Page 13

13

Vinny stopped outside of his apartment door. The sound of music filtered out into the hall; soft and haunting. There was something about the harp that always brought him to a stop. His eyes closed as his mind rolled back five years. The music. Filtering out through the night. Then… no.

Taking a deep breath he leaned his head against the door, hearing the very different music that Annalissa played. He opened the door quietly so as not to disturb her. She was sitting with her back to him, her harp resting against her shoulder. Her dainty, yet strong, fingers were nimbly moving over the strings. The sounds floated around his apartment, filling it with an energy that had never been there before. The sounds of life. And perhaps… love.

She did not notice that he was there. Absorbed in the music flying from her fingers, he watched her face. Eyes closed, a smile playing about her lips. She appeared to be one with her harp. One with the music .

As he walked closer her eyes flew open, her fingers stilled, and her smile widened. “Vinny, I didn’t hear you come in.”

Quickly closing the ground between them, he leaned over kissing her lips. “I heard the music from the hall and thought angels were playing,” he murmured.

She laughed thinking he was joking, but sobered as she saw the look on his face. Cocking her head to the side, she asked, “Are you okay?”

Kissing her once again, he nodded. “Perfect, now that I’ve come home to you and your music.”

“Well, aren’t you the gallant flirt?” she teased.

Standing to his full height, he winked. “Well, you gave me such a nice surprise when I got home. I’ve got a surprise for you.” With that he headed into the bedroom while she bent to place her harp into its case.

“Come on, babe,” Vinny called out from the bedroom.

Annalissa walked in to see him standing naked in front of his closet, pulling on swim trunks. “Are you going?—”

“Not me. We. We’re going swimming, so get your bikini on,” he interrupted.

“Um…I…um…I don’t have…”

He stalked over stopping right in front of her, lifting her chin with his fingers. “Well, we can’t go skinny-dipping in the pool downstairs, as much as I would love to.”

She had to giggle at that thought. “I mean I don’t have my things from my apartment.”

He walked over to a large canvas bag that was sitting just inside the door. “I sent Gabe and Jennifer over to your place today. I knew Jennifer would know what you’d need and Gabe was there to make sure she was safe. And,” he winked mischievously, “I specifically told her to hunt for a swimsuit.”

Embarrassed, she dug through the bag and saw what she was looking for. Looking up, she said, “I have a boring, old bathing suit for when I sit in the sun, but I don’t even do that very much. So why don’t you just go for a swim yourself.”

“Whatever you’ve got will be fine. Just hop in it and let’s go. I’m teaching you how to swim.” Seeing her about to protest again, he placed his fingers on her lips. “Now, baby,” he ordered gently.

Turning away from him, she pulled out the one-piece bathing suit that she had had for years. He had seen her naked, but now she felt self-conscious. Moving to the bathroom and shutting the door for privacy, she pulled it on. Red, with little blue flowers on it, she blushed as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. I look like I’m ten years old. And I’m going to drown. Great. A ten-year-old, drowning kid. Just how I want him to see me. The knock on the bathroom door shook her out of her thoughts.

“You ready?” he called.

Pulling herself up, she grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself. Throwing open the door, she said, “Yes, let’s go and get this over with.”

He took her arm as she attempted to pass him by and gently pulled her in for a hug. "What’s going on, babe? ”

Sucking her lips in, she just shook her head. “Just nervous, that’s all.” She pulled herself out of his embrace and slid her feet into flip-flops as she walked toward the door.

He looked as she walked away, his brow knit in concern. Grabbing his own towel, he followed her out of the door.

Several minutes later she had to admit that the pool was not like what she expected. The indoor facility was beautiful and the water was a pleasant temperature. There were a few other people swimming laps so she had dropped her towel and slipped quickly into the water at the shallow end. Moving her hands around she loved the feel of the water as long as her feet were touching the bottom of the pool.

Vinny slid into the water behind her, noticing her nervousness. But her rocking body was holding his attention. Down boy, he reminded himself, knowing his swimming trunks were beginning to tent out.

“Okay, princess. Give me your hands,” he said, moving toward her. As she reached out her hands, he took them gently as he walked backward slowly toward the deeper water. She walked along, holding his hands until the water reached her shoulders and he felt her stop.

“Oh, no. No further. If you’re going to teach me to swim, then we can do it right here,” she claimed.

Smiling, he agreed. “Now just remember, I got you. And I promise not to let you go.”

She looked at him, wondering if his words held a double meaning. Licking her lips, she looked at the other swimmers nervously. One had just exited the pool and the other was still doing laps. Sucking in a huge breath, she said, “So what do I do now?”

For the next several minutes, he had her float on her back with one of his hands under her back and the other at the bottom of her ass. He walked around giving her a chance to feel what it was like to have the water support her and not have her feet on the pool bottom.

She opened her eyes and saw him smiling down at her. She leaned up, losing the balance of floating and her head went under the water as Vinny’s arms immediately plucked her up. Sputtering, she clawed her hands toward him.

He moved them closer to the edge as he felt her panicked grasp. “I got you, babe. You’re fine,” he reassured. “You were doing great floating along.”

She clung to the edge and, realizing that her feet would not touch, began scooting her way toward the shallower end again.

“Hold on,” he said, halting her progress. “Hang on the side and practice kicking your legs.” He showed her several different kicks and she began to relax again, feeling comfortable holding on to the side of the pool.

Admiring the way her ass wiggled back and forth as she practiced her kicking, he once again had to force his dick to behave.

She smiled at him and then noticed his strained expression. “Are you alright?” she asked hesitantly.

He moved behind her, stilling her legs, and caging her in with his massive arms on either side of her. Slowly floating inward, he pressed his front against her back until there was no mistaking the evidence of his desire.

“Oh,” she said with a giggle.

He moved away and growled, “Let’s finish up the lesson for tonight and get upstairs, baby. Seeing you looking all sexy as hell in this bathing suit is killing me.”

Twisting around, she looked confused. “This? Vinny, I look like I’m a kid in this old thing.”

With her now facing him, he pressed in again, this time his swollen dick nestled against her core. “You don’t look like a kid, Annalissa. You’re fucking hot in this and all I can think about is peeling it off of your delicious body.” Moving in for a kiss, he captured her lips as he plunged his tongue inside. The kiss had taken on a life-force of its own before he pulled back.

Her wet hair hanging about her shoulders, the ends floating all around. Her eyes still closed. Her lips kiss-swollen. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. Knowing he needed to stop before he took her in the pool, he moved away keeping her hands firmly in his, pulling her along.

Her eyes popped open as he gently ordered, “Kick your legs, babe. Just like if you were still hanging on the side.”

She kicked along, feeling the force keeping her lower body high in the water as he pulled her along from the front. His hands were firm and strong. Moving all over the pool, even in the deep end, she knew he would never let go. Safe. Secure. Cared for. Loved?

Slowly they made their way to the shallow end of the pool where he assisted her out. Taking the towel from her hands, he dried her off before wrapping her in a large, dry one.

She lifted her face toward his, smiling. “I was kind of swimming, wasn’t I?” she said proudly.

“Absolutely, babe. We keep doing this and you’ll be swimming laps before you know it.” He met her lips, taking the kiss deeper. Pulling back, he tagged her hand as they headed toward the back elevator . Quickly entering his apartment, he hustled her into the warm shower.

And then he did exactly what he’d been wanting to do for an hour. He peeled the bathing suit slowly off of her body, exposing all of her beauty to his eyes.

Then he worshiped her long into the night.

The next morning found Vinny and Annalissa arriving at the Alvarez Security building. Moving into the large work area, they found everyone gathered. The others greeted her warmly and Tony motioned for them to sit down.

“I’ve got a friend that was able to pull up the security camera feed from the airport in LA. I want you to watch them as carefully as you can to see if you recognize anyone.”

She sat for the next hour, carefully watching everything on the screen, but came up empty. She looked at the men, saying, “I’m sorry. I just don’t see anyone I know.”

Tony nodded and then moved to the file in front of him. “Don’t be sorry, Annalissa. It’s not your job to have to identify anyone. We just want as much input from you as we can get.”

She visibly relaxed, sinking back into her chair. Vinny’s hand slid from the edge of her chair to her shoulders, noting how tense they were. His eyes cut over to the others and silently signaled for a break.

“We’ll take a break, get some food in here and then we’ll resume checking into your contacts, all right?” Tony inquired politely.

“I’m fine, really.” Cutting her eyes over to Vinny, she said, “You don’t have to coddle me, you know. I’m not going to fall apart.”

Grinning, he touched his lips to her forehead. “I know, babe. You’re a helluva lot stronger than you even know. But we’re tired, so let’s take a little break.”

She cocked an eyebrow as she looked at the men around the table. “Hmmm, you expect me to believe that a group of former Special Forces soldiers are tired from sitting at a table?”

Laughter rang out as they shook their heads. “All right, Tiger. We’ll keep going,” Vinny said. “But how about we order some lunch.”

Several minutes later they began looking at the list of people she knew who had been in LA with them.

“I just don’t see why it had to be someone I know?” she complained.

“Well,” Gabe answered slowly, watching her reactions. “Your harp is always in your possession except for a very few minutes and even then it is close by. So that would indicate that someone close to you could have had the opportunity.”

“Yes, but what about motive?” she retorted. “Why would someone want to do this to me? I’m nobody. I’m not a threat to anyone.”

“We don’t know that anyone did it specifically to you. It may have just been that you were the convenient carrier,” Jobe replied.

She leaned forward, rubbing her temples, trying to force back the slight headache that was building. The men shared a look again. Just then, Sherrie appeared carrying barbecue sandwiches and chips from a little restaurant down the street. Her eyes scanned the room seeing the look on her husband’s face, she quickly moved over to the table.

“Hey everyone! I hope you don’t mind but I brought lunch over figuring ya’ll needed a break.” She looked at Gabe and said, “You may want to go help Jennifer. She’s lugging up the drinks.”

Gabe hopped up to find his wife as the others spread out the food. Annalissa looked at the lunch, realizing how hungry she was. As they ate, talked and laughed, she also realized how different this group was. They needed each other, but there was no pressure. No trying to force one or the other to do something for them. How unlike my life this is. Someone is always pushing or pulling me to do something .

As the meal was finished, she looked at Tony with renewed determination on her face. “All right. I’m ready.”

The others recognized her steely resolve and nodded as they pushed the empty plates to the side. Jennifer and Sherrie quietly cleaned up the table, but both stayed close wanting to hear what their new friend had to say. Tony and Gabe grinned, knowing their wives were nosy.

She looked at the list of people that had been around her harp and asked, “What do you need from me?”

“We have the list, but I’d like you to just talk about each one. Who they are. What they do. What your impressions of them are. Even what you know about them. Just talk and we’ll listen and take notes. You may say something without even realizing it that we find useful.”

Glancing to the side to see Vinny’s concerned expression, she squeezed his hand. “I’ve got this, Vinny. I’m okay.” Seeing his reassuring smile, she began.

The first name on the list was Todd Levine. “Todd’s my manager. My father hired him a year ago to chart out my career. He was supposed to take the shy harpist and turn me into a public figure.” Seeing the incredulous looks from around the table, she shrugged. “I know it sounds ridiculous. Most symphonic musicians are very anonymous. But sometimes a principle player is supposed to be the show-stopper. That was supposed to be me. So Todd took me in hand, hired a make-up artist and stylist to design for me and to travel with me. He schedules press releases and photo shoots.”

She looked down at the file with Todd’s name on it. “I hate it,” she confessed. Looking up quickly, she said, “Not him. I don’t hate him. Well, I don’t exactly like him either, but I don’t hate him. I just don’t like being on show. I love playing the harp in front of an audience, but not the forced status that is shoved down my throat.”

“Tell us what you don’t like about him,” Gabe prodded as Vinny moved his hand again to rub her shoulders.

Screwing her face up in concentration, she said with a half-hearted shrug, “He just doesn’t listen.” Looking around, she realized that for the first time, she did not hate talking about herself. This seemed like she was talking to friends…not the press judging her every word.

“I know I’m an introvert. I’m shy. That doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with me that needs to be fixed. I’m not some poor little girl that needs someone to lead me around. It’s just very hard for me to stick up for myself when someone is determined to overrun me. Todd has a job and he’s determined to do it. What I want doesn’t matter to him.”

They had been joined by Lily and BJ, who were busily typing in searches as she talked. The others were jotting down notes, but Vinny just kept his hand on her shoulder, listening as he took in what she said. Smiling up at him, she looked at the next name on the list.

“Okay, Gordon Fisher is my agent. He does the actual booking of the concerts. He works with Todd, but he’s actually the one who makes the arrangements with various symphonies or shows. He makes the arrangements as to which cities I will play in and then has his staff make the arrangements. ”

“So Gordon is the one who actually decides if you will play in LA or New York or wherever?”

“Yes,” she said slowly, understanding the implication. “But that doesn’t make sense. He represents other musicians and bands. Believe me, if he wanted to move drugs, he’d have lots of better opportunities than me. I don’t travel much and certainly don’t tour. I’m located here with the Richmond Symphony and just travel as a feature musician for certain venues.

“Next is Sharon Turner and Parker Williams, my makeup artist and stylist.” Stifling a giggle, she said, “Parker is my one true friend on the trips. He’s funny and nice. He actually listens and keeps Sharon in check.”

“How so?”

“She wants to do makeup for movie sets and I know she wishes that I would travel more. She used to apply the makeup with a heavy hand, making me feel like a drag queen, but Parker is the main stylist, so he pulls her back. She’s fun to talk to and understands that I don’t like crowds. She and Gordon seem to get along really well, but I don’t know about Todd. I think he irritates her too.”

“And Parker?” Gabe prodded again.

“He knows how I want to look and he works with that. He listens to what I like to wear and the colors that I like. Sometimes I think that if he wasn’t on a trip with me, I’d lose my mind. I definitely know it’s not him because he really likes me.”

“You can’t make that assumption, babe,” Vinny warned, only to be greeted with a frustrated look from her .

“I can’t just suspect everyone I work with. That’s not right!” she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.

Wanting to keep Vinny from bearing her wrath, Tony jumped in. “Annalissa, right now, you can’t trust anyone you know. Anyone could have had motives that you don’t know about.”

She held his gaze a moment before leaning over the table, resting her head in her hands.

Sherrie brought a bottle of cold water over to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “I know this is hard, honey.”

Annalissa looked up gratefully, giving a small smile. Looking down at the files again, she recognized others from the stage set up. “These people don’t travel with me. They’re hired by the concert halls for each city’s symphonic orchestras. They would have no idea of who I am or where I go. Someone would be responsible for bringing my harp to me after the concert is over. I don’t carry it with me. After the final bow, I exit the stage and Easnadh is left there on her stand. Once the curtain goes down, the person in charge would make sure she was cased and brought to my room.”

“Could someone slip in unnoticed in all the confusion of a full orchestra and stage hands moving about?”

Scrunching her face in thought, she answered, “I suppose. They all have name badges that they wear around their necks, but…I guess anyone can make up a badge.”

The others grinned at her innocence, knowing that each of them had used fake badges, licenses, and identifications on multiple occasions. Tony turned to Lily, saying, “Check the stage crews for the last year of concerts for Annalissa and see if there are any crossovers.”

Turning back to the file in front of her, she flipped the page and stared at a picture of her father. Looking up sharply, she asked, “Why is this here?”

Tony, his gaze steady on hers, said, “We have to look at everyone.”

She sat still, no longer feeling Vinny’s touch even though he was still caressing her shoulder. My father. He’s no drug dealer…just… Suddenly feeling very vulnerable, she stood up saying, “I’m sorry. I’ve given you all I can today.”

Vinny jumped up with her, pulling her in for a hug. “Babe, you did really good. Let me take you home.”

She leaned back, her eyes flashing. “Home? What home, Vinny? My home has been broken into and trashed. Right now I don’t even have a home.”

He looked down at the dark circles under her eyes and the trembling of her chin telling him she was holding on by a thread. I should never have let this go so far. Calmly he said, “I know and I’m sorry. Let me take you back to my place so you can rest or practice if you would like.”

Jennifer moved over, knowing that the group would want to continue to work and process all that Annalissa had told them, saying gently, “Hey, why don’t you, me, and Sherrie go out for a little while for some girl time.”

Annalissa looked over at the faces of the two women she was fast considering as friends. “I think I’d like that,” she admitted .

Vinny leaned down and kissed her…on the lips…a simple kiss but one that spoke volumes to those who knew him. He had claimed her. The big man had fallen. As the three women left the room, the others sat in silence.

The twins shared a look and Gabe gave a nod of approval as a grin spread across his face. The others sat back down, smiles on their faces as well. Lily beamed at Vinny, saying, “I knew it would hit you one day and I kept saying that I wanted to be around when it did. Who knew that you’d fall for such a quiet, talented sweetheart?”

Vinny, actually blushing, agreed saying, “Yeah, I guess my behavior before meeting Annalissa wasn’t so good.” Shaking his head, he continued, “When I was getting to know her as we were running through the woods and hiding out in trees—well, let’s just say that I was falling for her but didn’t think there was any way in the world I deserved someone like her.”

“Oh yes you do,” Lily effused. “You just needed to find the right one.” She looked around the table at the men she worked with and cared for, her eyes stopping on Jobe. “Now, we just need to find someone for you.”

Jobe smiled, but she noticed it did not reach his eyes. Shaking his head, he said, “Nah. Had it once but threw it away. Don’t think that’ll come again.”

“You don’t know that,” Lily said. “Look at BJ here. He found his love four years after they’d broken up. If it happened to him, it could happen to you.” She caught the looks between the former brothers-in-arms, recognizing a story. One that she did not know. And one that would only be shared when Jobe was ready.

The group went back to studying the files as Vinny filled them in on Annalissa’s father, remembering what all she had told him on their trip.

“This just doesn’t make any sense,” Gabe groused. “She doesn’t travel that much and so she can’t be someone’s main source of smuggling.”

“I’m sure that someone she knows is using her,” Vinny bit out, as they sifted through the suspects. “But which one?”

“Don’t know yet, but we’ll just keep working the problem,” Tony replied. “Jack’s DEA contact said that there were no fingerprints on the bags of drugs, the case, or the harp.”

“I think it’s been done before and would have worked this time if we hadn’t had to miss our flight,” Vinny said. “So you’re right. We keep looking and in the meantime, I intend to keep her watched.”

Tony grinned. “Already got a rotation set up to be with her.”

Nodding, Vinny settled back. Now to convince Annalissa to stay with him. Not only for her safety…but for as long as she would have him.