Page 6

6

The sun was peeking through the slit in the hotel’s room-darkening curtains when Vinny opened his eyes. The evening’s events flashed through his mind as he looked down at the woman sprawled across him. Her leg was across his and her arm was slung over his chest. Her head rested on his shoulder and just as he had not been able to remember sleeping with a woman, he knew he had never woken up with one. But as she stretched her lithe body over his, he realized what his brother had been talking about. When Gabe first met Jennifer, Vinny had been glad for him but not envious. Never envious.

But now? I could wake this way every morning with this woman and be happy. The knowledge that he felt this way about a woman that he had not had sex with made him chuckle.

Annalissa felt the deep rumble underneath her cheek and she opened her eyes to the most handsome man she had ever seen. And he was staring right at her. Her eyes flew wide open as she realized she was laying half across his body.

Jerking back, she rolled to the other side.

“Morning,” he said, his sexy, raspy voice growled, as he smiled at her.

“Good morning. I…um…seem to have…moved a bit…in the night,” she stammered, blushing furiously.

“No complaints here, babe,” he said, hoping she would not discover just how much he liked waking up to her. His morning wood was tenting his boxers and he would bet she had never experienced anything like morning sex. And since he never stayed with a woman overnight, he was used to taking care of it himself in the shower. Ugh, stop thinking about sex with her. Forcing his mind to other things, he nodded for her to head to the bathroom first.

While she was getting ready, he checked the harp case once again, making sure nothing had changed with the package. Thirty minutes later, a taxi was driving them back toward the airport to meet with Jack’s DEA contact. Since he would be flying in on a small, private plane to another airport, Vinny was going to rent a car just to meet the contact. Then when their business was finished, they would make their way back to the airport for a flight straight to Richmond.

Feeling Annalissa stiffen against him, he jerked his head over to her side of the taxi. The hotel where they had stayed last night was in their view. Police cars and police dogs were moving around the area. She started to ask him if they were there for them, but his quick head shake kept her quiet .

Her gaze landed on the taxi driver and she realized her almost blunder.

The taxi driver noticed their gazes focused out of the window. “Heard someone broke into one of the hotel’s rooms and the manager saw ‘em. Called the cops and caused a ruckus. The man that was there is missing and I reckon they're looking for him.”

It did not take long to circle by the airport, heading to the rental center.

Shit, Vinny thought, knowing that they were being sought after. He glanced to the side seeing Annalissa’s green eyes, huge with fright. He tried to offer her a smile, but the look on her face told him she was not buying it.

As the taxi pulled up to the rental car agency, Vinny prayed that whoever was looking for them would be watching the airport, assuming they would be joining the other displaced passengers from the previous day. The rental facility had no police around, so Vinny left Annalissa in the taxi as he went in to get a car. Using cash and one of his fake IDs, he was soon pulling around to the side in a small SUV. Paying the taxi driver in cash also, he quickly moved their items to the rental and took off.

Several minutes later he pulled into a nondescript shopping center and parked. Calling Tony on one of the secure cell phones he carried, he relayed their change in plans. “Get the message to Jack’s contact. We’ve got to come up with an alternate meeting location. They’re definitely after her.”

Listening to Vinny discuss the events calmly did not help the pounding of her heart. After me? For the drugs I didn’t even know about? Were they planted there on purpose or was Easnadh just the random case they picked?

The sound of him disconnecting the call jerked her out of her frantic musings. He turned to her, seeing the fear in her expression.

“We’re going to start driving. I’m going to take care of you, but we’ve got to hit the road and get out of here. Tony is setting up a new location for us to get the harp case to DEA, but for now…you and I are going to hit the road.”

Watching her lick her lips nervously, he wanted to lean over and lick them himself. Part them and take the kiss deeper then… nope. Not now. Sucking in a huge breath and letting it out slowly, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed on the highway towards HWY 70 E towards Missouri.

“Where are we going to meet the person?” she asked, trying to still her nerves.

“We’re going to get to the east side of Kansas City and Tony is arranging a meeting place not too far into Missouri.”

Watching the skyline of Kansas City come into view, she stayed quiet as they moved through the city quickly. She had never been traveling through the country by a car before. If I wasn’t scared out of my mind, I might actually like this. But she was scared. Glancing over at Vinny, he seemed calm. In charge. In control. But there was a slight tick as he gritted his teeth and just looking at his face she could tell that his mind was racing. Planning. How can I know that about him in only two days ?

He was doing exactly what she thought he was. His mind raced through the possibilities. It could still be that her harp case was randomly chosen to transport drugs from someone at the airport and when the case did not arrive, the D.C. receiver got nervous. But that would have taken coordination. That person would have had to make quick contact with the person at Kansas City, found out who the harp case belonged to, found out their address, and made a visit to trash the place.

Possible. But not very plausible. He had to accept the very real scenario that she was targeted before getting to the airport yesterday morning. Someone planting the drugs or planning on having the drugs planted…specifically in her harp case.

As his mind continued to roll over the possibilities, he was aware of her glancing at him. He knew she was nervous. While wanting to assure her that everything was fine, he was glad she was concerned. Heightened awareness means more prepared. And right now, he wanted them prepared for anything.

Several miles down HWY 70 once in Missouri, Vinny drove the SUV into a strip-mall shopping center parking lot and pulled up to the third light post in front of a Chinese restaurant. Eyes alert, he checked his watch before looking over at Annalissa. Her pale face stood out in stark contrast to her dark hair. Her hands were clasped in her lap, the knuckles white with tightness.

He reached over and placed his large hand over hers, saying, “We’re going to be fine. I promise.”

She smiled, but it did not reach her eyes. “You’ll tell me, won’t you? I know you think I’m weak, but I’m really not. I just need to know.”

Lifting his eyebrow in question, he asked, “What is it that you want to know?”

“Everything. What you’re doing. What you’re thinking. I…I don’t want to be in the dark.” Her large green eyes implored him as her fingers unconsciously squeezed his.

Nodding, he agreed. “Okay. I’ll keep you in the loop…and keep you safe.”

“Well,” she said, licking her lips. “Isn’t this kind of public for a meeting?”

“This shopping center is not very crowded as you see and they only have security cameras facing the front of the stores. We’re out of any camera range.”

This time her tremulous smile was genuine. His gaze jumped from her face to outside the window behind her and she jerked her head around. A black SUV with dark-tinted windows pulled directly next to their vehicle.

Giving her fingers a warning squeeze, he let go of her hand and said, “Annalissa, stay in the car. Don’t get out, you understand?” Seeing her nod her head, he moved out of the rental and walked around, meeting the man who emerged from the other vehicle.

Vinny instantly assessed the man, knowing that he was being looked over as well. The other man took off his aviator glasses and stuck out his hand. “Taggart,” he said, introducing himself while lifting his hand forward.

“Malloy,” Vinny answered back, shaking the man’s hand. He liked what he saw. The man oozed confidence, but not arrogance.

“Bryant talked to Tony and says you have a package for me to deliver.”

Nodding, Vinny walked to the back of the SUV and lifted the hatch. The harp case lay on its side in the back. Before he could stop her, Annalissa jumped from the passenger seat and came to the back, her fingers fluttering.

He started to growl, but she lifted her chin. “I can’t stay in there. Not when you’re talking about Easnadh.”

“Who?” Taggart asked, his gaze quickly scanning for someone else.

“Easnadh,” she said softly, her hand reaching out to touch the case. “My harp.”

“Harpists will sometimes name their instruments,” Vinny explained, then offered his fiercest glare to her indicating that he wanted her back inside the vehicle.

Ignoring him, she turned to Taggart, begging, “You’ll take care of her won’t you?”

Before Vinny could say anything, Taggart took her hand as he introduced himself to her. “Ms. O’Brian, I’ll take the best care of your harp.”

A brilliant smile beamed at Taggart and Vinny found himself uncharacteristically jealous. Jealous? I never get fuckin’ jealous! But he could not deny that the sight of her hand in Taggart’s made him see red .

“You going to hold hands all day or take this off of ours so we can hit the road?”

Chuckling, Taggart dropped her hand and leaned in to open the case. Seeing the packages of white powder inside next to the instrument silenced his mirth.

“Someone went to a lot of trouble with a half-million dollars of cocaine,” Taggart said. Closing the lid and securing the latches, he lifted the harp carefully and put it in the back of his SUV. Turning to Annalissa, he looked her in the eye and said, “Ma’am, it’ll be completely safe in my hands. Malloy here knows how we operate and I promise you’ll get your harp back.”

She wanted to ask more. Where are you taking Easnadh? What will you do when you get to where you are going? How will you get her there? But she knew this man would not answer and Vinny already looked angry enough that she had gotten out of the car. And that Taggart had held her hand. Was he jealous? No way, not over me.

Taggart drove away as Vinny took her gently by the arm leading her over to the passenger side. Assisting her up, he leaned over to buckle her in, putting his face right in hers. Their lips almost touching.

“Next time I tell you what to do and you don’t do it…you’re going to find out just what kind of punishment I can hand out.” With that, he slammed the door before walking around and hopping up in the driver’s side. As he got in, he noticed her head slightly down. I don’t want to scare her but she’s got to listen to me if I’m going to keep her safe.

As he started the vehicle, she spoke. “I just had to explain about Easnadh. He had to understand,” she said, her eyes imploring Vinny to sympathize.

Sighing, he reached over and clasped her hand again. “I should have realized that parting with your harp was going to be difficult and I’m sorry. But, babe, I can’t keep you safe if I don’t know where you are or what you’re doing. So you gotta listen and obey. Can you do that?”

He saw her chin lift slightly as she answered him, “Yeah. I can do that.” With a final squeeze of her fingers, he pulled back out onto the highway, heading east.

“I gave you the information about the plane and the hotel, I can’t help it if they weren’t there.” The person who had been threatening the airport handler was now in the dubious situation of reporting to their contact. And not liking the feeling at all.

“What went wrong?” came the cold voice on the other end of the phone.

“I sent the handler to her apartment and he looked carefully and then said they weren’t there. Then I found out about the plane being delayed in Kansas City.”

“I know that, you imbecile. That’s what you told me last night.”

“You must have sent someone in, but they got caught. Police were there and now the girl and that guy she’s with have disappeared.”

The silence on the phone was ear-piercing. “I pay you to get my stash across the country, not fuck up and get the police involved.”

Whining, the person objected. “That’s not my fault. I did my part.”

“Where are they now?”

“I’m telling you, I don’t know. They didn’t get on the plane in Kansas City.”

“Then they must be traveling by car. Did you check the rental agencies?”

“Yeah, of course. But no one with their names got a car. I checked all of them.”

The man in California closed his eyes in frustration. Not used to incompetence, he growled, “Go back you fucking moron and give them a description. Find that couple and the fucking harp. When you do, let me know and I’ll send someone to take care of them.”

“I’ll try,” came the fearful response.

“Just fucking do it!” he ordered before disconnecting. Sitting in his office he wondered how such a brilliant plan had gone all to hell. Rubbing his hand over his face, he knew that failure would not be acceptable. Not to Don Juarez. Don had not risen to be one of the largest drug lords in California by surrounding himself with incompetents. Sucking in a huge breath before letting it out slowly, he picked his phone back up, making his next call.

The next hour passed in silence, the highway rolling before them. Annalissa was quiet, her face turned toward the window. Her mind was churning once again, the events of the last two days so far out of her realm of experience that she had no idea what to think. Heaving a sigh, she closed her eyes wondering if sleep would come. Or would it be fueled by nightmares?

“Annalissa?” Vinny interrupted her thoughts. “Where are you?”

Giving a small smile as she turned toward his smooth voice, she said, “Right here.”

“Oh no, darlin’,” he replied. “You were a million miles away.”

“I just have no…idea what to think about…all of this,” she said hesitantly, her hands fluttering as she shrugged in frustration.

“I know. I know you’re tired and I know you’re scared. We’ll figure it out and keep you safe, I promise.”

He saw her look down as her hands clasped together once again. She does that when she is nervous. “What are you thinking? You got questions? Go ahead and ask. I’ll answer if I can,” he assured.

“Well, I know we don’t know who put the drugs in the case or if they were targeting me. But…well…I was…kind of…” her voice trailed off. I hate being introverted. Sucking in a deep breath, she lifted her chin, determined to sound more confident, and said, “Why did we not call the police right away?”

Seeing her resolve, he nodded, “Good question, and I’ll tell you what I know.” He glanced sideways, noticing her twist in her seat so that she could focus on him. “If we’d called the local police, they would have confiscated the harp and its case. They would have taken us in for questioning. They would have immediately begun investigating you and me, both. All the while, the ones who put it in your case and the ones expecting it would have had more time to cover their tracks. By me calling Tony, we have our agency plus the services of another…uh…security business that we are working with. Friends who have a variety of backgrounds and contacts themselves.”

He saw her nod slowly, digesting this information. Hesitating for a moment, he continued, “And we have to face the possibility that with the police and dogs at the hotel this morning, someone could have been trying to frame you.” Her sudden intake of breath had him looking over.

Her green eyes were wide with fright, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. Her delectable, kissable mouth.

“But who’d want to frame me? I’m…I’m…not…,” faltering, she snapped her mouth shut in anger.

“I don’t know who’d do that or why, other than to take suspicion off of themselves. But right now, your har…I mean, Easnadh is heading with a former DEA agent who will meet with a group of other DEA and FBI agents to analyze the situation and let Tony know how to plan for your safety.”

Silence filled the car once again as she mulled over his answers to her question. Deciding to pull her out of her musings, he said, “You never finished telling me about your mother and how you became a harp player.”

She turned back to him, a little smile once again on her face. “That’s right. Well, I told you that my mother was a violinist, but she also taught music. My father was an orchestra conductor. He’s…not a patient man, but mom had all the patience in the world. She loved playing, but I think she loved teaching more.”

“So did she teach you?”

“At first, yes. I had my first violin when I was four years old,” she admitted.

His eyes jerked over to hers, a look of confusion on his face. “Four? How the hell did you even hold it?”

Laughing, she answered, “They make them sized for children. Mine was tiny.”

He loved hearing her laugh. Hell, I love hearing her speak. I can’t remember the last conversation I had with a woman that didn’t involve ‘flip over’ or ‘are you coming yet’. Suddenly feeling like a world-class prick, he ground his teeth together. He glanced back over at her, now facing the front window, watching the scenery pass by, her profile a study in perfection. Long, thick, dark hair pulled back with a clip away from her face, a few strands loose and framing her face. Even her neck was delicate. He saw her pulse beating and wanted to pull the SUV over long enough to just taste her neck. Feel the life of her beat under his lips. And maybe give her a little bite…just enough to taste…and mark her as mine.

He had not given a woman a love bite since high school and yet the desire to do so now, with this woman, was almost overwhelming. Shifting slightly to ease his erection, he said gruffly, “Continue.”

“I’m sorry. You must think me a terrible story teller,” she giggled. “I suppose I always get this way when talking about mom. Anyway, she taught me the violin when I was very young. I also learned the viola and cello. But my love was the harp. When I was only ten and at one of their symphonies, a beautiful harpist was the soloist for the evening. She floated out in a gown…I thought she was a princess.”

Vinny thought about seeing Annalissa at the concert the other evening and could understand the comparison. I sure as hell thought she looked like a princess.

“My mom bought me a Celtic harp and that began my love affair with harps. My father wanted me to learn. He liked the idea that his daughter was not just going to be in the orchestra but would often be front and center. He…likes the…showmanship of the instrument as much as the sound.”

He heard the faltering words when she talked about her father and continued to dislike the man even before meeting him. And he would be meeting him.

His eyes stayed on the rear-view mirror for several miles while listening to her. He wished he could focus just on her, but he had noticed the same vehicle behind them for a while. She did not seem to notice, for which he was glad. He wanted her to focus on happy times and princess dresses…not on the probability that she was in danger.

“Celtic harp?” he queried.

“It’s a mid-sized harp, although you can get them small enough to sit on your lap. They’re much smaller than the large standing pedal harps. I can play any of them, but my favorite is the Celtic.”

“Is that what Easnadh is?” he asked, wanting to keep her talking but also finding that he wanted to learn everything about her.

“Yes, although her story is very interesting. An old woman died in New York without close relatives and when the city sent some people in, they found that her house was filled to the brim with…stuff. The old lady had gone dumpster diving for years and her three-story brownstone was filled with a lot of junk and some antiques. The auction company contacted my teacher, Mr. Feinstein, when a few old musical instruments were found because he is also an expert on antique instruments. Most were old but not antique. But then they brought him an old, beat-up harp, strings broken and in horrible shape. But he recognized its value and bought it from them and then spent almost a year meticulously restoring it. He had it analyzed and, believe it or not, it was a true antique. Over one hundred and thirty years old! Can you even begin to imagine all of the people that have played her? And to think that I’m one of them!”

Vinny glanced over once more and his breath caught in his throat. Her green eyes sparkled with excitement and her smile lit up his world. A foreign feeling swept over him, one of passion born of… what? Protectiveness?Concern? Friendship? Is this what I feel? After only three days? All he knew was that at that moment, the idea of waking up to that face, those eyes, that smile every day was all he wanted. He moved one hand from the steering wheel to rub his chest, a strange ache in his heart. What would I give to have that passion aimed toward me?