Page 42 of Vinny

“You can’t make that assumption, babe,” Vinny warned, only to be greeted with a frustrated look from her.

“I can’t just suspect everyone I work with. That’s not right!” she huffed, crossing her arms in front of her.

Wanting to keep Vinny from bearing her wrath, Tony jumped in. “Annalissa, right now, you can’t trust anyone you know. Anyone could have had motives that you don’t know about.”

She held his gaze a moment before leaning over the table, resting her head in her hands.

Sherrie brought a bottle of cold water over to her and wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “I know this is hard, honey.”

Annalissa looked up gratefully, giving a small smile. Looking down at the files again, she recognized others from the stage set up.“These people don’t travel with me. They’re hired by the concert halls for each city’s symphonic orchestras. They would have no idea of who I am or where I go. Someone would be responsible for bringing my harp to me after the concert is over. I don’t carry it with me. After the final bow, I exit the stage and Easnadh is left there on her stand. Once the curtain goes down, the person in charge would make sure she was cased and brought to my room.”

“Could someone slip in unnoticed in all the confusion of a full orchestra and stage hands moving about?”

Scrunching her face in thought, she answered, “I suppose. They all have name badges that they wear around their necks, but…I guess anyone can make up a badge.”

The others grinned at her innocence, knowing that each of them had used fake badges, licenses, and identifications on multiple occasions. Tony turned to Lily,saying, “Check the stage crews for the last year of concerts for Annalissa and see if there are any crossovers.”

Turning back to the file in front of her, she flipped the page and stared at a picture of her father. Looking up sharply, she asked, “Why is this here?”

Tony, his gaze steady on hers, said, “We have to look at everyone.”

She sat still, no longer feeling Vinny’s touch even though he was still caressing her shoulder.My father. He’s no drug dealer…just…Suddenly feeling very vulnerable, she stood up saying, “I’m sorry. I’ve given you all I can today.”

Vinny jumped up with her, pulling her in for a hug. “Babe, you did really good. Let me take you home.”

She leaned back, her eyes flashing. “Home? What home, Vinny? My home has been broken into and trashed. Right now I don’t even have a home.”

He looked down at the dark circles under her eyes and the trembling of her chin telling him she was holding on by a thread.I should never have let this go so far.Calmly he said, “I know and I’m sorry. Let me take you back to my place so you can rest or practice if you would like.”

Jennifer moved over, knowing that the group would want to continue to work and process all that Annalissa had told them, saying gently, “Hey, why don’t you, me, and Sherrie go out for a little while for some girl time.”

Annalissa looked over at the faces of the two women she was fast considering as friends. “I think I’d like that,” she admitted.

Vinny leaned down and kissed her…on the lips…a simple kiss but one that spoke volumes to those who knew him. He had claimed her. The big man had fallen. As the three women left the room, the others sat in silence.

The twins shared a look and Gabe gave a nod of approval as a grin spread across his face. The others sat back down, smiles on their faces as well. Lily beamed at Vinny, saying, “I knew it would hit you one day and I kept saying that I wanted to be around when it did. Who knew that you’d fall for such a quiet, talented sweetheart?”

Vinny, actually blushing, agreed saying, “Yeah, I guess my behavior before meeting Annalissa wasn’t so good.” Shaking his head, he continued, “When I was getting to know her as we were running through the woods and hiding out in trees—well, let’s just say that I was falling for her but didn’t think there was any way in the world I deserved someone like her.”

“Oh yes you do,” Lily effused. “You just needed to find the right one.” She looked around the table at the men she worked with and cared for, her eyes stopping on Jobe. “Now, we just need to find someone for you.”

Jobe smiled, but she noticed it did not reach his eyes. Shaking his head, he said, “Nah. Had it once but threw it away. Don’t think that’ll come again.”

“You don’t know that,” Lily said. “Look at BJ here. He found his love four years after they’d broken up. If it happened to him, it could happen to you.” She caught the looks between the former brothers-in-arms, recognizing a story. One that she did not know.And one that would only be shared when Jobe was ready.

The group went back to studying the files as Vinny filled them in on Annalissa’s father, remembering what all she had told him on their trip.

“This just doesn’t make any sense,” Gabe groused. “She doesn’t travel that much and so she can’t be someone’s main source of smuggling.”

“I’m sure that someone she knows is using her,” Vinny bit out, as they sifted through the suspects. “But which one?”

“Don’t know yet, but we’ll just keep working the problem,” Tony replied. “Jack’s DEA contact said that there were no fingerprints on the bags of drugs, the case, or the harp.”

“I think it’s been done before and would have worked this time if we hadn’t had to miss our flight,” Vinny said. “So you’re right. We keep looking and in the meantime, I intend to keep her watched.”

Tony grinned. “Already got a rotation set up to be with her.”

Nodding, Vinny settled back.Now to convince Annalissa to stay with him. Not only for her safety…but for as long as she would have him.

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