Page 96 of Atlas
“Aye, I’m a competent handyman.”
Kit elbowed me and leaned closer. “Every cheap Irishman will tell ye that because self-made is the best way to save coins.”
“Aye, and it would go a lot faster if ye’d help,” Damian told her.
Kit sighed. “It’s a good thing that ye two are on yer way to the airport, or Damian would put ye to work. On Sunday, he had Lumi paintin’ that wall.”
“Lumi?” Atlas exclaimed with disbelief. “You’re joking.”
Damian placed his hands on his hips. “Lumi can swing a brush as good as anyone. It’s what friends do. They help each other out.”
“She even came to help him move in here last month,” Kit added.
“That surprises me,” Atlas said. “I would have thought she would rather pay someone to move you than have a sore back herself.”
“Awk, naw, moving is fitness.” Damian flexed his muscles and laughed again. “I made sure the lads took care of the heavy things. Lumi and Kit helped me figure out how to place the furniture.”
“It’s a nice place.” I looked around. “And the location is very central.”
“Aye, I’m a city rat. My wife tried to move me out to the suburbs, but I hated it.”
“I didn’t know you were married.” I looked down at his hands and saw no wedding band.
“I meant my ex-wife. We split up last year, but it took me a while to sell the house and find this beauty.” Damian spread his arms and looked around.
Atlas placed a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “We’ll see the finished result next time we stop by, and in the meanwhile, remember that I have a guestroom in Chicago if you decide to visit. That goes for both of you, of course.”
Kit and Damian smiled and promised that they would visit soon, but Atlas teased them and said they had been telling him that for the last ten years. I zoned out of the conversation a little bit, because the way Atlas had mentioned thatwewould be back had my brain over analyzing it. We had made love three times since our first time together on Sunday. If I’d been in love with him before our relationship turned physical, I was now a lost cause.
Atlas was, without doubt, the best lover I’d ever had. He was rough and domineering, but also attentive, and the combination of his mind games and his ability to read my body had me achieving multiple orgasms for the first time in my life.
Kit’s mentioning the name Niklavs Zakis made me snap out of my ruminations to see Kit hand her report to Atlas. “At least we know where he got Jolene’s new phone number and address. His wife gave them to him.”
“Who, Velna?” I raised my brow. “No, she was the one who warned me against him coming.”
Kit shrugged. “Could be that she felt remorseful about telling him. She works for Verizon. Did she tell you that?”
“No.” I let a hand run through my hair. “She told me that she was scared of him. He must have threatened her.”
“Aye, ye sure know how to pick them,” Damian said to Atlas. “From what Kit told me that Niklavs bloke headed the ball too many times.”
“Excuse me?” I frowned.
Damian tilted his head. “It’s an expression for someone who is a nutter.”
“Aye, but mind ye, that expression isn’t strong enough for Niklavs,” Kit pointed out. “That man isn’t just away with the fairies in a cute way; he’s clinically insane.”
“He would have to be crazy to try and kill someone,” Atlas muttered.
“I’ve gathered the information that we could find so far, but my American contacts are still working on the case, so if anything turns up, I’ll let ye know.”
“Thank you, Kit,” Atlas kissed her on her cheek and exchanged another man-hug with Damian whose bulging muscles were visible under his t-shirt.
I hugged them too before we left, and three hours later, we were back on board a plane, sitting in business class with cold drinks, and Kit’s report as reading material.
“I’m so happy he’s in prison and can’t hurt me anymore,” I muttered after reading two pages about Niklavs’ background. “Did I tell you that I met her once,” I nodded to the photo of Velna Zakis that was attached.
“When you worked on the case, right?”
