8. Vince
8
VINCE
Not taking any chances with that prick, Steve , we left early in the morning to drop my car off and pick up the trailer. I’d gone online and pre-registered for the U - Haul the night before, so we were all set.
When Val called me last night to let me know Steve was back at their door, this time being way pushier than usual, my anger went off the charts. When I’d finally realized why Cat had stopped writing and that she hadn’t ghosted me like I’d thought, I was excited to find her and figure out if we could be friends in real life this time. I couldn’t explain it, because they were just letters, and I got plenty of letters from people at home while I was overseas, but hers were different.
Most came from old people who were just trying to be kind because they had someone in their family who was past military. Or we would get letters from school kids. Those were funnier than anything else because kids had no filter and would tell you all kinds of random things; their favorite TV shows, which teachers they did and didn’t like, who their favorite sports teams were, and most would draw pictures that were horrible renditions of whatever they should have actually been. Cat’s letters, though… I couldn’t explain it. There was just this odd connection I felt with her from the very first letter, and even though I never admitted it out loud, I was crushed when she stopped writing.
When she and Val told me they were willing to take a chance on Atlanta , I gave a small smile, but internally, I was thrilled. They’d agreed to move in with me only temporarily until they could find a safe place. I would help her with that, though I had a feeling I might be taking my sweet time doing it, if it kept her closer for a little longer. Now that I’d found her, I wasn’t going to risk losing her again.
After loading the last box into the trailer, taking out the trash, and double-checking that everything left in the apartment was good to go, we went to the front office to close out their lease. They had been paying month to month, so the only fee they had to pay was one extra month since they hadn’t given thirty days’ notice. After that, we took off. I was driving, Cat was in the passenger seat, and Val was in the back row behind Cat with the hairless rat-cat in the seat next to her.
Val was self-selected to be in charge of all music on this trip, but I told her that as the driver, I had the right to veto any song I didn’t like and make them skip it. Thankfully , they both agreed. Though , I quickly realized both of these girls could talk. A lot. So , there wasn’t much listening to the music per se, but rather just having it on in the background.
“So, Vince , got any hot brothers? Cousins ?” Val asked me to break the silence. “ Since we’re gonna be living with you, I guess we should probably know more about you.”
I grinned because Val had no boundaries and clearly just said whatever was on her mind. I could tell Cat was still nervous about the move, though, so if I could tell her a bit more about me, maybe it would ease her concerns a bit.
“No brothers, sorry—at least no biological ones,” I told them. “ I have a sister who’s the same age as Cat , twenty-five. Her name is Jenny . She’s an interior designer, and unfortunately a giant Swiftie like this one,” I said, pointing my thumb at Cat next to me.
Cat didn’t say anything to that, but I saw her give a smile.
“Don’t be fooled, Vince . She’s not normally this quiet,” Val said to me. “ She has the same Latina attitude I do—we get it from our mother—but she’s too busy at the moment thinking in her head of all the ways this was a bad decision and coming up with backup plans in case everything goes wrong. The overthinking part comes from our father, and thankfully, I didn’t get that gene.”
Val winked at me through the rearview mirror, and I heard Cat give a low growl next to me. I smiled because the dynamic between the two of them was very similar to the dynamic between my sister and me.
“I’m not overthinking,” Cat spoke up, looking at her sister. “ We’re moving to a brand-new place, and we know nothing about it. I haven’t had a chance to really scope anything out. Our creepy neighbor got even creepier and slightly combative right before we left, and we’re moving in with someone we hardly know—no offense, Vince . A guy, who happens to also have found out who we are and where we lived even though we were hiding.” She turned to me, and I could see her twisting her hands together nervously in her lap.
“No offense taken,” I told her, and while keeping my left hand on the steering wheel, I moved my right hand to grab one of hers, squeezing it and then putting it on my thigh and softly rubbing my thumb over the back of her hand and hopefully calm her down.
Her hand, which had tensed when I picked it up and moved it to my leg, now eased a little, which I took as a win for the moment.
“Tell us more about these other people you work with,” Val interrupted. “ Are any of them cute and single?”
Cat sighed. “ Seriously , Val .”
“What? I’ve been in witness protection for most of the latter half of my life, which is basically a no-go for dating of any kind,” Val said. “ I would like to be normal for a change and maybe go out on dates. And forgive me for wanting those dates to be with a guy who’s a hunk like Vince . Though don’t worry, Vince , I’m not trying to steal you away from my sister.”
I chuckled at her comment, but Val’s words lingered in my mind. Was it the same for Cat ? Had they both missed out on dating while in WITSEC ? Oddly , the idea made me smile. The thought of Cat with other guys triggered a surge of protectiveness—and jealousy.
“We’re not for-real dating, Val . That was just to get Steve off our backs,” Cat said in reply.
“Sis, I love you, but where is your hand currently?” Val pointed out, noting it was still attached to mine on my right thigh. “ You may be paranoid and sometimes crazy, but you aren’t dumb. You two may not be officially dating , but my guess is it’s only a matter of time before that changes.”
I felt Cat attempt to retrieve her hand from mine, but I didn’t want to let her go. However , I knew I couldn’t come on too strong just yet, especially with her already having anxiety over the move in general, so I let her have this moment and gave her hand back. Before Cat could interject, though, Val spoke again.
“So, about these co-workers of yours… Tell us everything. It’s not like we don’t have time. We’ve got hours before we get to Georgia ,” Val said.
I gave her the brief synopsis on each of the men, explaining how Jack , Wade and I all served together overseas in the Army , though not giving them the details of the types of missions we were on, nor that we were Special Forces .
“During down time on our last two deployments, we all talked about what we wanted to do with our lives post-duty,” I told them. “ My cousin Archer used to be a cop but was looking to get out and switch to private security. Considering our special training, our skills made us highly qualified to do private security. My dad, who was a bounty hunter, taught me everything he knows, and with Archer’s training as a cop, we knew that would also allow us to add private investigations and fugitive recovery to our business. Hence , Ranger Shield Security was born.”
“Wow, I’m impressed,” Val said.
“Your dad is a bounty hunter too?” Cat asked me.
“He was. He just finally retired,” I responded. “ He was a cop for a few years in the beginning but couldn’t handle the red tape. Tracking was always one of his better skills, so he decided to leave the force and just go into bounty hunting and a little bit of private investigation work instead. My mom was a teacher, so in the summers, she would help him with getting caught up on paperwork and such.”
I also told them about the pub and the general layout of the building, including that Jack , Wade , and Ellie all lived in the apartments on the top floor. I mentioned the newer guys we’d recently added, including Axel , Diego , and Dane , and what each of their specialties was.
“Then there’s Ruthie , who is our receptionist,” I added. “ She schedules all our client meetings, organizes all our invoices, and basically makes sure we do all our boring paperwork. It was Ruthie who ultimately started me on the path to finding you.”
I explained how she’d been looking for a website designer and had Cat’s site pulled up in the office when I walked by. I’d instantly recognized the logo, and the search had begun from there.
“I can definitely help you out with the website, especially after everything you’re doing for Val and me,” Cat said.
“I’ll introduce you to Ruthie so you can find out what she needs, but you’re not doing this for free,” I told her. “ I’m not helping you and Val out because I expect favors in return.”
I didn’t know why I added that, but it was important for me to make her realize that my helping them was not because I expected something in exchange.
“So, where do you live, Vince ,” Val asked. “ Apartment or house? How big is it? Can you let us know a bit more about our soon-to-be temporary living situation?”
I told them about my condo, that it was in an old warehouse that they’d converted into loft spaces. Three bedrooms, though the third one was currently my office, but it had a futon, so there would be sleeping space for both of them if they wanted separate rooms. Two bathrooms and plenty of storage for them to stow some of their stuff into until they moved out.
The rest of the ride was filled with stories about our childhoods, learning more about each other’s families, and, unfortunately for my sake, listening to an ungodly number of Taylor Swift songs.