the hall.
After opening the door, he backed in, one arm again around Cat as he fumbled for the wall switch. She wiggled out of his grasp. "The first one to get their clothes off wins..." She stopped in mid-sentence as she tripped over an object in the dark.
As she fell, Waverly snapped on the lights. Her scream was an echo to the brilliance that flooded the room, almost as if the sudden light had scared her. Even before Cat's scream faded, the light illuminated the object she'd tripped over. Red, sticky blood reflected on her hands, for she had touched what had once been a man's face. It was now a hideous, barely identifiable mass. The features were so battered that a stranger would never have been able to speculate what the man once looked like.
Revolted by the bloody mess, she fell against the couch, where she buried her face in her hands, whimpering with fright.
Waverly knelt beside her, pulling her head onto his chest and murmuring in her ear. It took a moment for him to identify the body, for the features were distorted. But he could tell that the man was Binghamton's agent, Torres, the one who had visited him the day before at the hotel, and warned him about the raid on Colon. Waverly could tell instinctively that the hit had been done very professionally. There was no need to check anything on the body until Cat was calmed down.
As her whimpering turned into sobs, he spoke more firmly. "Come on, let me take you into the bedroom. I'll help you to your feet, but for God's sake don't look back at him." He half carried her to the bedroom, sitting her on the bed. Wetting a cloth in the bathroom, he washed the blood from her hands and face. He soaked another cloth for a moment in cold water, then brought it back and laid it across her forehead.
She opened her eyes for the first time, her fear still evident. "I'm sorry. I've seen corpses before....just weeks ago at the airport. It didn't bother me then. I didn't mean to lose control, honestly, I didn't." She wiped more tears from her cheeks. As quickly as her control evaporated, Waverly noted, it was coming back---almost as if she could turn it on and off.
"Don't worry. Just relax. You were shocked, that's all. That was part of their idea---to scare the hell out of me." He stroked her cheek lightly with his fingers. "After all, it wasn't what you were looking forward to when we walked in."
She half smiled, blinking back the last of her tears. "No...no, I guess not. Do you know who he is?"
Waverly nodded. "I met him briefly. I guess it's better if I tell you more about myself....if you're still going to want to hang around with me."
"I do."
He used his handkerchief to wipe away the remnants of her tears. After getting her a glass of water, he related more of his reasons for being in Panama, but there were no names mentioned. She listened calmly, never saying a word, nodding occasionally. Much of it she had heard once before.
When he finished, she said simply, "I hadn't quite expected that, but I knew you were up to something, especially when you wanted me to meet Enrique." She placed a hand on his. "But please....please be careful with Enrique. He's a good friend, a very special one. Will you promise me?"
He nodded. "I promise."
"Thank you." Her eyes widened. "Don't I remember seeing something on the floor, near that man's body? Or maybe it's my imagination. Oh, I don't know." She shook her head. "I could be imagining just about anything at this point."
"I'll go look." In a moment he was back in the bedroom with an envelope in his hands.
"What's that?"
"An airline ticket---to Miami. It's in my name and it's for tomorrow's flight."
"That's it?"
"No, not quite. Someone left a short invitation suggesting that I'd join my friend there if I didn't take that flight." He turned the ticket envelope over in his hands and saw something was on the back.
"I saw that too," Cat said. "What is it?"
"It looks like blood...almost like writing." His brows knit as he tried to determine what it said. "Here, I can't make it out. Looks like Spanish."
"Let me see." Cat was sitting up now and she took it from him, turning it over in her hands. "It is Spanish, but I don't understand."
"What does it say?"
"By sea....but I don't know what that means....just by sea."
"He must have scrawled that before he died. I'm sure it has something to do with tomorrow night's raid at Colon."63Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM6qBZBz8yg
