Page 15 of Vinny

“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 handswere 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 hewas 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.”

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