Page 99

She smiled, then before he knew it, she turned and smoothly slipped in through the gap.

Damn it!

He sighed.

Okay, one drink, then I send her on her way.

* * *

After Lucia drank almost half of her glass of cognac, she went and sat on the edge of the bed. And smiled seductively.

I am too drunk and too tired to throw you out, Lucia.

And perhaps my new friend Jimmy Palasota is having my room watched to see if you stay.

But that’s okay because nothing more than you staying is to happen.

Oskar then walked over and, using his hand, made a chopping motion down the center of the bedsheet. He pointed to the side of the imaginary line where Lucia was, then pointed to her. And then he pointed to his side of the imaginary line, and pointed to himself.

Lucia frowned, then nodded her understanding. She drained her glass and crawled under the sheet on her side of the imaginary line.

Oskar thought, Well, that certainly went better than I expected.

He drained his glass, then got in under his side of the sheet. On his back, he looked at the ceiling a long moment, then closed his eyes.

In the quiet darkness, Oskar could hear Lucia’s soft breathing.

Their combined body heat was quickly warming the sheets, and with that Oskar noticed that he could now really smell her.

It’s lilac. So fresh . . .

She moved to adjust her pillow, and when she did more of her warm scent seemed to engulf him.

Oskar felt himself inhaling slowly and deeply.

Then he felt a stir in his groin—and, a moment later, the sheet directly above his groin slowly began to rise.

The movement did not go unnoticed.

Oskar felt her hand slide over to him under the sheet, then wrap around his penis. She stroked and he was suddenly extremely hard.

She giggled—and then her head disappeared under the sheet.

Ach du lieber Gott!

What the hell!

I may well be in a concentration camp tomorrow.

“Oh, Lucia,” he said softly. . . .

[TWO]

Palermo, Sicily

2335 30 May 1943

“We don’t want to stay on the air a second longer than absolutely necessary,” Dick Canidy said. “Always a chance someone is listening, and I’ve about had enough excitement for one day without some SS bastard trying to triangulate on our signal.”