Vinny sensed the panic in her, so he tugged on her arm, pulling her toward him. Thinking of what Jobe told him, he said, “Look at me, babe. Keep your eyes on me.” She held his gaze, fear in her expression.
Not taking his eyes off of hers, he said softly, “Annalissa, do you know what I thought when I first met you? I heard the sound of a harp and swear to God, I knew then what the angels play. Then I saw you, only I didn’t know it was you. I had no idea you were the mission. I just knew that you were the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. And it wasn’t the makeup or the princess dress. I felt that anyone as pretty as you who could bring so much music to life, was someone I wanted to know.”
She sat mesmerized, hanging on to every word. He continued, “Yes, you started out being a mission from Alvarez Security. But as I got to know you, everything changed. You became my mission. Mine. Mine to protect. Mine to guard over. Mine to…” he hesitated. “Care for.” Love. It’s really love, isn’t it?
He leaned toward her, slightly pulling on her hand. Meeting him halfway, her lips were ready and willing. He kissed her softly, at first, before taking the kiss deeper.
“We’re here,” Marc’s voice cut into their moment, a smile on his face. She jerked her gaze from Vinny’s and saw that they were taxiing on the runway.
She looked back at Vinny’s grinning face, narrowing her eyes. Was he just saying all of that to take my mind off of landing?
He saw her question and immediately pulled her back close to him. “Meant every fuckin’ word, baby. Every. Word.”
Her smile spoke volumes. It made her beautiful face exquisite. It filled his heart with hope.
Chapter 11
As soon as they exited the plane and thanked Marc, Vinny looked up at an approaching man and greeted him enthusiastically. Grabbing him in a bear hug, he said, “Glad you’re the one greeting us, bro.”
Gabe laughed then sobered as he saw the slim, pale woman standing to the side. He walked over immediately, reaching out his hand. “Ms. O’Brian, welcome back to Virginia. I’m Gabe. You’ve had a difficult couple of days and Alvarez Security wants to make sure that we can do whatever’s necessary to ensure your safety.”
She placed her delicate hand into his large one, noticing that he gave a gentle squeeze…like his brother. Her gaze had not left his face until Vinny walked up to stand next to his twin. Oh my God, two of them! Almost identical, she smiled seeing their subtle differences. Gabe was handsome…but Vinny? Only he made her hand tingle when he touched her.
Settling into the comfortable company SUV, they began the quick drive into Richland.
“Are you taking me home?” she asked, tired and hungry.
Gabe and Vinny exchanged looks through the rear-view mirror. “Babe, your apartment is still a crime site.”
Sighing heavily, she nodded sadly. “But I need to see my things.” Not getting a response, she added, “So where are we going?”
“Alvarez Security, Ms. O’Brian,” Gabe answered.
She looked toward the man in the front seat. “Please, call me Annalissa.” Smiling, she leaned over toward Vinny, closing her eyes. Soon, she was sound asleep.
Vinny looked down at her face, peaceful in slumber once again. Looking up, he said, “Bro, we’ve had nothing to eat since last night. Any chance there could be some food when we get there?”
“No problem,” Gabe said easily, placing a call.
*
A gentle shake pulled Annalissa from her dreams. “Come on, babe. We’re here,” Vinny called. Opening her eyes, she felt his hands assist her up. She looked out of the windows, seeing that they were in an underground garage. Gabe was already out of the SUV and had moved to the back to grab their bags.
Vinny opened the door and leaned in to pluck her from her seat. “Whoa, I can walk, you know?” she called, throwing her arms around his neck.
“Yeah, but I’d like to have you in my arms anyway,” he said. “Plus, I want to make sure your feet are all right now.”
They walked up the stairs leading to a small lobby, and down a hall through double doors into a large area that could only be described as the hub of the agency. Tables, desks, computers, large screens on the walls, maps and more equipment than she had ever seen adorned every space.
She was startled when behind them the clapping began. Vinny turned around and stood proudly with her in his arms, staring at the faces of his friends and brothers-in-arms. Tony, Gabe, Jobe, BJ, and Lily were all there. Plus Lily’s husband, Matt, and his partner, Shane. Vinny was surprised to see Tony and Gabe’s wives, Sherrie and Jennifer, as well.
Completely overwhelmed, Annalissa simply clung to Vinny’s neck, wishing the floor would swallow her up. She knew what she looked like…death warmed over. The men created a wall of masculinity. All tall, built, and looking like the kind of men you want to have your back when things get tough. And the women? Beautiful. With warm eyes and friendly smiles.
Vinny noticed her tightened grip on his neck and could see the blush cross her face. Tony stepped up as Vinny gently set her on the floor, keeping his arm protectively around her. He did not miss the looks that passed between the men and the smiles that passed between the women.
“As you may have guessed, this is the amazingly talented Annalissa O’Brian. Annalissa, this is Tony Alvarez, the man in charge.”
After the rest of the introductions had been made, Vinny turned her around so that she was focusing on just him. “Babe, they’ve got some food for us and I know you’re hungry. Do you want to get cleaned up first?”
“Oh yes. I look and feel absolutely disgusting.”
Chuckling, he nodded. “Go with the ladies; they’ll take care of you and then bring you right back here to me.”
Sherrie and Jennifer took her hands, leading her down the hall to a ladies’ room that was more like a small locker room, which included a shower. Sherrie pulled out a small bag filled with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and moisturizer. “I brought anything I could think of when Tony called.”
“Thank you,” Annalissa said. “I’m sorry you had to come out tonight.”
“Oh, honey,” Sherrie said with a smile. “Tony and the others have been here almost round the clock since you two had to go rogue. This gave me a chance to see my husband.”
Jennifer pulled out some clean underwear, along with navy yoga pants and a pink t-shirt. “We brought some clean clothes as well. Go on and get in the shower and we’ll be right here in case you need us.”
The warm water sluiced over her bruised and scratched body, washing away the dirt and sweat. Annalissa could not remember when washing her hair felt so good as she scrubbed her scalp. She could have stayed in the shower for much longer, but knowing the two women were waiting for her had her hurrying. Wrapping a towel around her hair, she quickly put on the clothes they had brought. As she walked out of the shower area, she saw the two women sitting on a bench with a cosmetic bag between them.
Jennifer held up deodorant and Sherrie’s hands were filled with different scented body lotions. Annalissa rushed forward, saying, “Oh my God, you’re lifesavers.” She grinned as the others handed her the bag so that she could finish getting ready.
“Were you really hiking in the woods and had to camp out overnight in a tree?” Sherrie asked.
Nodding, Annalissa said, “Yes, and I have to tell you, I was terrified. I’ve never been out in woods before and I kept staring down looking for snakes.”
Jennifer stood, giving her a hug, saying, “Well, I think you’re very brave. Gabe kept me informed as the past three days have dragged on and I know he was worried too.”
“Gabe was worried? But Vinny was fine. It was nothing to him,” Annalissa explained.
Giggling, Jennifer continued. “Oh, he wasn’t worried about Vinny. We all knew he could take care of himself. But it was you we were worried about. We knew this would’ve been hard for you.”
Annalissa looked at the two women, staring at her with…concern? “But why would everyone be concerned
about me? I’m just a stranger.”
Sherrie and Jennifer shared a look, smiling. Stepping up to place her hands on Annalissa’s shoulders. “At first you were just the mission, and we would’ve been concerned no matter what. But then you became Vinny’s mission. And that was when we knew you were part of us.”
Blushing, Annalissa pulled in her lips, not knowing what to say.
“Go ahead and finish getting ready,” Jennifer said. “You’ve got to be exhausted and the group will want to talk to you tonight.” Walking over, she gave Annalissa a hug. “Look, if you ever need to talk…about anything…just let me know.”
The women finished and headed back out into the main room. She was wearing flip-flops that Sherrie had provided because Vinny had left specific instructions to not have anything on her feet until they could be looked at again.
She walked into the room, seeing everyone around a large table, now filled with take-out Chinese alongside their computers and equipment. The tantalizing smell of the food drifted toward her, propelling her into the room full of strangers.
Vinny stood, smiling, and stalked directly to her. His hair was damp from his own shower and the scent of his body wash filled her senses. Having no idea of the rules now that she was safely back in Richland, she stood nervously watching him come closer. He did not stop until he was directly in front of her, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her tightly into his chest. Her face hidden from the others…smiled. She had to admit, this felt right.
*
Vinny knew exactly what he was doing. This very act of affection, was also a proclamation. She was his. His own personal mission. Kissing the top of her head, he stepped back, taking her hand, leading her over to the table. As he seated her next to him, he glanced down at her red feet. “We need to get your feet checked out.”
Gabe scooted his chair back and went to get the medical kit, walking back with it in his hands. “You want me to look at them, bro?”
Vinny had been the backup medic, but knew that Gabe’s experience was more than his, so he agreed. She looked up at him, questioning in her eyes.
“Let him check ’em out, babe. I got them cleaned and bandaged, but I’d feel better if someone else took a look.”
She watched him sit next to her, leaning down to place her feet in his lap. Gabe knelt down and applied antiseptic to her broken blisters before wrapping them in soft gauze. “That’ll keep ’em clean while you’re here, but take it off tonight when you go to bed and let them air out.”
“No problem,” Vinny answered, absentmindedly rubbing his hand on her leg as Gabe finished.
Biting her lips, Annalissa felt like she had entered the twilight zone…once again. A gorgeous man had his hands on her feet while Mr. Alpha himself had his arm around her…in front of his friends. Five other handsome men and their women were sitting around all smiling at her. And Vinny called me ‘babe’ in front of them all.
Settling around the table several minutes later, they all began eating and talking. Matt looked over, saying, “Ms. O’Brian, I’m assuming that you want to know about your apartment.” Seeing her wide-eyed nod, he began. “When we got the call from Tony about what was happening, we went to your place to see if there was any trouble there. And it had already been broken into.”
Shane added, “We won’t know until you take a look at everything to see what might have been taken, but it was probably someone searching for the drugs. Things were tossed around, but it looked like your more expensive items were left there.”
Staying silent, she just nodded, not knowing what to say. I guess I’ll see it tonight, when I get home.
Tony took over the reporting at this point. “Here’s what we know so far,” he said, looking at both Vinny and Annalissa. “We’re working with Jack Bryant’s group on this. His DEA contact has told us that the bag was filled with cocaine. They’re looking at the security tapes from the airport, but everything we’re hearing indicates that this was not just a couple of low-lifes at the airports trying to send drugs. Once they figured out that you had not landed and they had not missed you at the airport, they put things into motion. It was known that you were traveling by land. And then there were the attacks on you two. This indicates big money, big backing, and high stakes.”
“But if the drugs were in Easnadh’s case, why did they trash my apartment?” she asked.
“Well, Ms. O’Brian—”
“Please call me Annalissa,” she interrupted shyly.
Tony nodded before continuing. “Annalissa, we are considering that whoever was supposed to get the drugs on this end may not have realized right away that your plane was delayed. They may have thought that they missed you and went to see if you were home with your harp.”
“So…someone broke into my house? But what if I had been there? What if we had taken another flight and I’d…I’d been home?” she asked, her voice rising.
Silence met her for a moment, so she jerked her head around. “Vinny?”
With one arm around her shoulder, he moved his other hand to cup her face. “That didn’t happen and baby, it’s not gonna happen.”
She looked around the room at the fierce looks from all of the men and the determined expressions on the faces of the women. Licking her lips, she said, “I…I don’t know what to do with all of this.”
Once again Tony nodded. “That’s why we’re here, Annalissa. Our job is to keep you safe and work with DEA and the police. We also have to assume that you were the specific target for carrying the drugs. Which,” he continued as he watched her carefully, “means that you have probably been used to carry drugs before.”
At this proclamation, Vinny cursed as she visibly paled.
“Who would do that?”
“Whoever it was has resources. This isn’t just someone who wanted an easy way to get drugs through security. This is someone with the ability to find out what hotel you were at, what rental car you had, and could get someone on the road following you.”
Matt said, “Annalissa, we’re going to need to have a long interview with you, but we can wait a day. We know you’re exhausted right now, but we’d like you back here tomorrow. We can do our interviewing here so that Tony’s group will be involved. Jack’s DEA contact will be here as well.”
She only nodded, not knowing what else to do. Everyone stood up, the women coming over to offer hugs and assurances that they would see her soon. As they filed out with calls of seeing them tomorrow, she turned to Vinny. “I don’t have a way home. Can you take me?”
He held her gaze for a moment, a strange look in his eyes. Slowly nodding, he just smiled. “Yeah, I’m taking you home.”
Lifting her chin slightly, she forced a smile. Hearing Tony call out her name, she turned to him.
“I know this is hard for you, but everyone you know right now is suspect. Your manager and agent have been calling. We’ve told them nothing about where you were or what was happening. Your father knows only what we had you tell him and that your harp was picked up by one of us. At this point he assumes that you have the harp.”
“Yes, well Easnadh is very important to him…although I actually own it.” Seeing Tony and Vinny’s look of surprise, she added, “He enjoys the notoriety from having the antique harp played at the symphony and loves for me to travel with it. It gives him something else to have Todd release to the press when I am playing.”
She walked over to grab her purse and backpack missing the look shared by the others.
The words she just said swirled around their heads: he wants me to keep traveling… Perhaps, her father may need to move up to the top of the list of suspects.
*
Annalissa was quiet once she and Vinny were in his truck leaving Alvarez Security. Her mind was filled with thoughts that swirled around until she was exhausted. Not noticing where he was driving, she was surprised when he pulled into another parking garage and turned off the truck.
Before she could question where they were, he turned to face her. �
��Babe, we’re home. My home.”
“But…why are we here? What about my home?”
“Right now, your home is still trashed and until I can go with you, I’m not having you there by yourself. And…I want you with me.”
Biting her lip in indecision, she quickly realized that he was right. Where else am I going to go right now? Not dad’s. Sucking in a deep breath, she agreed. “Okay, but just for tonight.”
Grinning, he moved to her door and assisted her out of his truck. Tagging her hand, he led her through an impressive lobby, greeting the concierge, and into the elevator. Seeing her face, he laughed. “Yeah, I live here. Gabe used to also, but he and Jennifer and her little brother live in a house now. Jobe still lives here. There’s a gym and an indoor pool. Which by the way, we’re going to start using. I owe you swim lessons.”
By the time he finished his explanations, they were on the fourth floor and at his door. Stepping in, she was stunned. She had expected a bachelor pad, complete with beer cans in the window sill, pizza boxes on the counter and a guitar on the sofa. She gazed around the room, seeing the large open floor plan with the living room flowing into the dining room. He had decorated in dark tones with a few accents of bold color. The gray L-shaped sofa was big enough to hold several of his friends, all as large as him. Two leather recliners flanked the sofa and faced a wide screen TV. The rug and lamps were in a dark green.
The dining room furniture was dark wood with green chair cushions and his kitchen had stainless steel appliances with green accents on the walls. She turned to him, curiosity written on her face. “Did you…decorate this place?”
Laughing, he said, “I’m not a complete Neanderthal.” She giggled and the sound hit him in the gut. I want to hear that sound every day for the rest of my life. Taking her hand he gave her a quick tour. The second bedroom was set up as a study and she wondered where she would sleep. Before they could move down the hall further his phone rang.
Looking down, rolled his eyes and said, “I gotta take this. It’s mom and I’m sure she’s been blowing up Gabe’s phone for three days.”
Vinny: Alvarez Security Series Page 12
