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“That’s probably a good idea, given your job. I’m sure a lot of shady characters aren’t big fans. Harlow, may I please come in? I promise I have no intention of hurting you .”
The look in his eyes is solid. I nod, and unlatch the chain. “Fine. But I’m not putting the gun away .”
“Fair,” he says as he steps inside my apartment. As he walks by me, his manly scent overwhelms me, and I’m once again wracked my memories of our night together. It’s a heady sensation, and I have to take a few steps toward the kitchen to break the spell he has over me .
“How the hell did you find out where I live, Vince? And how did you get past security ?”
Vince shrugs. “I’m a member of the bar, Harlow. I have connections. As far as your doorman, he was asleep. I just followed someone else in .”
I roll my eyes. “So much for a secure building. What are you doing here ?”
“I needed to talk to you. And it couldn’t wait .”
I survey his appearance. Besides the hoodie, he’s wearing sweatpants and sneakers. Except for the chain around his neck and the faint lines of the tattoos above the collar of the sweatshirt, you wouldn’t necessarily recognize him if he walked right past you. He looks just like any other guy, any other extremely buff guy, out for a midnight run .
“Did you just come from the gym or something ?”
Vince chuckles. “I wish. I’m flying under the radar, so to speak. After you left the precinct, it took another five hours for the cops and your boss to let me go. By the time I got to my office, it had been completely trashed. Adelardi’s guys were obviously there, looking for this.” He pulls the chain hanging from his neck out from under his shirt, and shows me the cross hanging from it .
“Why would they want your necklace?” I ask, still keeping my distance and clutching the gun. Vince snaps the end off of the cross, and I see that it’s a USB drive .
“I’m actually insulted that they think I’d be stupid enough to leave the evidence I have against against them just sitting around my office. The problem is, I know they’re looking for me, and I don’t know how long I can outrun them, especially when I don’t know who I’m hiding from. Adelardi has a hell of a reach. Anyone could be working for him .”
I step back until I hit the wall, panic making me sick. “And you came to my apartment? You could have led them here! They probably already know I was with you last night, Vince. I have enough problems with the Adelardi family after putting Carlo behind bars, without you dragging me into the center of things. What were you thinking ?”
Vince crosses over to where the bottle of wine is sitting on my coffee table, and takes a long slug from it, then sits down on the couch .
“Honestly, I had nowhere else to go, Harlow. All of my friends are in California, my mother died a decade ago, and my legal assistant here isn’t exactly equipped for drama. She’s barely equipped to be a legal assistant. You’re all I have .”
A lump catches in my throat as I sit down next to him. I’m scared to let him stay, but it might be worse for me if people see him leaving my place. “Okay,” I say reluctantly, “you can stay here. But I have to be at work early tomorrow. I will have a word with security about making sure no one comes in. And you sleep on the couch .”
He gives me a slight pout, but I know I need to be firm on this. I need to keep my head on straight, and I won’t be able to do that if he’s scrambling my brains with his silken touch. Vince scoots a little bit closer to me, his arm brushing up against me, and he leans forward, pressing his forehead into mine. I feel my heart start to beat faster .
“Are you sure I have to sleep on the couch?” he asks in a whisper. “It’ll be torture.” I feel my resolve starting to crumble, when a noise from the direction of the door draws both of our attention .
“What the hell was that?” I ask as I reach for the gun. But Vince stretches out first, and covers my hand, over top of the gun. Then he lifts my hand, and takes the gun himself. Suddenly, he’s checking the ammunition and wielding it like a pro. I raise an eyebrow at him .
“Are you sure you’re a lawyer ?”
He winks at me. “I wasn’t always a lawyer. Stay there.” He gets up from the couch, and inches slowly over to the entrance, where the handle turns ever-so-slightly from the outside, and I jump. Vince waves at me to be still. Then he moves to the side of it. Once he’s positioned behind the door, he gestures for me to get behind the arm of the couch, which gives me a hiding place between the couch and the wall. I’m just about to ask him what exactly is going on, when out of nowhere, the door slams open, shattering the frame and breaking the chain. I have to cover my mouth not to scream as three men come bursting into my apartment, two of them with guns, and one with a knife .
I have no idea what to do; my phone is plugged in to the charger in the bedroom and I am not exactly equipped to defend myself in hand-to-hand combat. But it doesn’t take long for me to realize that it’s not needed. Vince jumps out from behind the door and takes out one of the men right away with the butt of the gun, smashing it into his temple and sending him crumpling to the ground. The bigger of the two remaining men turns his gun on Vince, who disarms him, takes his gun, then debilitates him with a kick to the crotch, a punch to the stomach, and a second punch to the neck .
The only man left standing is the one with the knife. Breathing hard, he takes a stab at Vince, who deftly dodges him with a jump backwards. When the man tries to stab him again, this time he makes contact with Vince’s arm. My heart drops. Vince looks up from where his arm is bleeding through the hoodie, and snarls at the man. He tucks the gun in his waistband and lifts up his fist. In one swift and unexpected movement, he kicks the knife out of the man’s hand, then punches him square in the face. Once. Twice. Three times. Even from the other side of the room, I hear the sound of bones crunching, and it makes my stomach roll. The man wobbles a few times, then collapses in a heap on top of the other two men on the floor .
I don’t know what to do. I just stay frozen in my hiding spot, squatting on the floor, shaking and terrified .
Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Vince turns to me with a sigh. “Get dressed. Fast. Grab anything you need, and I mean need , and throw it in a bag you can carry on your back. Leave your phone. We have to get out of here .”
I start to stammer objections, but Vince cuts me off. “Harlow, we don’t have time to argue about this. I’m going to try to stop the bleeding in my arm, and you’re going to pack. And then we’re going to get out of here before the cops show up .”
“Don’t we want the cops to show up ?”
Vince shakes his head with a sad smile. ?
??Honey, for a smart woman, you are incredibly naïve. I have no idea which cops are in Adelardi’s pocket, and we can’t take a chance that one of his detectives is going to show up here and try to arrest us. We need to get out of here, get the evidence off the drive, and get it to someone I trust before they can catch up with us again .”
I finally get to my feet and inch toward the bedroom, afraid any noise is going to somehow rouse the men on the floor. “There has to be someone in my office that can help us .”
