Page 19 of Vinny

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 middleof 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 heinstantly 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.

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