Vinny: Alvarez Security Series (35 page)

He came. He came for me.
The cold was fading away as consciousness began to slip from her. As the water flowed by, her head held up out of the water by his strong grip began to nod.

The park next to the concert hall had a concrete wall that held the river at bay and on a warm summer day was usually filled with laughing children and their parents. Tonight, it was filled with firemen, policemen, and Tony’s group. Huge spotlights had just been turned toward the water, allowing the searchers to see the surface of the swirling waters more easily.

Gabe had made it to the wall, ready to jump in when needed. Tony walked up and had just clamped his hand on Gabe’s shoulder when Jobe shouted. “Visual. Man in water. Two o’clock.”

The group turned to his directions and saw Vinny swimming toward them, carrying Annalissa. He just made it to the wall when Gabe jumped in next to him. With both of them hefting her body out of the water, Jobe and Tony were able to lean down to grab hold of her.

She was barely dressed and her body had a bluish color. The men felt the ice cold touch of her skin. Jobe immediately wrapped her in a blanket and began rubbing her limbs to aid in circulation. BJ, Terrance, and Doug had appeared beside Tony and they all hoisted Gabe and Vinny out of the river as well. Tony threw blankets at both soaked men, knowing that Vinny would not even notice. He had already rushed over to Annalissa’s side where the rescue squad had placed her on the stretcher.

“Let me get to her, I’m a medic,” Vinny ordered.

“Sir, you need to stay back. In fact, you need to be checked out as well.”

“Fuck that, I’m staying with her,” he growled.

The EMT gave up arguing and turned his attention back to Annalissa. They prepared to move her to the ambulance and did not attempt to dissuade Vinny when he got in the back with her. He looked out of the ambulance before it took off, seeing Gabe, Tony, and Jobe standing together. Always together. Friends. Brothers.

A
nnalissa was sitting
in the hospital room, anxious to leave. “Vinny, can’t we just sneak out?”

“For the last time, no,” he said, pretending to be stern. If the truth were told, he would have given her anything her heart desired, but the ER had admitted her for observation overnight.

She had been saved from hypothermia, although her body temperature was low when she was brought in. Most of her cuts from the small shards of wood had been cleaned and would heal quickly. The more concerning injury was the large, four-inch splinter of wood that had pierced her upper arm, slicing through muscle and almost severing a nerve. That injury had required extensive stitching and would take longer to heal.

She had made the doctor save the piece that he removed. He asked her where it came from, but it hurt too much to tell him that her beloved instrument had been shattered. She shook her head and gave a weak smile. “Just from something I cared for,” was all she could manage.

Vinny noticed that she did not speak of Easnadh so he did not bring it up in conversation either. For him, the vision of the broken harp with her blood spilled on it now replaced the other horrific memory of another harp years before.

Gabe and Jennifer came to the door, smiling to see Annalissa sitting up on the bed. Jennifer rushed over, throwing her arms around her. Gabe walked over, kissed the top of her head and then moved to stand next to Vinny.

Vinny held his gaze for a moment, the secret communication between twins at work. Gabe knew that Vinny wanted to know what had happened to Sharon and what the rest of the story was. He also knew by looking at his brother that Vinny did not want anything said that could possibly upset Annalissa now. With a nod of understanding, Gabe moved back over to his wife.

“Tony said to call him as soon as she’s discharged. Shane and Matt will meet over at your house. They need her statement but had enough evidence for now,” Gabe said.

“Babe, we don’t have to do this today,” Vinny stated emphatically, watching her carefully for signs of distress.

The nurse entered, interrupting their conversation, carrying the discharge papers. With everything signed, he wheeled her out of the hospital into Gabe’s waiting vehicle.

Arriving at his parking garage, Vinny insisted on carrying her to the elevator and refused to let her walk.

“This is ridiculous,” she protested. “My arm is hurt, not my legs.”

“Quiet, princess,” he whispered. “It makes me feel better if you’re in my arms.” He wanted to carry her straight to the bedroom, insisting that she needed to rest, but she equally insisted that she was tired of being in bed. They compromised when he set her down on the sofa and covered her with a blanket.

It did not take long for the apartment to fill with friends, bringing food and good wishes. Matt and Shane came over but kept their questions to a minimum. She recited her side of the events and then questioned them, wanting to know what had happened.

“It appears that Sharon’s been a drug runner for a well-known cartel based out of California for a couple of years. She’s carried drugs in her cosmetic bags and has gotten more creative in where she hides them for transport,” Matt reported.

Tony picked up the story. “She met Gordon at an after opening party for one of his small-time actresses and it seems that she kept him supplied with cocaine for the past year. She wasn’t his direct dealer, but as a runner she had access. She also then began to blackmail him into getting jobs for her.”

“Is that how she became acquainted with Annalissa?” Vinny asked, his arm protectively around her.

“He introduced her to entertainers who needed her for their various engagements and traveling around the country was perfect for her to have a chance to move the drugs. I guess one look at your harp and its case and she thought she was in heaven.”

“But I still don’t understand how she managed to get it done,” Annalissa wondered aloud.

Shane explained, “We don’t know the specifics yet, but what we could piece together last night with her and with Gordon, he would supply her with the dates, airlines, and travel times for you. She was with you in the hotel suites that would be booked and when everyone was asleep, she would carefully hide the drugs in your harp column. Then she made the arrangements with the airport handler in Dulles. The drug cartel used him for lots of jobs…she was just one of them.”

“And,” Tony added, “On this trip everything went wrong for her. She has spent the past month trying to figure out how to get the harp alone so that she could remove the drugs, assuming that they were still there. The gala provided the perfect opportunity so Gordon decided to arrange for her to be there and he wanted to cover his ass as well.”

“What will happen to her?” Annalissa asked.

“Right now, she is sitting in jail and so is Gordon. We’ve got her on possession, possession with the intent to distribute, extortion, robbery, kidnapping, assault, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted murder. Gordon, right now, is looking at accessory charges, but more may follow.”

“Oh, my God.” Annalissa, overwhelmed, leaned her head back on Vinny’s shoulder. “I don’t even know what to think about all of that.”

“She’ll probably be offered a deal, ’cause she really is small potatoes in the cartel, but that makes her life worth spit about now. I’m sure they want the larger fish to catch.”

Sherrie walked back from the kitchen with a glass of water and as she handed it to Annalissa, she also showed her the newspaper. “I know you hate crowds, honey, but you made the front page.”

The headlines screamed about the protégé harpist who had been threatened by a crazed woman at the gala for Professor Feinstein.

“I’ve been fielding phone calls from fans who want to wish you well and your manager who wants to capitalize on your notoriety,” Jennifer said ruefully.

Annalissa cut her eyes over to Vinny, seeing the angry tick in his jaw. Before she could try to appease his anger, Matt and Shane walked over and kissed the top of her head as they made their way out of the apartment.

Vinny looked back down at her and said, “You ought to know that your dad came to the hospital that first night when you were out of it.”

Her mouth formed an “O”, but nothing came out.

“He wanted to check on you and said he’d come by when you were feeling better. I gave him our address here and…well, we’ll see.”

She nodded slowly, impressed with that fact that her father actually came to check on her. She wanted to say more, but Vinny stood to let the others out. As Sherrie and Jennifer walked out, he faced Gabe and Jobe.

Jobe nodded toward the sofa where Annalissa still sat, and said, “Take care of her, man. She’s a good woman.”

“You told me to give her what she needed. Someone to help without taking over her life. That’s not easy, but it was good advice,” Vinny admitted.

Jobe nodded, a smile on his face as he walked out, leaving the twins facing each other at the door. The silent communication that had served them from the crib all the way through Special Forces continued even now. Unspoken words of understanding.

“See you at mom’s next weekend?” Gabe asked.

Smiling, Vinny nodded. “Oh yeah. We’ll be there.”

With that simple exchange, they parted and Vinny closed the door, walking back to the sofa where Annalissa was still snuggled in the blanket.

Before she could protest, he bent and scooped her up in his arms, walking toward the bedroom. Holding her easily with one hand, he tossed the covers back with the other before placing her on the soft sheets. Toeing off his boots, he stepped out of his jeans and slid into bed, pulling her gently into his embrace.

“You got something on your mind, soldier?” she asked, an eyebrow lifted in question.

“Nope. Not until you’re healed.” Not paying attention to her pout, he focused instead on the dark circles underneath her eyes. “Now’s for resting, and I gotta tell you, babe, all I want is to lie here for a hundred years with you in my arms so that I can know you’re safe.”

As she burrowed deeper into his embrace, a tear slid down her cheeks. “I know I have so much to be grateful for and this is going to sound really dumb…but I hate that I lost Easnadh.”

“I know, princess. I know,” he whispered, the vision of the broken, bloodied harp once again in his mind.

Fatigue took hold, pulling them both under as they lay entangled in each other.

*

Much to her
surprise, Annalissa’s father came to see her the next day. She stood awkwardly in the living room as Vinny let him in. He did not hesitate. He walked directly over and pulled her into a hug. Her eyes closed, tears falling as she realized she could not remember the last time her father had hugged her.

He held her at arm’s length, his own eyes teary, and peered at her wanting to ascertain for himself that she really was alright. His gaze roamed her face before lowering to her shoulder, where the raw stitches stood out in stark contrast to her pale, smooth skin.

Clearing his throat, he asked how she was.

She answered, smiling, “I’m okay, Dad. I’m really okay. Especially now that you’ve come.”

He stayed and visited for a few minutes, but she noticed he never mentioned Easnadh. He took his leave as she began to tire and Vinny walked him to the door.

“Thank you for not saying anything,” Vinny said softly so that she could not hear. “She’s thankful to be alive, but not having her harp hurts her deeply.”

Steward O’Brian nodded thoughtfully as he thanked Vinny for taking care of his daughter.

*

Several weeks passed,
each day finding Annalissa growing more restless. She was physically healed and stayed busy with trips out with Jennifer and Sherrie and her nights with Vinny. Long nights filled with worshiping bodies, whispers of love, and promises of forever.

But she had not practiced. She had not picked up an instrument. The music was silent, both in reality and in her heart.

Finally answering a call from Maurice, she went to visit him and Mrs. Baxter. She had not seen him since the night of the gala, although they had checked on her. As usual Mrs. Baxter pulled her into a tight hug, clucking the entire time, inquiring about her health and harrowing adventures. Annalissa could not keep the smile off of her face as she was enveloped in the plump woman’s embrace.