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“So what happened to the harp?” he asked, finding himself truly interested in her story.

“After Mr. Feinstein restored it, he gave it to me.”

“Gave it to you?” he asked incredulously.

“I know, right?” she said, nodding vigorously. “But he said that I was his best student and that I should have the honor of playing on it always.”

Her voice became soft once again and he looked over to see the wistfulness in her expression. “My father loved the publicity,” she added. “The New York Times ran a huge article on the restored harp and the conductor’s daughter who plays it.”

“I take it you didn’t like the publicity?”

“I’m just…not that into…the spotlight. I play because I love it.” Laughing, she added, “But I do get to dress up like a princess. I named the harp Easndah because it is the muse for my music.”

Several more miles passed on the long straight highway, the scenery flying by. Vinny had lost sight of the car he thought may have been following, but he was not letting down his guard. Traffic was not heavy, but he knew they could have just backed off.

“Anyway,” she sobered, “mom died and I had my degree in music performance but stayed an extra year to obtain my teaching degree as well.”

“Teaching?” he asked.

“That’s my first love, besides playing Easndah. I’d love to teach, but my father was furious when I stayed that extra year. He refused to pay, so I worked in small clubs and taught on the side to make the money I needed.”

As much as Vinny wanted her to tell him all about herself, he was getting more and more angry at her father. Sounds like an asshole .

Watching the flat land all around, Annalissa was fascinated with the scenery. She relaxed back into her seat, feeling peaceful. When was the last time I talked about my mom? Or talked about my father without getting so nervous. She realized how easy it was to talk to Vinny. Sliding her gaze sideways, she watched his profile. God, he’s gorgeous. He seemed genuinely interested in me, but then he probably has lots of women that want to talk to him. Remembering the actions of the flight attendant, a frown crossed her face. I’m such a dork. What would he ever want with me?

“You getting hungry?” he asked, his rich voice pulling her out of her thoughts. The growl coming from her stomach was his answer. Chuckling, he said, “ I’ll take that as a ‘yes’. There’s a stop up ahead where I can get some gas and we can grab some food.”

“That’s perfect. To be honest, I could use a bathroom break as well. Too much coffee this morning,” she said with a blush.

Fuckin’ adorable, he thought, but wished she had said something earlier. “Babe, if you need to stop for any reason, you let me know. I don’t want you uncomfortable.”

She nodded, the blush still visible from the tops of her breasts to her hairline. They pulled into a large truck stop convenience center and parked close to where he could keep an eye on the vehicle from inside.

By the time she was unbuckled, he had appeared at her door, offering his hand to assist. Walking toward the building, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder as they went in. Looking up at him, she wondered about the act of intimacy. At least it was intimate to her. To him? I’m sure he’s had his arm around tons of women. Wishing this assumption did not bother her as much as it did, she lifted her chin slightly as they entered the building.

He nodded toward the back where the restrooms were and she quickly took care of her business. Exiting the room, she saw him standing against the wall across from her, one leg crossed in front of the other, his muscular arms crossed over his chest. His face relaxed into a sexy smile as soon as she saw him.

“Are you waiting for me?” she asked, looking around.

He pushed off of the wall toward her, swinging his arm around her shoulders once again as he propelled them toward the food court. Curiosity filled her as she wondered why he seemed to stay so close but she had to admit, it felt wonderful. I can pretend, can’t I? That he’s into me, just for this little while.

Vinny saw the appreciative looks that came their way. He did not care about the ones aimed at him from the ladies and for the first time realized that he had no interest in them at all. But his blood pressure rose from the ones coming from the men, openly ogling Annalissa. Looking down at her, he saw that she was oblivious. She’s got no idea that she’s a walking wet-dream. While he appreciated her innocence, he cursed her naivety. Awareness could keep her safer. Giving the men a glare that had them looking away, he marched her up to the counter.

She quickly ordered a hamburger and french fries, with a chocolate shake, before he ordered the same, only doubled.

They found a table where he could keep his eye on their vehicle and dug into the food. She moaned in appreciation as she ate heartily.

“Gotta say I like to see a woman eat like she enjoys food instead of picking at everything,” he commented.

She grinned while shoving in a french fry loaded with ketchup. “I love food. It’s a wonder I’m not as big as a horse.” She saw his eyes roam over her figure, appreciation flaring there. It was a heady feeling to think that a man as virile as Vinny could find her attractive. Blushing, she looked back down to concentrate on her lunch .

As they finished, she headed back to the restroom one more time and when she came out, found Vinny standing like before, right outside. He had a bag in his hand and once again threw his arm around her as they walked to the car.

“Take the bag, please,” he gently ordered, handing it to her. She did, remembering his request that she follow his directions even if they did not make sense to her. Seeing his gun holster under his jacket, she realized that with his left arm around her and his right hand now free, he would be able to reach his gun. Suddenly nervous, she began to look around as well.

He felt the tenseness enter her body and rubbed his fingers along her shoulders before sliding them underneath her hair and around her neck. “I got this, babe,” he said.

Babe. He sometimes calls me babe. She loved the sound of it as it came from deep inside of him, resonating through her. He probably calls every woman ‘babe’. But somehow it made her feel special. If he just called me Ms. O’Brian, I would only be a job to him. But ‘babe’? Even if I’m one of a million women he calls ‘babe’… grinning to herself, I like it.

He jumped into the driver’s seat quickly as soon as he had her buckled in. She had relaxed as they walked the rest of the way to the car but he knew she was picking up on his tenseness. He eyed the car that matched what had been following them earlier, but was unable to identify the occupants.

The problem with HWY 70 was that it was long and flat and was the main road between Kansas City and St. Louis. Filled with travelers, vacationing families, and truckers. Anyone following could be innocently traveling the road. Or watching them.

Pulling quickly onto the highway again, he kept an eye on the car that was slowly circling the parking lot. Breathing a sigh of relief when he did not see them following, he glanced sideways as he heard a soft voice asking, “Are we okay?”

Reaching over to link his fingers with hers, he smiled, saying, “Yeah. We’re good.” Giving them a little squeeze he added, “Thanks for listening and following my directions without questioning,”

She smiled at the compliment as she leaned back to get comfortable. “What was in the bag anyway?”

“Snacks.”

“We just ate,” she exclaimed.

“You never know when we might get hungry,” he answered, grinning.

They settled into a companionable silence for a while as the miles of Missouri slid by. Annalissa finally giggled, causing Vinny to look over quickly.

She turned to him with an adorable smile on her face. “This sounds silly, but have you noticed that there are long stretches of cornfields only broken up by the billboards for girlie shows at these places along the road?”

She began to blush as he quirked an eyebrow at her. “I…um…well, I just thought…that the only thing here was corn and porn.”

Just then they passed another building in the middle of nowhere with a large sign above, advertising the ‘topless dancers’, with truckers in the parking light. She could not hold back the embarrassed giggles.

Vinny found himself chuckling, both at her goofy description and the sound of her laughter. He could not remember the last time he shared an innocent laugh with a woman. Or a laugh with an innocent woman.

“We’ll stop again for a break once we get past St. Louis,” he said, when they were close to the city. The traffic was heavier, but he still kept an eye out for anyone who appeared to be following. He called Tony to let him know of their progress.

“Ask him about Easnadh,” she whispered loudly.

Nodding, he checked with Tony and then talked to Gabe when the phone was handed off. He could hear the tension in his twin’s voice, but assured him they were fine.

“Got a bad feeling, bro,” Gabe said, “Just like with some missions.”

“Yep,” he answered cryptically, not wanting to alarm Annalissa.

“The pretty harp player listening?” Gabe asked, understanding his brother’s short answer.

“Yep,” came the response.

“She really pretty?” Gabe prodded.

“Uh huh.”

“She getting to you, considering all you’ve been hanging out with is bar bimbos?” Gabe continued, knowing he was pushing his brother’s buttons.

“What do you think?” Vinny growled .

Gabe laughed, “Thought so, bro.‘Bout time something nice came your way. Listen, you take care and bring the mission home.”

“Will do,” Vinny responded, knowing his brother was concerned.

Hanging up, he turned toward Annalissa, seeing her head cocked to the side.

“So?” she asked impatiently.

He hoped she had not somehow been able to hear the conversation with his brother, so he tried to adopt an innocent look.

“Vinny? What did you find out about Easnadh?”

“Oh yeah, she arrived safely and is now with the DEA contact.”

Sucking in a huge breath, she pursued her lips as her brow wrinkled. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“You worried about your dad?”

“No, I’m not. I just want to make sure my harp is fine.”

“That’s my girl,” he said chuckling, liking her backbone.

She watched with interest as they passed by the Arch in St. Louis and drove over the Mississippi River. She grinned with excitement, saying, “We never took vacations when I was little even though we traveled with the different symphonies.” Sighing, she added, “I know this sounds weird because of the reason we have to drive, but I’m really having a good time on this trip.”

Vinny reached over and put his hand on hers again. “I gotta say it’s the best mission I’ve ever been on.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he instantly knew they came out wrong. The smile on her face dropped as she slid her hand out from under his, crossing her arms around her.

“Oh, Annalissa, that’s not what I meant,” he quickly said, wanting desperately to bring the smile back to her face.

Looking out of the window, she said, “It’s fine…really. I was just…um?—”

Jerking the car into the right lane he pulled off at an exit, driving until he found a small gas station. Pulling to the side, he cut the engine and twisted his large frame to face her. Giving her arm a little tug, he said, “Look at me. Please.”

She turned her face to him, trying unsuccessfully to hide the hurt.

How do I make this right? he thought. Realizing he had never felt this way, he wanted to make it better. Running his hand over his face in frustration, he looked into her green eyes staring at his in curiosity.

“Annalissa, you’re not…this is no longer…what I’m trying to say is…ah hell,” he growled.

A laugh erupted from her lips as she lifted her hand to cover her mouth. “You sound like me,” she said with a small smile.

He leaned his head back for a second, trying to still the pounding of his heart. Her soft voice broke through his gathering thoughts.

“Vinny, it’s really okay. I know you were hired to take me…and Easnadh back to Richmond. I get it, I really do,” she said as she laid her hand on his arm. She felt the corded muscles underneath her fingertips and wi shed that they were surrounding her, even as her words told him what she knew. “I know I’m a job. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not having a good time.”

He leaned forward, staring into her eyes as he slid his hand under her hair and to the back of her neck. “You became so much more than a mission to me miles ago, Annalissa.” He watched as her eyes widened in… shock? Lust? Approval? What are you thinking, baby? Can you give a man like me a chance even if I don’t deserve a girl like you?

He watched as she licked her plump lips and his cock pressed into his zipper at the thought of kissing her. Come on, baby, give me a sign. Anything.

“I…I’ve never…I…oh damn,” she cursed, blinking back tears. “I hate not being very articulate when I don’t know what to say,” she confessed.

“Just tell me what you’re thinking,” he prompted, pulling her lips a little bit closer to his.

“You’re everything…a woman could want, Vinny. You have to know that. I know I’m the dorky harpist…the one that someone like you would never see.”

“I see you,” he said softly. Rubbing her cheek with his rough thumb, he moved in a little closer, his lips now a whisper away from hers.

Her eyes grew large and he watched them drop to his lips. He refused to move closer knowing that if they were going to share a first kiss, she needed to be the one to want it. He already knew what he wanted and it was her. And for a lot longer than one night.

“I don’t know the games…you know…the ones that men and women play, Vinny. The pick-up lines or the flir ting. I’ve never…done that. I’m too likely to get…hurt,” she said all in one breath, afraid of his response.

“What I feel for you has nothing to do with games. You’re strong and funny. You’re beautiful and sexy, without even trying. You make me feel things that I’ve never felt. And all I want right now is to kiss you. But you gotta do it. It’s gotta come from you,” he said, his thumb now running over her lips.

With hope and a prayer, she leaned in the rest of the way and gave her lips to his.

The kiss started gently. The slow exploration of two people who seemed to have all the time in the world to discover each other. He moved his mouth over hers, relishing the feel of her soft lips against his. With a little pressure from his hand on the back of her neck, he angled her head for better access. Licking the seam of her lips, she opened her mouth on a groan which he felt all the way to his dick. Her arms found their way around his neck and he felt himself pulled closer.

He plunged his tongue into her mouth, exploring each crevice and tangling with hers. Sucking on her tongue she groaned again, this time causing his dick to swell uncomfortably, pushing against his zipper. He moved his hands to cup her face, holding her, cherishing her.

Her innocent kiss led him to wonder if she was innocent in other ways. Slowly he pulled back, immediately regretting the loss of her heat, but knowing she deserved better than to be mauled in the front seat of their SUV in the parking lot of an old gas station.

She mewled at the loss of his lips on hers. As he pulled away, she lifted her fingers to her mouth, feeling her swollen lips as they tingled. Her eyes sought his, afraid of what she would see. Disgust? Regret? Or worse, a cocky look of conquest.

As her gaze focused on his face and not just his lips, she saw…care. A slow smile. A look of…

“Annalissa,” he whispered her name and she loved the way it moved over her. “You deserve more than a kiss where we are now. But know this and take it down deep in your soul…you’re not just a job to me. But you are my mission. Keeping you safe. Keeping you happy. Keeping you.”

Her eyes widened again as she tried to understand what he was saying. “Vinny, I’m no good at this. I told you. You have to speak…plainly, so I get it,” she said.

“Okay, baby. Here it is. I want you and I want to see where this goes. You stopped being a job to me, but wanting to make you happy and wanting you with me, is my mission now.”

A slow smile spread across her face, illuminating the dark corners of his soul. Leaning over to kiss the end of her nose, he nodded toward the old gas pumps. “We’re here so I’m going to fill up the car. It doesn’t look great but do you want to take a bathroom break?”

Receiving an enthusiastic nod from her, he pulled to the pumps and she went in to get the key. She walked around to the side of the building to enter the restroom. It was old and she was afraid of some of the bugs she saw under the sink. Quickly finishing, she hurried outside wanting to rejoin Vinny. Smiling to herself, she thought back to their kiss. He wants me? Me?

Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth while another hand snaked around her waist in a vice grip. Whirled around, she saw another man coming from the corner saying, “Keep her quiet. Get her in.”

Panic set in as she realized they intended to kidnap her. The hand on her mouth was too tight…keeping her from screaming…and breathing. Her feet stumbled as the assailant tried to pull her along causing him to shift her upwards in his arms, giving her the opportunity she needed. Biting as hard as she could on the finger that had slipped into her mouth was her only defense.

He yelled as he dropped her on the pavement. “Bitch!” he bit out. His partner raced back around the other side of the car towards her.

“Vinny!” she screamed as loudly as she could, scrambling up to her feet. A blur flew past her and she heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh. Continuing to move away from the car, she managed to get to her feet before turning around. Vinny had raced past her, landing a punch to the first man, breaking his nose from look of the blood that was spurting out, before whirling around and grabbing the second man around the neck. Squeezing tightly as he held the man, he growled, “Who sent you?” and with another jerk, added, “And I’d better like your answer.”

“Don’t…don’t know…” the man choked out.

“Wrong answer, asshole,” he bit out, fury pulsating through his veins. He had already been coming to see what was taking her so long when he heard her scream. Goddammit, I should never have let her out of my sight.

“Just…got…text…who to…,” the man tried to speak. Vinny let up slightly on his hold allowing the man to gasp out, “who to follow and get.”

Vinny reached in the man’s pocket pulling out his cell phone, quickly looking through the texts. There it was.

Follow blk SUV, lic TX6590319, get girl, text when accmpl

With a growl, he dropped the man to the pavement and pulled out plastic handcuffs, easily dispatching him as well. Stalking over to their car he grabbed the keys and popped the hood.

Annalissa had moved over to the gas station, leaning against the bricks. She watched as Vinny disabled both men and then cut hoses on the inside of their car. As he walked around, he bent low pulling out a knife from his boot, slicing all four tires. His chest heaved with adrenaline. Then he turned and speared her with his gaze, lifting one muscular arm.

That was all the invitation she needed. Flying across the pavement, she jumped into his arms, choking back a sob.

He enveloped her in his embrace, holding her fiercely, willing his rage to dissipate. His body shook as much as hers. This was different. This was no mission gone wrong. This was personal. All because of the beautiful woman crying in his arms.

Pressing her body as close to him as he could with one hand holding her head against his neck and the other arm wrapped around her waist, he cradled her. Making shushing sounds he comforted her, assuring her that they were fine.

“Baby, we gotta go. The gas station owner is an old man, but he’ll be coming around to see what’s going on soon. I’ve got their phone and we need to get somewhere so I can let Tony know what’s happening.”

She nodded against his neck and lifted her face. He set her down carefully, whispering, “Hold on to me like we’re lovers who just fuc…um…have been making out back here, in case he’s looking.” She gave him a curious look but did exactly what he asked. Wrapping her arm around his waist, she smiled brilliantly at him, giggling appropriately as they walked to the SUV.

Within another minute, they were back on the highway. Calling Tony, he looked at the clock. Tony had him on speaker instantly, having assembled their group back at the agency, knowing that at any time Vinny might need them.

Vinny quickly explained what had happened, hearing cursing in the background. The group began to quickly work the problem and plan the next step of the mission.

Giving Lily the phone number of the cell phone he had taken, she and BJ began working on tracing the phone and the calls to and from it.

Jobe said, “There’s no way this could be random at this point. A few people at each airport just randomly sending drugs in luggage aren’t going to have the resources to do this kind of reconnaissance. Gotta be bigger and it’s gotta be aimed at Ms. O’Brian. Someone knows exactly who has the drugs and is now actively searching for you two.”

Vinny agreed, asking, “Anything suspicious on that list of people who had access to the harp case before it left LA?”

Gabe answered, “Still working on it brother. By the time we added the stage crew to the ones that were in her inner circle, there were a lot of hands involved. But we’re on it, bro.”

“How’s she holding up?” Tony asked. “I got the feeling that she isn’t made of very strong stuff.”

Vinny glanced to the passenger side, seeing her pale face with slight bruises forming on her lips from the assailant's hands. Dark circles were under her red-rimmed eyes, but she was still beautiful to him. And her fuckin’ chin was lifted. “She’s shaken, but okay,” he answered.

She jerked her head toward him, knowing he was referring to her, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth.

“She’s a lot tougher than she looks,” he added.

“You want me to see if I can get a private pilot to meet you at some airstrip and get you here quicker?”

“Nah. It’s already getting late today and I want to stop soon to get some food in her and we’ll rest for the night. We can get through to Kentucky in several more hours and will stop at Louisville. Find us a place to stay and rent a room. I’ll get there and rent one too, but we’ll stay in your room as added protection.”

“What about tomorrow?” Tony asked .

“Yeah, see what airstrip is close to Louisville and we’ll meet someone tomorrow.”

As they ended the strategy call, Vinny tossed his cell into the cup holder between the two front seats and took her hand again.

“You said I was tougher than I look,” she said, smiling at the compliment. Watching his handsome profile, she could not take her eyes off of his lips. Strong. Soft. And wanting them back on hers.

“Lots of women would be screaming hysterically. Hell, lots of men would have been pissing in their pants. But you, girl, you bit that man, screamed for help and stayed out of my way to let me do what I had to do.” Squeezing her hand, he said, “I couldn’t have asked for more.”

He looked over at her, seeing her eyes focused on his lips. As angry as he still was about the attack, he felt his blood rush from his head to his dick. Oh hell no! “Babe, you staring at my lips like that makes me want to pull over again and take those lips and hell, take anything else as well. But I’m not doing it. Letting my guard down last time got you attacked and almost kidnapped. Not happening again.”

“That wasn’t your fault, Vinny.” Seeing him about to answer, she continued, “No, it wasn’t. I know I’m your mission and you never fail. But even you said this goes beyond a mission.”

“Never done this, Annalissa. Never mixed work and pleasure.” He thought for a moment and amended, “Not just pleasure. But feelings. ”

Her smile grew, but she turned to look out of the front window at the woods surrounding them. The sun was almost set and she leaned back, closing her eyes. Her mind churned. Drugs, her crew, unknown assailants, her father, Todd, Gordon, Easnadh. And Vinny. He had just admitted to having feelings for her. And I have feelings for him too. Sleep was not going to come, but to not distract him she continued to sit quietly as the highway lines passed by.