21. Vince
21
VINCE
I was wrapping up a few things at the office before I left for my date with Cat . I felt kind of like a teenager again with the strange level of excitement I had for this dinner. Maybe it’s because I’d gotten laid for the first time in more than six months.
My phone rang beside me, and I saw it was the number at the front desk of my apartment building. Sandi didn’t usually call unless it was important, and I wondered if the girls might have forgotten their key or something. I swiped the phone to answer it.
“Hey, Sandi ,” I answered.
“Vince, I’m not sure what to do, but chocolates were delivered for Cat and Val , and I accepted them, but when they got here, they opened the card and freaked out,” Sandi said rapidly without taking a breath and sounding frantic.
My senses went on alert as she continued talking.
“They mumbled something together and took off for the elevator quickly, leaving the chocolates and the card here. I picked it up and read it, and it was some kind of threat. Do you want me to call the cops?”
I was up and moving quickly from my office and down the hall to Archer’s , where he in a meeting with Jack and Axel . At the same time, I was asking Sandi for more details.
“Repeat that,” I said to Sandi , not quite sure I had heard her correctly, and placed my phone on speaker just as I opened the door to Archer’s office.
“There was a card that came with the chocolates. It said to hide all you want, but he can’t protect you. Your days are numbered ,” she responded through the speaker. I noticed the other heads in the room now looked at me. “ What do you want me to do?”
“Call the cops, Sandi . I’ll be there in five,” I told her as I bolted back out the door to head to my car, sensing Archer and the others on my heels. “ Sandi , do not let anyone upstairs who doesn’t live there, even if they say they’re visiting a friend. Not until the cops get there.”
She agreed, and I hung up the phone.
“Get us up to speed. What’s going on?” Jack was behind me as we cleared the stairs into the parking lot.
I started to tell them what I knew, but Axel interrupted.
“My car is closer. Everyone get in,” he said, beeping his locks next to us, and we all piled in. I just wanted to get there as soon as possible.
I filled them in on what little I’d gotten from Sandi during the fast three-minute car ride down the street to my place. When we got to my complex, Axel pulled up into the delivery lane and let us out.
I sprinted inside and saw Sandi there hanging up the phone as we walked in.
“Dispatcher said cops will be here soon,” she said, sounding both miffed and also a bit nervous.
I turned back to Archer and Jack and told them to grab the security footage from Sandi , and meet the cops. I headed upstairs to check on Cat and Val .
Not wanting to wait for the elevator, I sprinted up the stairs instead. As soon as I opened the door to my place, I yelled out Cat’s name, but it was Val who met me in the hallway first.
“She’s packing,” she said to me pointedly, but I could hear the fear in her voice. “ I was trying to pack as slowly as possible to give you enough time to get here, but she told me we leave in twenty minutes.”
“You’re not leaving,” I told her firmly. “ Neither of you. Cops are on their way, and Archer and Jack are downstairs pulling the security footage now to see if we can see what this guy looks like.”
“It won’t matter,” Cat’s voice said from behind me. “ Even if you arrest this one, the gang will just send someone else. You know I’m right.”
I turned to walk toward her and gripped her face in my hands, not hard but firmly enough that she was forced to look up at me.
“You are not leaving,” I told her tightly.
“Vince, I am not going to risk your safety along with ours,” she responded stubbornly. “ I’ve already thought it out. I’ll leave you my email and phone so we can still be in touch, but we have to move out now. There’s no telling how quickly things could escalate. I’ve prepared a list of cities, and Val and I will pick the next?—.”
“No,” I interrupted her.
She stuttered in her train of thought as if she didn’t think I would fight her on this. I took advantage of that brief pause and kept talking.
“The cops will be here soon and will need your statement. We’ll call your contact at the U.S . Marshals Service and anyone else who may be able to help. You’re done running. At least until we can get a few more details. If you still want to run, then I’m running with you and will help you find the best spot, but you are not doing this alone, and you aren’t doing it rushed.”
“I like Vince’s plan,” Val spoke up from behind me but in a much more subdued voice than usual, indicating her fear as well.
Just then, there was a loud knock, and my door opened.
“Vince, it’s me. Cops are here,” Archer yelled from the door.
“Let’s talk with the cops, and then we can go from there,” I told Cat , grabbing her hand and guiding her into the living room to sit on the couch.
When Archer stepped into the living room, I noticed he wasn’t alone but had Jack and a police officer with him.
“Axel is better at tech stuff, so he’s helping Sandi and the other officer look through the security cams,” Archer informed us. “ You got somewhere we can all sit and talk?”
I nodded, and Archer and Jack sat in chairs as I took a seat next to Cat and Val . The officer stood, notebook in hand, and spoke.
“Ladies,” he said as he looked to Cat and Val . “ My name is Officer Hess , and my partner, Officer Greer , is downstairs, but will be joining us in a bit. I got the basics from the woman downstairs of how the package came to be delivered, but I need to hear from you both about the threat itself and the history you may have with the person who sent it.”
Neither Val nor Cat spoke, but both nodded at him, giving him permission to ask.
“First, since Officer Greer isn’t here, do you mind if I record this so I can play it back to him later if he has questions?” Officer Hess asked.
“Yes, that’s fine,” Cat answered.
The officer nodded and took his phone out to record. He set it on the coffee table in front of us and also pulled out a notebook and pen.
“I also like to be old-school, too,” the officer remarked, nodding to his pen and paper. “ Can you explain why you think there is a threat against you?”
“Seven years ago, my sister and I entered the Witness Security Program after our parents were killed during a robbery,” Cat informed the officer.
She detailed the crime and the people who targeted her, as well as any perceived threats.
Then, she told him how they believed the threat was finally over roughly two years ago but had still been careful with any information that could be traced back to their whereabouts. She also gave the officer the contact information for the Marshal who was their point of contact should anything go wrong.
“Officer, I’m not sure how this man found them, since nothing regarding them can be linked to this address,” I told him. “ I was very certain not to put their names on anything tied to this location, and my business partner, Wade , who is Val’s employer, listed her address as a PO box we have for the company.”
“It may have been a bit of an educated guess on the delivery person,” Jack answered as he walked into the room. “ Sandi told us the delivery guy, and he may be just that—a delivery guy and not associated with the threat itself—showed her the delivery order form was written in pen, and part of it was smeared, so he didn’t know Cat’s last name or unit number. Sandi , recognizing Cat’s name, helped fill in the other information. Though , she didn’t let him upstairs to deliver it, rather just signed for it and kept it at the front desk.”
That clarified a few things, but not all of it.
“But he still knew her first name,” I pointed out.
“Which is why I’d like to reach out to your person at the Marshal’s Service ,” Officer Hess said. “ Do you mind if we call him now and fill him in? I’d like to get his take on a few things.”
“I’ve got it,” Val said, pulling her phone out from her pocket.
We spent the next twenty minutes filling in the U.S . Marshal , Adam Keys , and answering his questions. After we’d given him everything we could, he took the number for Officer Hess and promised to get back to us after he made a few calls.
Just as he ended the call with us, Axel and another officer, I was assuming was the partner, walked into my place and joined us in the living room.
The two officers had words with Axel while I focused on Cat and Val . The two sisters sat on the couch, while I was on the ottoman in front of Cat . I used that proximity to study her face.
“How are you two holding up?” I questioned them, then grabbed Cat’s hands, which were clutched tightly in her lap.
“I guess fine, all things considered,” Val answered somberly.
“Same,” Cat responded a little softer. “ Though also a little angry, too, because I thought this was over.”
I understood her frustration. I was pissed too. Pissed , they were found. Pissed they were scared. Pissed that my date night with Cat was ruined now because of this. I wanted to take this burden away so she didn’t have to worry about it in the future.
“We’ll get this figured out, Kit - Cat ,” I told her quietly, and while I didn’t know how yet, I knew I would do everything I could to make that statement the truth.
Both officers walked back over to us, and the partner approached Cat and Val .
“My name is Officer Greer , and my partner filled me in on what I missed, but now I’d like to show you ladies the photo of the man who delivered the note and see if either of you recognize him.”
“I thought he was just a delivery person?” Cat questioned the officer.
“It’s likely that’s the case, but we’d like to cross our T’s and dot our I’s to be sure,” Officer Greer responded.
He pulled up an image of the man’s face as he handed the box of chocolates to Sandi . It was a bit pixelated since it had to be zoomed in quite a bit, but it was still clear enough to see some distinctive facial features.
Both Cat and Val took turns looking over the photo of the man, but both shook their heads in the negative.
“No, never seen him before,” Cat responded.
“Same,” Val also replied.
“I know it’s a long shot, as this man is likely just the messenger, but we’re going to take the candies and the card down to our forensics department to see if they can get any prints off them,” Officer Hess said.
Val’s phone rang, and she looked down to see who it was.
“It’s Keys ,” she blurted out.
“Put it on speaker, please,” Officer Hess politely requested.
Val swiped it and let the Marshal know he was on speaker phone, listing who all was in the room.
“Right, I made some calls,” Keys said, getting right into it without the pleasantries. “ Even though all the original perpetrators are dead, it’s possible other members of the gang may be using Cat and Val as a way to bring themselves up within the ranks. Showing loyalty, even to past members who were wronged, can bring you higher up in rankings.”
A few curses rang out from the room, one of them from my own mouth.
“I’ve called two people we have in your area, and they are going to be there in about half an hour to get you to a secure location temporarily. We’ll put you back in protective custody until we can figure a few things out.”
Both sisters were already protesting this before he even finished his sentence.
“Is there any other option?” Cat asked.
“No way. I feel safe here, and I don’t want to move again,” Val argued.
“Due respect, but if you were safe, someone wouldn’t have found you,” Keys said back, and I felt my hackles rising.
“Vince and his partners run a security and private investigations business. Why can’t they just protect us?” Val pointed out, and I appreciated her having that faith in us.
“Some small bodyguard business can’t give you the protection the Marshals Service can,” Keys pushed back, and now this man had officially pissed me off even more.
“Due respect,” Axel spat back at the Marshal using his own words. “ I found their location in less than three days and put two and two together that they were former WITSEC .”
“We can offer a few extra patrols of your building, but that’s all the manpower we have to offer,” Officer Greer added.
You could heard Keys sigh through the phone. “ Two Marshals will be at your location in less than thirty minutes. You have until that time to make the decision about what you want to do. With the main assailants deceased, you are not obligated to use our services, though I highly recommend it if you want to stay safe. Let me know what you decide.”
Keys hung up, and the room went quiet.
“I don’t want to leave, Cat . I like it here,” Val spoke first.
“We’re going to step out for a few moments into the hallway and make a few calls, but we’ll stay until the Marshals arrive and you decide so we can figure out the best way to stay in contact with you,” Officer Hess said.
Nobody spoke until the officers were both in the hallway, and then several people all jumped in at once. Axel’s whistle broke through the noise of everyone’s voices.
“Devil’s advocate here, but they could always go with the Marshals temporarily for a few days while everyone assesses the threat, and then they can come back,” Axel justified.
“I lost her for seven years. I’m not losing her again,” I argued.
“And I just found a job I like, and I don’t want to run. Otherwise , these assholes win,” Val shot back.
“If they found us here, they could find you at the pub, Val ,” Cat protested.
“You heard Ellie’s story,” Val said. “ After her kidnapping incident, these guys put more cameras up in and around that pub than they probably have at Fort Knox .”
Cat sighed and began to argue back, but Archer interrupted.
“Unconventional option C ,” Archer said to the room, then paused to make sure all were listening.
First, he pulled out his phone and pressed a few buttons then turned to Jack and asked him if he wanted to move out a few days early. Not sure where he was going with that, I waited, watching Jack nod in response. Suddenly , Wade’s voice came out from Archer’s phone.
“What’s the update?” he asked.
“Got a plan I wanted to run by you,” Archer said to the phone. “ According to the Marshals , they recommend putting the ladies in protective custody for a few days until they can evaluate the threat a bit more. Neither of them appears to want that, nor does Vince .”
“I’m guessing you got another option,” Wade assessed out loud.
“Vince’s parents have a cabin up in the north Georgia mountains,” Archer informed everyone in the room, and instantly, I knew where this plan was headed. “ He could take Cat and Val up there for several days to give the Marshals and the local PD some time to do some digging.”
“What about my shifts?” Val complained. “ We don’t know this guy made the connection to me working at the pub. Hell , technically the note was just to Cat anyway. I’d like to stay here. Can I use the cop drive-by option?”
“Hold up, Val ,” Archer cut her off. “ The other option is Vince takes Cat up to the mountains, but you stay here.”
“What?” Cat shouted.
“I’m listening,” Val replied more calmly, crossing her arms, but she looked intrigued.
“Jack’s new place is ready, we’ve just been waiting on the paperwork from the lawyer, but I don’t give a shit if he moves in a few days ahead of schedule, and I doubt Vince does either.”
Archer looked to me for silent confirmation, and I nodded, giving him my agreement.
“So, Val moves into Jack’s current apartment above the pub and our offices,” Archer outlined. “ We know that place is safe, and we can do the same thing with her that we did with Ellie by escorting her to and from her shifts at the pub, and if she has off days, she can either stay in the apartment or hang with Ruthie in our offices.”
“I can man the bar the next few days and walk her to and from the pub just to be sure,” Wade offered. “ I’m literally going across the hall, so it’s no problem.”
“We shouldn’t be separated, Val ,” Cat argued.
“Sis, I love you,” Val said with a small grin on her face. “ But if you and Vince go up to this cabin in the mountains, it’s going to turn into some honeymooners lodge, and I really don’t want to be a third wheel for that passion project.”
Axel and Jack snorted, and I saw Archer grin. Cat’s mouth shut quickly, and she began blushing. I knew what she was thinking, too, and honestly, Val likely wasn’t wrong. Though I wouldn’t be rude or disrespectful to Val , I also didn’t want to hide what Cat and I were starting.
“Cat, I understand where you’re coming from, but from a protection standpoint, it’s actually safer for you two to be in separate locations,” Archer conveyed.
I knew what Archer was trying to tell Cat . The emotional support was better when they were together, but strictly from a safety standpoint, both sisters would be at an increased risk if the location they were hidden in was found. Also , separately hidden individuals were less likely to attract attention, especially these two, since they were gorgeous women who would attract attention anyway. I gently explained all of this to Cat , so that she would understand Archer’s point.
“One week,” Val asserted. “ You go to the mountains, and I stay in Jack’s place for one week. If the Marshals or cops can’t find this guy or determine if the threat is over, then we can go back to the idea about protective custody.”
“Two days,” Cat countered. “ Too much could go wrong in a week.”
“And two days isn’t long enough for them to do a thorough digging,” Val disagreed.
“Let’s do four days,” I threw in. “ Enough time for them to do a full comprehensive search, and us to come up with some alternative options in case they can’t find anything.”
All the men grunted in approval, which left the decision up to Cat and Val .
“I get it, Val , but if we go with Keys’s people, we won’t be putting Vince and the others in danger,” Cat argued.
I wholly disagreed with her. “ Babe , you are not leaving just because you think you’re protecting me. That’s not how this works. We’re a team now. You don’t just get to make a decision like that and cut me out of it.”
She stared up at me, a mix of surprise and admiration on her face.
I leaned closer, my voice quieter but still firm. “ I know you think walking away is the right move, but it’s not. You’re not protecting me by leaving—you’re just giving them another chance to hurt you, and I won’t let that happen.”
“I like that answer,” Val interjected. “ What Vince said.”
The sisters looked at each other and seemed to agree out of default to a stalemate. I’d take it, because I knew our crew could do a lot in four days. Plus knowing the cops and marshals were also helping would add to the odds of finding this asshole.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, after a brief but tense conversation with the Marshals who had shown up, the ladies were packed and ready to go their separate ways. Jack and Wade were coming to pick up Val to escort her over to Jack’s apartment.
“Oh my God . Stop acting like a sap, and like you’re never going to see me again,” Val said to Cat as she put Harry in his travel crate.
The plan was to take her out through the parking garage on a very long roundabout way to make sure if anyone was following them, they wouldn’t be led straight to Val’s new residence. Dane would follow in another vehicle at a safe distance to keep an eye out in case anyone was following them.
“Val, I’m allowed to be emotional,” Cat replied as her eyes welled up with tears. “ We haven’t been apart for more than a few hours in seven years.”
“Oh, I’m aware,” Val deadpanned. “ I love you, but I think a break will be good for both of us.”
Clearly Val was ready to be on her own and looking forward to this reprieve, even if the circumstance behind the move was serious. I was also looking forward to some alone time with Cat . It would be good for her to get away and just relax and take some time off. I also wouldn’t mind some naked alone time, too, if I were being honest.
“Now, follow your dreamboat drill sergeant here, and go enjoy some time off,” Val demanded as she handed Harry’s crate to Cat .
Since Cat and I likely wouldn’t be leaving the cabin except to go to the grocery store to get some items or short walks around the property, it was decided that it would be better for Harry to come with us.
While Cat and Val had packed their things, Jack had pulled Archer and me aside and explained that moving Val into his apartment made the most sense since he was moving out anyway, but the new furniture he bought wasn’t supposed to be delivered for two more days. He hadn’t said anything in front of everyone because he didn’t want anyone to try to alter the plan we had just set up for protecting the sisters. Archer offered to let Jack crash on his couch until the furniture came, but I told them both that the best scenario was to have Jack stay at my place.
Not only was it a place for Jack to crash until his new items were delivered, but it also gave us the opportunity to keep an eye out if anything else happened while Cat and I were up in the mountains.
As we finalized our plan and walked out the door, an uneasy feeling crept in—a quiet reminder that even the best-laid plans could unravel when you weren’t careful.