Summer Escape

by Peyton Banks

  He winced on the inside, knowing that he had pulled that in the past a few times. Once the woman fell asleep, he’d slip out of the bed and leave, never looking back.

  “Are you leaving today?” he asked. He cursed, wishing he could switch his flight. He was scheduled to leave tomorrow after his meeting with the director of sales of the resort.

  “I’m going to try my best. I just don’t feel like dealing with Vin when he gets here.”

  “Here, let me put my contact information in your phone. Call me, and I’ll escort you to the airport.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled up at him. He needed to leave and contact Knox. He needed to dig up more information on Vincent Snider. The guy needed to go ahead and move on with one of his bimbos. He’d messed up his relationship with this woman, and Gage was moving in.

  Marina Carter was his.

  Chapter Seven

  The airlines would only be able to move her flight to the red eye that night. She was ready to leave now. She didn’t want to see Vin. Marina didn’t have anything else to say to him. He was officially free and could go out and have any female he wanted. She walked out onto the hotel’s balcony that looked over the ocean. It was a lounge area where guests could relax and enjoy the view of the beach.

  She found a seat and swiped the screen on her phone and dialed her father’s number. She knew that he would be at work, but he always answered his private cell phone when she called.

  “Hello!” Her father answered on the first ring.

  “Did you tell Vin where I was?” she asked without a greeting.

  “Marina? How could I tell him where you are if you won’t tell me?”

  She paused at the answer. Then how the hell did Vin know where she was? Did he have a tracker on her or something?

  He wouldn’t.

  Would he?

  “Marina?” Her father’s voice broke through her thoughts. “What’s wrong?”

  “Claire called me this morning, saying that Vin called her, boasting that he knew where I was, and that he was coming to drag me home.”

  “That seems like an odd choice of words. I mean, I don’t quite understand why the break up, but I’m sure you kids will make up.”

  “Not this time, Daddy.” She shook her head as she stared off at the ocean.

  “Couples argue, baby.”

  “I caught him with a woman sucking his dick, Dad.” Silence met her brash statement. She figured she went too far, but she had to make her father see that the man he thought was perfect for her was far from it.

  “What?” her father asks quietly, letting her know that he heard what she’d said.

  “I’m not repeating myself, Father. It’s been over for a long time. He can’t keep his eyes or hands off of women. I can’t marry someone like that.”

  “Baby, I didn’t know. I swear to you, I didn’t know.” Her father shushed someone in the background. She could tell he was moving away to a quieter room. “He was so set on working with me and developing an alliance with his company here in Washington. He swore to me that he was loyal to you, and that all the rumors I questioned him about were just rumors. Your mother would have my hide if she were here.”

  Marina smiled at the memory of her mother. Her mother never took any shit from her father, and was never afraid to put him in his place.

  God, she missed her mother. It had been almost ten years since she’d passed.

  “I miss her so much.” Marina sighed.

  “I’ve failed you as a father—”

  “Don’t say that!” Marina cut him off. She didn’t want to have this emotional conversation with him over the phone while she was so far away from home. “I’m coming home, and should be there in the morning. How about when I get settled, I drive into D.C. and we can go to dinner together.”

  “I’d like that, my dear.” Her father agreed. “So, where are you?”

  “The Bahamas.” She chuckled.

  “And you left Claire behind? You must have been pissed,” he said with a laugh.

  “No, not pissed. Just needed a change so I can try to figure out what my next move will be.”

  “You make sure you stay safe. You know I don’t like you traveling alone.”

  “I’m okay, Daddy.” She sighed. Her thoughts went back to Gage, lecturing her last night when she left her door unlocked. “I met someone.”

  “Really?” her father asked carefully. “You sure this isn’t too soon? What do you kids call it? Rebounding?”

  “A rebound? No. I’ve been checked out my relationship with Vin for a while now. This guy I met is nice, and he owns a security firm or something,” she said, leaving out all the other details that Claire was trying to squeeze out of her earlier.

  Memories of Gage and his tongue had her squirming in her chair. She had to get a grip. She couldn’t go down memory lane while on the phone with her father. That just wasn’t right.

  “What is this mysterious man’s name? May I ask?”

  “Gage Marks,” she replied with a silly grin. She couldn’t even think of him without a smile forming on her face.

  “That name is familiar. Hold on.” He put her on hold. She returned a wave to a little girl who walked past with her parents. She reminded Marina of her kids back at home. Once summer was over, she would be back at work, doing a job that she loved. “I knew I knew that name. I reached out to his company a few weeks ago and have a meeting with him in a couple weeks.”

  “Really?” she asked, curiosity getting the best of her. Did Gage know who she was?

  “Yes. His company is one of the best, and I wanted to meet with him to discuss some local security issues that we’re having and consult him.”

  She kept that information in her back pocket. Come to think of it, they hadn’t done much talking after they got back to the hotel after their snorkeling adventure.

  “Sweetie, I have to go. I have a meeting in five minutes. Love you.”

  “Love you, too, Daddy.” She disconnected the call, and worry started to set in.

  How did Vin know where she was? She wasn’t afraid of him, but something in the back of her mind didn’t sit right with her. She looked at her watch and figured she’d take a nap before it was time for her to get to the airport. It wasn’t like she was able to sleep last night. She was still a little sore from her all night sex session with Gage. She’d promise him that she would call him when she was ready to go.

  She made her way through the lobby and headed for the elevators. There weren’t many people lounging around the lobby. They were probably out enjoying the ocean.

  “So, here’s my little whore of a fiancé,” a familiar voice announced from behind her. She paused from shock. She slowly turned, and Vin stormed toward her. The look of anger on his face was one she was not familiar with.

  “Excuse me?” she gasped. How dare he call her a whore. If anyone needed to be throwing out names, it would be her.

  “Oh, you heard me,” he snapped, grabbing her arm and dragging her toward the elevator.

  “Get off me! You’re hurting me! What is wrong with you?” she cried out, trying to pull away from him. She dug her feet in one place, but it was useless. The marble floors just allowed him to pull her along behind him.

  “I’m tired of playing around with you. You’re not leaving me. I have too much money at stake,” he growled, hitting the up button on the elevator. “You’re getting your shit and we’re heading home.”

  “What?”

  Who was this man? Out of all the years they’d been together, she’d never seen this side of him.

  “Get your shit and we’re out of here.”

  Chapter Eight

  Gage stalked through the doors of the main lobby. He had been able to move his meeting up with the sales director, stating he had a family emergency at home. Mr. Stone had been gracious enough to meet with Gage today, and the meeting went well. From everything he’d seen at the resort, and the numbers that were presented to him, he was pleased. He immediately sen
t Grace an email, telling her to move forward with the planning of the convention.

  Now that that was over, he’d go ahead and move his flight up so that he could leave tonight with Marina. She had texted him her flight times, and that she would be relaxing until it was time for her to head to the airport.

  Knox had been able to come through for him again with the latest information on Vincent Snider. The information had red flags all over it. Apparently, Vin, as his close friends called him, had made some extremely bad deals, and had gotten mixed up with the wrong crowd. Knox was able to dig up his ties with the Masini crime family. He owed them a large sum of money, and was using his ties to Marina’s father as a way to get out of trouble.

  Gage would be damned if Marina would be dragged into Vincent’s mess. The Masini family was one of the largest, and most vicious organized crime organizations around. Gage and his company had been contracted out with the government before to provide protection for certain government officials who had went against the mafia.

  He walked through the front lobby and headed toward the elevators. His phone buzzed in his pocket.

  “Yeah?” he answered, knowing it was his longtime friend, Jude Byler. They had served together, and when Jude had retired, he immediately came and worked for Gage.

  “What is this I hear you asking Knox for information on Vincent Snider?”

  “I was checking out something for a friend—”

  A voice cried out in pain as he rounded the corner. He watched a man standing with his back to him swing his arm and connect with a woman. She fell to the ground, and the familiar dark brown hair had his heart lodging in his throat.

  “I’ll call you back,” he growled into the phone, before stashing it in his jean’s pocket as his eyes locked onto the figure on the floor.

  Marina.

  “I said, let’s go!” the guy shouted at her, leaving Gage seeing red as he stalked toward them. He raised his hand again at her.

  Gage grabbed the guy’s arm and yanked him back. Gage released a growl as his fist flew, connecting with Vincent’s jaw. Gage didn’t feel the pain as his other fist landed in Vincent’s abdomen.

  “Stop!” Marina screamed out as she scrambled from the floor, but fell back down.

  But Gage couldn’t stop. His woman was in danger. The sight of this low-life hitting her replayed again in his mind. He let loose a growl as Vincent plowed into him with his shoulder. A sharp, dull pain from taking a shoulder to the gut was nothing as he thought of Marina falling to the ground. His back slammed into the wall with the force of Vincent’s football tackle.

  He brought down his elbow to the middle of the Vincent’s spine, trying to break his hold on him. Vincent stumbled away, his eyes narrowed on Gage.

  “So this is who you’ve been whoring it up with, Marina? I figured you’d find someone else to spread those legs for,” he spat.

  “Watch what you say,” Gage warned, holding his hand up. He could keep going. He would pound this piece of shit into the ground. Gage was in top shape, and could outlast Vincent in a fight any day.

  Footsteps echoed down the hall as the hotel security made their way to them. Gage went over to Marina to assist her from the floor. He could already see a bruise forming where Vincent’s hand had connected with her face. Her eyes were round, as if shock was settling in.

  “You gonna be okay, baby?” he asked as he held her close.

  “Is there a problem?” the first officer asked, looking around.

  “There’s no problem here,” Vincent spat at security as they surrounded him.

  “Please, sir, calm down,” the officer urged, moving in.

  “Don’t tell me what the fuck to do! I could buy out this damn building if I wanted to. Marina, let’s go,” Vincent hollered, shaking the officers off him. They wrestled him down to the ground.

  “Just go home, Vin,” she cried out, not leaving Gage’s arms. He tightened his arms around her. He was not letting her go, not while this maniac was around.

  He cursed, realizing that he should never have let her out of his sight when she said that Vincent was on his way.

  “I’m not leaving without you,” Vincent yelled from the ground, just as the officers were handcuffing him.

  “Are you okay, ma’am? Do you need medical attention?” a female security guard asked, coming over to them.

  Marina shook her head, her eyes locked on a screaming Vincent as the guards hoisted him up from the ground, directing him away from them.

  “Marina!” he shouted.

  She hid her face in Gage’s chest. Gage assured the female officer that Marina would be safe with him.

  “Here, I got you,” Gage murmured, bending down to carry her.

  “Gage, I can walk,” she protested as he hit the button to the elevator.

  “Humor me.” He was not letting her out of his sight until they were home safe where his men could protect her. Baltimore wasn’t that long of a drive from there. He knew by the looks of Vincent that this would not be the last time they would see him. He would have his men immediately devise a plan to keep the business tycoon away from Marina.

  “I’m so embarrassed,” she groaned into his chest.

  “Why? He’s the ass. He’s lucky a few punches was all he got,” he growled. Had the security not shown up, Gage would have probably pounded his face until it was no longer recognizable.

  The elevator doors opened and he stepped out, stalking down the hallway.

  “Wait, this isn’t my floor.”

  “No, it’s mine. You’re staying with me.”

  Chapter Nine

  Marina laid across Gage’s bed as she waited for him to come back with ice for her face. She stared at the ceiling in disbelief. How could Vincent change that fast? Never had he ever raised a hand to her before. She rolled off the bed and walked into the bathroom. She stepped over to the mirror and cringed as the light came on.

  The side of her face was quickly darkening with the hints of a deep bruise. She stared at herself and wondered where in the hell it all went wrong. She had peacefully left Vin when she found him with the other woman. No scene, no screaming. He was free to move on.

  Her vision became blurry. She blinked a few times, trying to hold back the flood of tears, but she was unsuccessful. She gently wiped the tears away as they fell. She sniffled as the cry broke from her. Unable to hold it in any longer, she leaned against the wall and slid to the floor.

  She didn’t know what to expect when she returned to Baltimore. If Vin was that manic here, what would happen when they were back home? If she tried to move anywhere else, he would probably hunt her down, just like he did today. Where would she go where he wouldn’t be able to find her? She was distraught as she thought of moving farther away from her father and Claire.

  She didn’t know how long she laid balled up on the floor before she heard footsteps rush toward the bathroom.

  “Baby, why are you in here on the floor?” Gage asked as he gathered her in his arms. She wrapped her arm around his neck as she leaned her head against the crook of his neck.

  “I’m a mess,” she sniffed.

  “I told you, none of this was your fault,” he assured her, settling her down on the bed against the pillows.

  “I don’t want to drag you into the middle of this shit.” Here it was. Fate had presented him to her while she escaped to the Bahamas. Who would have thought she would have met someone like Gage? Her heart hurt with the thought that once they got back to the states, she would never see him again.

  “The minute he laid a hand on you made it my business,” he growled. She watched him wrap a small bag of ice in some paper towels, and gently pressed it against her aching cheek. She watched as he assessed her face with his eyes, and knew that she was falling for him.

  “Thank you,” she murmured.

  “You don’t need to thank me.” He shook his head as she reached up and took the ice pack from him.

  “I do. You didn’t have to do any of that for
me. You could have been hurt.”

  He released a snort at her words, and stared deep into her eyes.

  “It would take more than a little scuffle with the likes of him to hurt me. I’ve been in far worse fights than that,” he said, brushing her hair away from eyes.

  “But still—”

  “It’s over. You will not have to worry about him ever again,” Gage murmured as he laid a kiss on her forehead.

  “How can I not? You saw how he was. I don’t know what got into him—”

  “He was using you,” Gage informed her, cutting her off. She paused, her eyes flying to his. “I made few phone calls earlier today before my meeting, and it seems that your ex was way over his head. He’d made some horrible deals. Not only is he in hot water with the Masini crime family, but he owes the IRS a shit ton of money. He’s a walking time bomb.”

  She stared at Gage, unable to believe what she was hearing. How had Vin hidden all of this from her?

  “Oh my goodness,” she murmured in shock.

  “And, I happen to know that a little birdie sent that information to a certain senator who has officially turned it over to the authorities. He’s going to be expedited back to the states. He won’t ever be a problem for you again.”

  She dropped the ice and flew into Gage’s arms. She squeezed him tight, not wanting to ever let go of him.

  “Thank you,” she said as she pulled back. She caressed his face, loving the feel of his beard on her palm. “How can I ever repay you?”

  “There’s one thing you can do.” He tipped her chin up to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

  “What might that be?” she asked, searching his eyes.

  “Let me take you on a real date when we get to the states.” He placed another kiss on her lips. This time, she pulled him to her, opening her mouth for him. He could have whatever he wanted from her, and if that was all he wanted, she would gladly oblige him.

  Epilogue