Until You Read Free

pillows.
    "O'Neil," he said into the phone. Mary Alice sighed as his thumb moved against her flesh.
    "Your cell phone is government property, my boy. Turning it off is a violation of the law."
    "Bull," Conor said pleasantly.
    "Did I wake you?"
    Conor shut his eyes. He pulled back his hand and rubbed it over his face. The stubble on his chin and cheeks was rough against his fingers.
    "No, Harry, of course not. I'm always up and alert at—what time is it, anyway?"
    "It's 6:00 a.m.," Mary Alice said. She flopped onto her belly and dragged the satin quilt over her naked shoulders. "Who in God's name makes phone calls at this hour on a Saturday morning?"
    Harry Thurston's chuckle rumbled softly in Conor's ear. "Did I interrupt something? If I did, I'm sorry."
    "Yeah. I'll bet."
    "But I wanted to be sure I got hold of you."
    Conor sighed. "Well, you got hold of me. What do you want?"
    "I tried reaching you at the office yesterday, four, five o'clock, somewhere around there. Rosemary said you were already gone."
    "I left at three-thirty." Conor shoved aside the quilt and swung his feet to the carpet. "Come on, Harry. You didn't call me to discuss the time I checked out of the office. What's up?"
    "I'm cold," Mary Alice mumbled. Her voice had lost some of its sullen quality. "You pulled the quilt off me, Conor."
    He half-turned, grasped the quilt and drew it over her. She caught his hand, bit the pad at the base of his thumb none too gently, then sucked the finger into her warm, moist mouth.
    The voice on the other end of the phone took on a teasing whine. "Did you pull the quilt off, Conor? I'm ashamed of you."
    Conor shook his head at Mary Alice, smiled and gently extricated his thumb from between her lips.
    "Harry," he said, "I'm warning you, I'm not in the mood for fun and games right now."
    "But I am, "Mary Alice murmured. She reached out her hand. Conor caught it as it began its search for his lap.
    "You've got one minute to get to the bottom line, Harry," he said.
    "Anybody ever tell you you've got no sense of humor, O'Neil?" Harry Thurston sighed. "Okay, okay, here's the deal. I need a favor."
    "No."
    "What do you mean, no? You don't even know what it is."
    "It's the weekend, Harry. I finished up the stuff I'd been working on—"
    "Yeah, I saw. Nice job."
    "—and now I'm off the clock."
    "I told you, this is a favor. A simple one. I need you to deliver a message to an old friend in New York. It'll take you five minutes. Ten at the most."
    "A message?"
    "That's right."
    "Whatever happened to the telephone? Or e-mail? Or Federal Express?"
    Mary Ellen kicked off the blanket and sat up. "I'll be right back," she purred. Naked hips swinging gently, she headed for the bathroom.
    "I'm only asking you to say a few words to him, Conor. We went to school together."
    "And?"
    "What a suspicious mind you have." Thurston sounded pained. "What's so unusual about asking somebody to say a few words to a friend?"
    "I don't know, Harry. It's just a feeling I'm getting. What's this message, and who am I delivering it to?"
    "Hoyt Winthrop. He has a seat on the stock exchange and—"
    "I know this is going to shock the hell out of you, but I read the papers. I know who Hoyt Winthrop is."
    "Then you know the President's considering him for an ambassadorship."
    "So?"
    "So, I just want you to tell him he's made the A list."
    Conor's eyes narrowed. "As in, the FBI said he's okay?"
    "Yes."
    "What's the matter? Did the Fibbies get evicted from their New York office? Why don't they pass the message along themselves?"
    Harry Thurston sighed. "Why must you always be so distrustful?"
    "Because I'm tired of being the guy who's up to his ass in alligators while the boys in the white hats stand around pretending they don't know who the fuck drained the water out of the swamp."
    "You have a way with words, Conor. Anybody ever tell you that?"
    Conor heard the toilet flush. The bathroom door opened and he got to his feet, walked across the room and out into the