10. Sometimes it Takes Tom Cruise to Get You Where You Want to Go
HE’S DEFINITELY A brat.
I putter around in the kitchen a few more minutes, just in case Vincent decides to come back, but he must not be pissed enough at me to warrant another visit. That’s disappointing.
But it”s late and I’m fucking tired, so, after packing up my cookie ice cream sandwiches, I head upstairs to brush my teeth. It”s been a really, really long day and I am more than ready for bed.
Once that’s done I shuffle into my bedroom and flip off the light. I eye the blinds he dragged across my doors. For a minute, I consider reopening them, but then decide he”s the brat, not me, so I leave them in place before dragging back the covers and falling onto the mattress. I flail around a little, trying to get comfortable, but it”s not as easy to pass out as I expected. I can’t stop replaying the day’s events in my head.
Specifically the part where Vincent pinned me against the wall and angry-fucked the hell out of me. I”m a little suspicious I was coming close to getting the round two I wanted when his phone started to ring. But then his stomach growled and I felt a little bad. It”s pretty clear things aren”t going exactly the way he expected them to, and I”m going to take full credit for that. Which means I probably also deserved full credit for his grumbling gut.
Fixing him something to eat while he attempted to make good on his threat of erasing my hacking hobby from existence felt like the right thing to do. I knew he wouldn’t be successful, so I wasn’t worried. But I am worried about what will happen when he realizes it can’t be done. Is he just going to fly back to Alaska and pretend I don”t exist?
It”s a little depressing to consider. Especially since in the four years I”ve been divorced, and the two years I”ve been actively trying to find someone to ring my bell, he”s the only one I”ve ever considered allowing the opportunity to accomplish it.
And he rang that motherfucker like the town was burning down.
I flop to my other side and stare at the nightstand. Maybe I”ll be able to relax a little better if I rub a quick one out. If nothing else, it’ll be fun.
I”m reaching for the nightstand when I hear scuffing on the balcony outside. Excitement twists my belly and my nipples tighten. I”m not just going to lay here and wait to see what happens next—the anticipation would likely kill me and I very much want to be alive for this—so I fling back the covers and jump from the bed, fluffing my hair as I go straight to the door. I slide the vertical blinds across the door and find exactly what I expected.
The man on my balcony is decked out in black tactical gear and looks ready to come through my door.
The problem is, the man”s not Vincent.
I sling the blinds back into place and backpedal across the room, each step faster than the one before it as I try to put as much distance between me and the strange man as possible.
I was obviously wrong all those times I thought I got all hot and bothered from being a little scared, because right now I’m only filled with ice-cold panic. There”s not a single hint of horniness to be found anywhere inside me as I reach my bedroom door. When the handle of the sliding door jiggles, I let out a yelp, my heart in my throat as I spin away and start to run.
Every bit of me bounces as I run down the stairs, forcing me to wrap one arm across my front to keep my boobs somewhat stable. I keep my grip on them as I hit the bottom and reach for the door.
Then I pause, realizing someone might be on the other side of this door too. Leaning forward to squint through the peephole, I let out a sigh of relief when no one”s on the other side. In one last strike of brilliance, I reach for the end table and grab the key to Vincent”s apartment, gripping it and my boobs tight as I yank open the door and race out into the frigid night.
The soles of my feet start to burn as I run across the frozen sidewalk, not bothering to look down as I go. I don’t care about the state of my soles or the chance I might step on something sharp. My only thought is to get to Vincent as fast as possible. He’s the only chance I have.
I reach his door, banging on it with one hand as I shove the key into the lock with the other, twisting it around until I hear the deadbolt slide. Then I shove my way in, falling right against him as I tumble over the threshold.
Vincent grabs me tight, pressing my body to his as he swings me away and slams the door, locking it. ”What”s wrong?”
Every part of me is shaking. Trembling all the way to my bones as I hang on to him, unwilling to let go for even a second. ”There was a man on my balcony.”
Vincent”s eyes narrow and his jaw sets. ”Describe him to me.”
”He looked like you, but he wasn”t you.” I sink my fingers deeper into the fabric of his shirt. ”He wore the same kind of clothes, but he was shorter. Wider.”
Vincent keeps me pinned to him as he walks to the desk taking up his living room. He picks up his phone and makes a call, calmly waiting as it rings. ”We”ve got a problem. I need a plane here as soon as possible.”
”You”re leaving?” The question comes out as a shriek. I”m suddenly regretting how big of a pain in his ass I”ve been. I should have been nicer. Should have been sweeter.
Definitely should not have masturbated in front of an open window and then begged him to fuck me against a wall. Both bad moves now that I’m really thinking about it.
Vincent holds me tighter against him. ”There’ll be two of us. If you can get the plane here any faster, let me know.” He disconnects the call, sliding his phone into one pocket before turning to face me, his hands resting on my shoulders as he leans down to align his eyes with mine. ”I need you to breathe, Angel Face.”
I want to do what he”s asking me to do, but I also don”t think I can make my lungs expand. I manage a nod even though I”m not inhaling, and I”m starting to feel a little lightheaded because of it.
”Have you reached out to anyone besides GHOST?” Vincent”s voice is calm and even. It doesn”t carry a trace of the frustration he normally has when talking to me. It”s weird, but also makes it a little easier for me to finally suck in a breath.
I nod again. ”I approached a few groups before I found GHOST.”
Vincent continues staring into my eyes, his presence solid and steady. ”Do you have any data on your hard drive?”
I shake my head. ”No. Everything is encrypted on a server and behind a firewall no one can get through.” I manage another shaky breath. ”Not even you.”
Vincent”s lips twitch, almost like he”s about to smile. ”Good.” He spins away, taking his steadying presence with him as he turns to his own set of computers. With a few quick clicks, he implements a program that will wipe anything they might have had on them. Once that”s running, he turns back to me, eyes skimming down my form. ”We”ve gotta get out of here, and we”ve got to do it fast.” He glances in the direction of my condo. ”Did anyone see you come over here?”
I press my lips together, because outside of looking through the peephole, I didn”t pay attention to whether or not anyone was around to watch me flee. ”I don”t know. No one was on the porch, so I just took off running.”
Vincent tucks his chin in a single nod. ”We’re just going to act like someone saw you until we know otherwise.” He grabs my hand, lacing our fingers together as he steps to a pile of items tucked in one corner. He grabs the heavy coat he had on earlier and wraps it around me. ”Arms in.”
I do as he says, letting him quickly bundle me up.
He crouches down, unzipping a pocket on his bag to pull out three pairs of socks. He quickly shakes the first pair loose and turns to my bare feet. ”Grab my shoulders and pick up your foot.”
Again, I do exactly as he says, because I have no idea what”s going on or how to handle it. But Vincent does, and his confidence is the only reason I haven”t thrown up or passed out.
He quickly tugs three socks onto each of my feet. After standing, he pulls a casual coat over his dark tactical gear before slinging his bag over one shoulder. ”I”d offer you my boots, but there”s no way they”ll fit you and it’ll be hard for you to run in them.” He grabs my hand again, gripping it tight as he pulls me to the back of the condo. Once we reach the door, he lifts my hand and presses it against his back. ”Hold on to the back of my coat and don”t let go. Stay behind me no matter what happens. Got it?”
I give him a jerky nod. ”Got it.”
I make a little squeak when he pulls a gun from somewhere. Has he always been armed and I just never noticed it?
Probably. And the guy who was just on my balcony was probably armed too.
Saliva fills my mouth as the urge to throw up climbs my throat. This is probably the way I should”ve felt when I found out Vincent had been in my house, but nothing about him has ever seemed threatening. No matter how hard he tried.
That man I just saw? He was threatening. I don”t know why. I don”t know what the difference is, but there was no denying the menacing nature of his presence.
Vincent lifts his brows. ”Ready? We’re going to go fast.”
”I”m as ready as I”m gonna get.” I hold tighter to his coat, just because I don”t want to accidentally get separated from him. I”m not cut out to handle this on my own, and for the first time I feel like Vincent was right in not hiring me. Sure, I can create a good program and write a mean code, but when shit gets dangerous?
Well, I doubt passing out ice cream cookie sandwiches will get me anywhere.
Vincent cracks the door open, peeking through the gap before turning my way and jerking his chin toward the outside. A second later, we’re moving, quickly sliding out the door before silently closing it behind us and then cutting through the crunchy grass peeking out from the thin layer of snow remaining after the sun of the day. The thick layer of socks covering my feet keep it from being a painful trek, but the cold seeps through really quickly, and we”ve barely made it to the next set of buildings before my toes go numb.
Vincent swings us around the corner, tucking me against it as he angles his body in front of mine to look around the edge, back the way we came.
I press closer to his back, keeping my white-knuckle grip on his coat. ”Do you see something?” I say it as quietly as I can, not wanting to do anything to attract attention our way.
Vincent leans back as a beam of light swings between the buildings, swiping through the darkness.
I guess that”s my answer.
Vincent turns to me, his face all hard angles in the shadowy moonlight. He points two fingers indicating our new trajectory. I nod, because what the fuck else am I gonna do? I sure as shit don”t know what to do in this situation.
The minute I express understanding, we’re moving again. Vincent’s steps are quick and I try to match mine to his, stretching as far as I can to come close to mimicking his long strides. When we reach the end of the building, he stops again to peek around the corner. Then we’re walking again. We repeat this all the way down the line of buildings to the edge of the complex. But instead of turning away from the property, we move deeper into it, heading in the direction of the retention pond.
I want to ask where we’re going, but my toes are freezing, my fingers hurt from holding on so tight, and I”m still on the verge of throwing up, so I just stay quiet and focus on my breathing. I really wasn”t planning on doing so much cardio tonight, and I don”t want to end up dead because my wheezing is echoing between the buildings.
When we reach the last building before the pond, Vincent stops again, doing a slow sweep of the area surrounding it. We’re at the opposite end from where my condo sits, but because the space is so wide open, I can see my place from here. The beam of a flashlight moves across the windows as whoever found their way to my balcony weaves through my home.
I always felt comfortable there. Was it the nicest place I”ve ever lived? No. But it was mine, and that made it special.
But now some scary man has ruined it for me, and I have a feeling I”m never going back there again, which makes me sad. Way sadder than I was when I left the house where I raised my sons.
Vincent’s hand reaches back to rest on my hip, giving it a little squeeze. The heat of his palm soaks through the thin fabric of my pajama bottoms as his thumb drags across the curve of my flesh. My throat tightens at the gesture. No one’s ever comforted me like this, and I’m surprised by it. Not just because of how much I like his soothing touch, but also because of how gently it’s offered.
Vincent loves to tell me how bad of a man he is. How dangerous. I didn”t believe him before, and I sure as hell don”t believe him now. But I’ll let him think he’s bad and scary all he wants if he gets me out of this. I”ll agree with him all day long. Hell, I”ll even pretend to be terrified if that makes him happy. I just don”t want to die today, shoeless, braless, and just finally having had sex worth mentioning.
Vincent gives my hip a little pat. ”Time to move, Angel Face.” His voice is low, but his movements are quick, and soon I’m practically running to keep up with him as we cut across the open space. When we reach the cluster of trees and bushes opposite the one where he hid to watch me, he drags me down, tucking me low so I”m completely hidden behind the evergreen foliage but propped tight against him as he scans our surroundings.
I suck in air, trying to catch my breath. I swear on Tom Cruise’s life, I’ll do more cardio if I survive this. I’ll get a treadmill desk.
And a treadmill.
“How many men did you say were on your balcony?” Vincent’s question pulls my attention from the burning in my lungs.
“One.” My stomach drops. “Why?”
Vincent’s jaw clenches so tight it starts to tick. “Wait here.”
“What?” I grab at him as he stands. “No. You can’t leave me. What if someone finds me?”
He pauses, crouching down to press the pistol from his hand into my palm. “Aim for the head.” He stands. “Just not mine.”