Vinny: Alvarez Security Series (17 page)

Several terrifying hours
later, the small Cessna began landing at a small local airport near Richland. The flight had been without difficulties, but Annalissa felt as though her stomach had spent most of the time in her throat.

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.

A
s 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.”