Page 70 of Vinny

The knob turned easily and she threw open the door, rushing in.

The fire alarm jolted Tony and the others into action. Not knowing if it were real or not, they had a responsibility to make sure the congregation exited the building as quickly as possible.

Tony barked out orders to his men. “Jobe, front entrance. Gabe, main stairwell. Terrance, back stairwell. Doug, top of the stairs. Vinny, get Annalissa.”

Each man hurried to their station, offering assistance and reassurances along the way. Vinny had no need of instruction—he was already on his way through the masses to where he saw Annalissa last. His progress was halted as he felt a jerk on his arm. Looking down sharply, he saw the frightened expression of her father.

“Are you getting her?” he asked, breathlessly.

“I don’t care about the fuckin’ harp,” he growled.

Confusion filled the older man’s face…and then guilt. “No, no,” he said with pain. “I meant my daughter. Please save Annalissa,” he pleaded.

Vinny held his stare for only a second but nodded curtly. “With my life,” and he hurried along.

He had lost sight of her group, but being taller than most there he tried to see over the heads of the throng.Where the hell are you, baby?

He barked into his earpiece, “BJ. Where is she?”

BJ’s voice came back immediately. “She ran aroundthe back of the platform stage. It looks like she is heading toward that storage room where the harp was placed after it left the stage.”

Tony, hearing BJ’s comment, barked, “Gabe, follow Vinny.”

Gabe immediately turned and began moving through the crowd toward the back as well. An elderly woman stumbled in front of him and he was slowed when he stopped to assist her. By the time he was able to hand her off to another man, he saw Vinny just approaching the back and he ran toward his brother.

23

As Annalissa rushed into the room with the shrieking fire alarm ringing in her ears, she stumbled over her high heels.What the hell?The small back door was open, allowing the night air to blow into the room from the outside balcony. She teetered forward, grasping a stack of chairs to regain her balance as she looked down at…

Sharon was bending over the open harp case, the base of Easnadh lying to the side, with her hand up inside the body of the instrument. She looked up in surprise, her face a mixture of guilt and…rage.

“You? You?” sputtered Annalissa, unable to believe who was searching her harp.

“You bitch, you found it. You found my stash and took it. Where is it? Where is it?” Sharon screeched, loud enough to be heard over the alarm.

Annalissa rushed forward, bending to grab Easnadh, and screamed, “We have to get out. The building’s on fire.”

Before she had a good grasp, her arm was jerkedaround and she missed seeing Sharon’s flying hand as she was slapped hard across the face. Her cheek stung, but before she could react, she looked down to see what was in Sharon’s other hand. A gun. Pointed right at her.

“You stupid bitch. Who do you think started the fire in the first-floor bathroom? Paper towels and my handy lighter was all it took to make the high-brow crowd run for the exits. And you should have too. I should have known you’d come back for your precious harp.”

“Sharon,” she said, trying to still her pounding heart. “It’s gone. I gave it to the police. They’re on to you now. They’ll know it was you. You can’t get away.”

Just then the door slammed open with a bang as Gordon rushed forward, screaming, “Have you got it?” He came to a halt as he saw Sharon holding a gun on Annalissa. “What the hell are you doing? You were supposed to get the shit and get out unnoticed.”

Annalissa felt her head spinning, adrenaline rushing through her veins. “Gordon?”

His eyes, round with fear, looked at her incredulously.

Sharon smirked as she held the gun steady, still aimed toward Annalissa, and as she jerked her head toward Gordon, said, “Seems like he got a little greedy with the stuff going up his nose and agreed to let me know your flight schedules. And the flight schedules of others. I had a good thing going until you cocked it up. Now get over there,” she barked while jerking her head toward the back door.

“No, no, you don’t have to do this.”

“Your security stud will probably come through that door any second. You get out there or I blast him the instant he makes it here.”

“Fuck, Sharon. This is not what I signed up for,” Gordon whined. “You can’t shoot her.”

“You moron,” Sharon barked. “You don’t tell me what to do. I’ve been running this shit for a while now and got a name for myself with some people that can make my movie dreams come true. Now shut the hell up or you can get over there with her.”

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