“You were lost in thought,” he said, slowly walking toward her.
“Yes, I was…um…just…well, I had to call my father,” she stammered.
Vinny noted her demeanor. Back to being shy. Cowed. Now I understand why. She not only has Todd and Gordon bullying her, it appears that her father is the worst bully of all. And the last thing she needs is another dominant man in her life. And that’s what I am.
Looking at her tired face, he thought, she needs someone soft. Someone who will let her… He realized that he wanted to be what she needed but had no idea if he could or not. Shaking his head, forcing the battle of thoughts from his mind, he stuck out his elbow and quipped, “May I have the honor of taking you to dinner, Ms. O’Brian?”
She giggled, the first laugh she had had all day. Standing and taking his arm, she agreed. “Why yes, Mr. Malloy. It would be my pleasure.”
*
Once again Vinny laid in bed, his thoughts a tangled mess. What the fuck happened to the man who had all the answers? His mind wandered back to the dinner he had shared with Annalissa.
She asked about being a medic in the Special Forces, really listening as he described what he did. Well, the gentle version. He did not think that she could handle the realistic version. But then, she’s stronger than she seems. Stronger than she thinks. Her gaze focused on his eyes as he spoke. Not looking around to see if there was someone else who would be a better catch for the evening. He had always taken pride that most hook-ups considered him to be the prize but now realized that it was due to what they thought he could do for them in the sack…but not him as a person. This was different. She smiled when he talked about being a twin and laughed at his jokes. And all it took was one look at her guileless face to know that she was as sincere as she appeared.
When was the last time I had that? Have I ever had that? He told her tales of his brothers-in-arms, now coworkers for Alvarez Security. He talked about his friends and the women they had all fallen in love with and saved.
Realizing that he only opened up to friends he wondered, Is this friendship? Is that what’s happening here? If it was, he liked the feeling. A lot. Enjoyable, comforting, relaxing.
And then? Oh, Jesus, what a fuck-up. She had excused herself to go to the ladies’ room when two women approached him.
“We’ve been waiting forever for that little mouse to leave,” one of them had said, immediately drawing his ire.
Standing, he pushed his chair back, saying, “Not interested, ladies. Now if you’ll excuse me.”
He turned to signal their waiter so that he could pay, when the other woman grabbed his arm, saying, “That child could not possibly keep a man like you interested. What’d you say to a threesome, big boy?” She pressed against his arm, her low shirt showing her impressive breasts.
Looking down at her smirk, he knew she thought he was a sure thing. An easy man for an easy fuck. But for the first time, his dick did not even respond. Nothing about the woman was appealing. But the thought of a petite, dark-haired, green-eyed harpist stirred him like no other.
A slight gasp sounded to his right. Turning his head, he saw the look of surprise on the face of the woman that was filling his thoughts, just before she turned and walked away. Disentangling himself from the two interlopers, he told the passing waiter to put the meal on his room tab and jogged after Annalissa.
The elevator doors were just closing as he rounded the corner in the lobby. Fuck. He took the stairs to the third floor, arriving about the same time the elevator doors opened. He caught her wide-eyed expression, knowing that she had hoped to be in her room by the time he arrived.
She quickly schooled her expression, but he could still see the embarrassment. She tried to move past him, but he took her arm escorting her to her door. “Annalissa,” he said softly.
“Thank you for a lovely dinner, Vinny. I’ll just be turning in and you can…uh…enjoy your…um…evening.” She graced him with what she hoped was a bright smile.
No way, baby, am I letting it go like this. Not used to having to explain himself, he rushed in. “I was enjoying my evening…with you. What you saw? They came up and I was trying politely to move them along. I have no interest in being with anyone else.”
Her eyes peered into his, searching deeply. Cocking her head to the side, she asked, “Do you usually find women from bars to…um…be with?”
Dropping his head, he wanted to scream “No” but found he could not lie to her. “Yeah.” He sighed, shrugging his shoulders. “Yeah.”
“Please, Vinny,” she said. “I know I’m a job, but I’m here in my room safe and sound. You can come in and check to make sure my harp is here. But then you may go do…um…whatever you want to do.”
He stepped closer, his hand on her face, and could see her fighting to keep from leaning into his embrace. “I only want to be here. I have no desire to be with anyone else.” Please believe me.
He watched as she lifted her chin slightly, away from his hand and he missed her touch. “Goodnight, Vinny,” she said, turning and entering her room.
Her door shut firmly with a click and he heard the bolt latch.
And now, he was laying on his bed listening for any sound from next door. What did I think was going to happen? That she’d have a change of heart and come knocking on my door?
He had heard the shower and movement for a little while after they parted and now nothing. She must be asleep.
*
Miles away, a man placed a call, anxiety coursing through his veins.
“Talk,” was the only response when the call was answered.
“It ain’t here. I searched everywhere. Even went back to all the planes. Looked through everything. I’m telling you, it ain’t here.”
“Goddamnit! You must have missed it.”
The line was deathly silent for a moment while he swallowed loudly a few times.
“Or else you decided to take it for yourself.”
“No, no, I swear it. I ain’t lying. It ain’t here. I looked everywhere,” he said, sweat trickling down his face.
“Well, find it. Search the apartment in case it was picked up and taken there.” Rattling off the address, they said, “And do not fail to locate where it is if you want to keep your job. And your life!”
The line went permanently dead at that point, leaving him to wipe his brow once again.
What have I gotten myself into, he wondered as he looked down at the address he had written. Heading toward his car, he hoped the trip would be successful, trying to push the consequences of failure from his mind.
*
Annalissa was sitting up in bed. Sleep was not coming and no matter how much she tried to tell herself that it did not matter what the women in the bar said, it still hurt. Mouse. I’m not a mouse. Maybe I’m not an in-your-face kind of person, but that doesn’t make me a mouse. Glancing down at her slim body, she thought of their tight shirts with tons of cleavage showing. Taking her hands and pressing her breasts together, she giggled. There. If I did this all the time, then I could have men ogle my boobs too. Letting her hands drop, she sighed. I know that’s what he likes. That’s what he’s used to having. Heaving another sigh, she shook her head. It doesn’t matter. I’m who I am and what I am. I never had a shot at a man like him anyway.
She padded over to her harp case, realizing that with all the events of the day she had not taken Easnadh out. Laying the case on its side, she unsnapped it and lifted the lid. The sliver of moonlight coming in through the curtains cast a shiny shadow across her beloved instrument. As was her habit, she lovingly gazed over the entire harp, noting with pride the exquisite restoration work. Everything looked perfect…until her gaze fell upon the pedestal. Flipping on the light next to her, she peered down into the case to see what caught her eye. What is that?
The base of Easnadh’s pedestal was slightly crooked. It would not be noticed by anyone other than someone intimately acquainted with every inch of the beautiful instrument. How did that
happen? She carefully lifted her harp from its case and walked over to her bed, laying it down for further inspection. Running her fingers carefully over the wood, she noted that the harp was completely as it should be, except the base.
Bending over her task, she saw that the screws that held the base onto the pedestal were almost perfect—except for one. And it was not screwed in all the way flush with the wood. How did the screw become loose? Not wanting to leave anything to chance, she moved over to her cosmetic case, looking for a nail file to use as a screwdriver.
Lifting the harp, she turned it upside down and heard a noise from inside the hollow pedestal. Turning it back down in the correct position, she heard the noise again as something slide back down. Her brow knitted as she moved the harp several times, each time greeted with the same noise.
What’s in there? And how did something get there?
Instead of screwing the errant screw back in tighter, she removed all of the screws carefully and slowly removed the wooden base. With the harp still on the bed, she leaned over to peer inside.
Seeing several plastic bags, she reached her fingers toward the foreign objects. Stopping at the last minute, her hands hovered over the bags…someone’s put something in here. Her heart began to pound in her chest as realization slid over her. Too many nights watching TV when she could not sleep and her fingers ached from harp practice had her assuming what the bags were. Something white was in them. Oh, Jesus, someone’s put drugs in Easnadh’s case.
Whirling, she ran for the connecting door. “Vinny!” she screeched.
Hearing her cry, Vinny blew through the door, belatedly realizing he almost hit her as he rushed to her aid, his weapon drawn.
“What? What’s wrong?” he bit out as she rushed into his arms. His gaze flew around the room ascertaining that no one else was there. Seeing the harp case opened, his heart dropped. Oh, fuck. Is something wrong with her harp?
“Something’s there,” she muttered, pointing to the harp.
His brow creased as he struggled to understand. Pushing her gently away from him, he said softly, “Sit down. Let me see.”
He moved over to the instrument lying on the bed and instantly knew what he was looking at. Holy fuck. He looked over at her pale, shaking form. Stalking to her, he knelt in front of her.
“Tell me what happened,” he said. Her eyes found his but appeared dilated with shock. “Annalissa,” he said a little louder and noticed her eyes re-focused. That’s it, baby. Stay with me. “I need you to tell me what happened.”
Nodding, she described that she had forgotten to check on Easnadh, so she went over, opened the case and explained why she began looking.
“Oh Vinny, what’ll we do? Do we call the police?”
“No, not the local police.” His mind raced with possibilities. Hearing a choked sob, he turned his attention back to her.
“Who would have done this? Someone from the airport?” she asked, tears glistening on the tips of her lashes.
“Possibly. Someone could have stashed it in the airport in LA and then had someone else get it out in D.C. before it went to the claims section.” While that was the easiest explanation, he knew that it would have taken an organized effort to hide them inside of the harp. He knew instantly that the mission just became a lot more complicated.
Looking around the room, he said, “Babe, I need you to get dressed and pack your things. We’re going to a different hotel.”
She looked at him with big eyes, a confused expression on her face. “But why?”
“If someone in the Dulles airport was supposed to get it then they know by now that you didn’t land. And if someone wants this,” he glanced over at the still open case, “and they will want it, then I don’t want us in a room under our names.”
She licked her lips nervously, nodding her understanding. Quickly standing, she moved around the room gathering her belongings and throwing them in her suitcase.
He watched in admiration as she moved to the task, no tears and no hysteria. And he had to admit that seeing her again in the old fashioned, cotton nightgown from another era was breathtaking. She hurried into the bathroom, emerging a few minutes later, dressed and ready to go.
Smiling, Vinny thought, Stronger than she thinks she is. He closed up the harp case and grabbed it and her bag, ushering her into his room.
It only took a couple more minutes for him to secure his belongings as well. A quick trip in a taxi took them to a nearby hotel where he went in and paid by cash. For just one room. As he carried her suitcase and Easnadh to the room, she carried his much lighter travel bag. Opening the door, he entered quickly checking out the space.
“Where’s my room?” she asked, following him in.
“This is it,” he answered. Seeing her eyes widen in surprise, he quickly explained, “I need to keep an eye on you and I sure as hell can’t let over a quarter of a million dollars worth of cocaine out of my sight.”
Her mouth opened into an “O” and he found himself wanting to lean in and kiss the surprise right off of her delectable face.
Before she could find an objection, he added, “And I’ve got to get the Agency on this. I need everyone here together so I can do my job and watch you too.”
She pulled her lips in, hiding the hurt. His job. I’m his job. And now it just got a lot harder. Nodding her agreement, she went into the bathroom.
*
It was one a.m. in Kansas City and three a.m. in Richland, but Tony had immediately called his team together with one phone call from Vinny. Rendezvousing at the agency they gathered around the large conference table with the live feed from Vinny’s secure computer up on the screen. Gabe and Jobe immediately showed up. Lily, one of their computer software experts, along with BJ, another computer expert and security agent in training, rounded out the crew. Lily’s husband, Matt, was a detective for the Richland Police and good friend, but he was not there. Vinny had requested that Matt and his partner, Shane, go to Annalissa’s apartment and check it out.
Gabe was the first to speak, worry for his twin utmost in his mind. “Bro, you okay?”
Vinny nodded and answered in the affirmative. “Just letting you all know that I’ve got Annalissa here with me. We changed hotels so that there was no trail to where we were.”
He explained everything that had happened since meeting up with her the day before. Succinctly going through everyone they had been in contact with and all the times when the harp case had been out of their sight. “Annalissa checked it before we left for the airport and we saw it sent to claims ourselves. We picked it up in claims once everything was taken off the plane in Kansas City. So it could have happened when we were at dinner, but my guess is that it was part of a drug run from LA to DC.”
“Do you think it’s personal?” Tony asked. “It could be that an airport worker at LA just picked whatever case was convenient on a non-stop flight to DC and then would have plenty of time to let their partner know which case to look in when it landed.”
“No,” Gabe growled, “it was someone who knew how to get into the base of the harp. It was someone who knew her and knew her schedule.”
Vinny was about to answer when there appeared to be some movement on his laptop screen as he could see people at the table shifting around. Matt and Shane came into focus.
“Vinny, is Ms. O’Brian there with you?” Matt asked.
Vinny turned around, looking at her sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. Her knees were drawn up with her arms around them, as though to ward off any more unpleasantness.
“Annalissa, come over here, honey,” he called gently, not thinking about the others listening. As he was looking at her, he missed the glances shared by the ones back in Virginia when they heard his endearment.
Tony’s crew watched the screen as a slim, dark-haired woman came into sight. Her face was pinched with worry, and Vinny placed his arm around her protectively. He pointed to the laptop screen and introduced them all. “Annalissa, these are
my friends and co-workers. Everyone, this is Annalissa O’Brian.”
Lily moved the camera around so that it focused on Matt and Shane. “Ms. O’Brian, we’re from the Richland Police Department and while we have no jurisdiction where you are now, Vinny asked us to go check out your apartment.”
She nodded her understanding, although she felt as though she were in a fast paced movie and was one step behind on the plot.
Matt continued, “Ms. O’Brian, I hate to inform you, but your apartment was broken into. And from the looks of what we saw, it was trashed.”
Gasping, her hand flew to her mouth. “But why? I have nothing of value,” she cried. Vinny’s arm tightened around her shoulders, his mouth set in a tight line.
“Our assumption at this point is that whoever was expecting those drugs at the airport, may have not realized that the flight was canceled and just thought they missed you. That could be why they headed to your apartment to look for them.”
“Oh my God,” she said, slumping back into Vinny. “What do we do?” she asked, fear written on her face.
Tony spoke up, “Ms. O’Brian, let us handle things. Our job is to make sure you’re safe and Mr. Malloy is just the man to do that. We’re going to talk to him for a while and figure out our next step. Just make sure that you listen to whatever he tells you to do. Have you told anyone about what has happened? A call or text?”
“No, no one. I need to call my father in case he wonders, but honestly he wouldn’t even miss me until tomorrow. Or today. Or…oh I don’t even know what day it is!”
“Don’t worry about it. But for now, if you do talk to anyone, and that includes your father, just tell them about the plane delay but say nothing about the drugs at all. It is imperative that you keep that information completely quiet. We don’t want to tip off anyone that it has been found.”
Vinny: Alvarez Security Series Page 5
