Page 24 of Vinny

He pushed branches out of the way for her and tried to point out obstacles in their paths.Thank God for a full moon.Even though he could have traversed the woods in almost blackout conditions, the moonlight gave her some illumination.

After almost thirty minutes, they stopped by a small creek. She was winded and plopped down on a log quickly. He cursed as he saw her trying to catch her breath. Pulling out his phone, he called Tony knowing that this time he was at home.

Filling him in on the events at the hotel, he said, “We’re hiking through the woods right now. Got a location on my phone we’re heading to. Small town, back off the highway. Going to need some intel and you gotta let Jack’s man know that we won’t be meeting him at the airstrip later today.”

Tony cursed, knowing the mission had now changed for the worse. He not only had a man in the field, but was now responsible for keeping a woman safe who was unused to the dangers they faced.

“Look Tony, I’m going to see if I can find somewhere safe to bunk down for a few hours until it gets a little more light. Once everyone is in later, we’ll coordinate again.”

“I’m calling everyone in now,” Tony growled.

“No, don’t do it, boss. Let everyone get a few more hours sleep in their own beds and then come in fresh.”

“Vinny, you’re the best I’ve ever seen in the field but with?—”

“I got this, sir. Nothing’s going to happen to her.”

Disconnecting the call, he turned to check on Annalissa, still sitting on the log. Even in the moonlight he could see her fatigue, now that the adrenaline rush was over. Walking over, he knelt in front of her, his massive legs on either side of hers and his arms stretched out, caging her in. “Babe, I hate to do this, but we gotta keep going for a little while.”

She looked into his eyes, a smile on her face. “I can keep going,” she assured him.

“That’s my girl,” he said, standing while pulling her up with him, loving the sound ofmy girlon his lips.

She smiled, the heat of his hand warming her almost as much as the words he had spoken.

He reached for her backpack, but she pulled back. “Nope, I got this. At least for now. If it gets too heavy, I’ll tell you.”

Giving her hand a squeeze, they took off through the woods once again. The terrain was difficult to traverse and he turned often to keep an eye on her. Several times he heard her grunt in exertion or make a slight exclamation when tripping over a tree root.

Her eyes were trained on the ground below trying to find her footing, while following the large man in front of her. Her breath came in pants as she wondered how he managed to make it look so easy. Her legs burned with the exertion and her aching feet sent shards of pain radiating throughout. Just when she thought shewould drop from the inhuman pace, Vinny stopped suddenly.

“You’re doing great, Annalissa,” he said encouraging her on. Her face smiled up at his in the moonlight, but he could see the fatigue in her eyes. Reaching down to take her hand, he added, “We can go a little slower,” and as they continued, he did not let go of her hand this time.

After a while Vinny saw a crude hunter’s stand that had seen better days. Moving quickly to it, he tested the pieces of wood nailed to the tree trunk, finding them sound. Scrambling up, he tested the floor as well.

Climbing back down, he said, “It’s not the Ritz, doll, but it’ll keep us off the ground for a few hours while you can rest.”

She eyed the wooden slats suspiciously, but before she could object, she was boosted from behind. Grabbing the makeshift ladder, she felt his hands on her ass pushing her upwards. Landing on the floor of the wooden structure, she moved carefully on her knees, peeking over the edge.

Tossing up her backpack and his as well, he climbed up after her. He tried to move carefully, aware of his body size and the smallness of the platform. He settled with his back against the tree trunk and pulled her back with him.

“Vinny?” her quiet voice rang out in the night.

“Yeah?”

“What’s happening?” The fear and fatigue warred within, easily heard by him.

“I don’t know for sure, but it looks like whoeverdiscovered that the harp did not make it on schedule is now looking for it.”

His statement was met with silence. Uncomfortable silence.

He turned her gently so that she was facing him. Concern and confusion filled her expression. Pulling her into his chest, he promised, “Don’t worry. We got away and haven’t left a trail. I’ve got Tony and the group on it. Their job is to plan our new mission and my job is to keep you safe until we can get to a rendezvous point to get back home. And Annalissa?” he said, willing his strength into her. “I never fail.”

Within a few minutes they settled down, her face on his chest once again as exhaustion took over. He watched as her face relaxed in slumber and wrapped his arms around her tighter, wanting his body warmth to sink into hers.

Looking up into the star-filled sky, his mind ran back over the events of the past couple of days. Heaving a sigh before stilling his body so as not to wake her, he finally closed his eyes.Whatever’s happened brought this amazing woman into my life,he thought as he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Don Juarez answered his phone, noting the call coming from one of his most trusted second in command and cousin. He never greeted anyone on the phone—he simply connected and waited to see what the other person had to say.

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