“The minute I give you that dagger I won't be leaving this building. I'll go on lockdown. He'll have a hard time reaching me in here.”
“Won't stop him, he'll find a way in.”
“Yeah, and you'll be ready for him.”
Jay starts pacing again and Vault refills our glasses.
He stops again at the door, “If this doesn't work, we're both dead.”
“Then it better work.”
“Fuck,” Jay utters under his breath. His head moves and seems startled to see me sitting on the couch, like he forgot I was here.
“You're ignoring this entire conversation right?”
“No.” Far from it, but I'm not stupid enough to tell him that. He furiously glares at me and I return the gesture. Did he seriously think I wouldn't be hanging on to every word spoken?
Vault laughs and gets the same look in return.
Vault rests an arm on the back of the couch, “Listen, Link-” Jay scowls. “Sorry, Jay. Forget about all this. Come work for me, and I'll make sure your girl stays safe.”
Jay comes over and places his knuckles on the armrest next to Vault and looks him straight on, “If I work for you I will be your little bitch, having to do whatever the fuck you ask me. I was raised to be a free agent. Your shit would get old real fast.”
“Think about it.” Vault stands up and walks to his desk. He speaks into the speakerphone on his desk, “I'm ready for the papers.” He looks back at Jay, “Either way, you're getting me that file. Now, would you please come take a seat and we can get the paperwork started before you leave.” He gestures to the two empty chairs in front of the desk.
Jay moves and takes me by the hand. At the exact moment we sit down, one of the women I saw out front is handing Vault some papers.
Once she retreats back to the other side of the door and it's completely closed, Vault places the papers in front of me.
“My assistant has marked everywhere you need to sign and date. When you're done, hand them to Jay to sign.” He hands me a pen and I reluctantly stare down at it.
“What am I signing?”
Vault opens his mouth, but Jay cuts him off, “Sign it, Lily, it's fine. Trust me.”
“Why?” I try reading what it says but Jay covers it with his hand.
“Please baby, I need you to sign these papers.”
I hate when he calls me baby because it turns me into mush and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for him.
I start signing on every place marked, “Another thing you don't want me knowing but expect me to trust you on, huh?” I angrily finish, my pen digging into the paper by the time I'm done, and hand them over to Jay, “Are you ever going to trust me? Or am I some helpless little girl who's too dimwitted to understand your secret life?”
Jay begins to sign, “None of this has to do with me not trusting you. It's about me keeping you safe and away from my life, and I think I've made it clear I don't think you're any of those things.” He slides the papers across to Vault, “I need this done as soon as possible. Take what you want from my account to make sure that it does. Don't veer from the instructions I gave you. If something's not going to work, contact me and we'll come up with what to do together.”
Vault nods and heads for the door, “Think about my offer, and come back with my file and an answer.” He opens the door and gives me a dimpled smile that I'm sure gets him into the bed of any woman he wants, “It was lovely meeting you, Lily. I won't be forgetting you. You're the first person to enter this office with a weapon since I took over this business from my father ten years ago. As amusing as I found it, I would advise you not to let that happen again. I don't care if you're Jay's girl or not, I won't stop my men from shooting you.”
Jay grabs my hand and we make our way to the door, “Back off, Vault. She doesn't know how things work, and I never told her who I was meeting or she would have known it was a bad idea.”
Vault makes a “tsk-tsk” sound with his tongue, “You're underestimating her, Jay. I think she understood completely. Isn't that right, sweetheart?”
I nervously lick my lips and sneak a peak at Jay before answering, “Sort of.” Jay's hand tightens around mine and I feel his eyes penetrating me, “I didn't know I could get my head shot for it, or yeah, I would have never done it, but I also didn't know where I was going and if it was safe.”
Jay curses, “I told you on the phone it was safe.”
I look guiltily at him, “It wasn't until we got in the elevator that I remembered, and I decided not to say anything in case you needed them. I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“You did that for me?” He sounds in disbelief, like no one has ever had his back before.
I look back at him, confused that he would think I wouldn't, “Yeah, baby, of course I did.”
Jay's mouth falls open, then he snaps it shut. He does it again in complete shock.
I focus back on Vault, “It was nice meeting you, Mr. Cole. It wasn't my intention to offend you. I honestly was worried about Jay. It won't happen again.”
“I look forward to seeing more of you. I'm glad Jay found someone who takes care of him,” he winks at me, and in return I blush because he made me feel like his words were implying more than one thing. “He's a good man. I'm hoping you'll be the one to help him realize it.”
So do I.
Seven guards appear to escort us to the elevators. I giggle and Jay looks down at me, curious about what I find so funny. I nod to the men who are surrounding us as we walk and he lets out a snicker.
As low as I can I whisper under my breath, “I think you make them nervous.”
Jay throws his head back and laughs, causing all seven heads to zero in on us, ready to take us out.
Jay leans down to rest his lips against my ear, “Right back at you, babe. Vault wasn't lying when he said no weapons make it past his security. You're just sweet and innocent enough looking to pull it off. It's fucking hot.”
We have our hands scanned outside the elevator and again inside. I'm the only one who doesn't enter a code. I silently ask Jay why with my eyes, and I'm surprised when he opens his mouth to respond.
“Anyone who does business with him or his staff has a personal code to go with their hand print.”
“Why do I need mine scanned?”
“Security measures, and he needs it for some personal business between he and I.”
I can tell by the tone in his response that I'm not allowed to ask him more about it.
The elevator makes it's descent and Jay swiftly pins me to the wall, the flats of his hands placed above my head. His breathing sounds heavy, and it gets heavier the longer he stares at my lips, “Why would you do that for me?”
I can't respond when he looks at me like that, full of longing and lust. No coherent thoughts can be made. Deep, inexplicable yearning is overpowering everything else.
“I'm taking you sight-seeing,” he informs me, low and husky.
That snaps me out of my trance.
“Really?” My voice squeaks from excitement and nerves as his lips get closer.
His breath caresses my face, “Yeah.”
I beam at him and he whispers “beautiful” under his breath.
The elevator jolts when it stops, causing his pelvis to push into me. I bite my lip to hold back a whimper when I realize he has a huge erection, but half of it escapes.
Jay's chest is rapidly moving and I can see the veins in his neck pulsating.
Time stands still and I feel like I'm waiting for him to kiss me for the very first time. I can hear my heart jackhammer through my body, drilling right out of my chest and crashing into Jay.
A man roughly clears his throat, “We don't have all day.”
Jay takes one last look at my lips before backing away from me. We didn’t even kiss and my legs feel loose and wobbly as we make our way out.
I'm relieved that none of the men escorting us out are the man Jay pulled a gun on, but I'm still uncomfortable. Not one of them looks pleased with us
; in fact, they look like they would love an excuse to pop us both. I've never had enemies before, and I can say without a doubt I do now. It makes me feel a little badass.
The men return our weapons: my gun and Jay's mini arsenal of guns, ammo, throwing stars, and knives. They also return his jacket and shades, and I get back my cap and sunglasses that I automatically place back on. Once outside we find it raining steadily, clouds tightening in and showing no signs of stopping.
“Great,” I mumble. There goes our sightseeing.
Jay nudges me, “You think I'm going to let some rain stop me from showing you my favorite spots? Wait until you see the Golden Gate from Presidio Golf Course. There's a bench on a hill by the road that was my favorite place to go and think. The view is unbelievable.”
“You'll still take me?”
“If you'll stop being mad at me.”
“Deal,” I jump on him and wrap my legs around his waist. I take hold of his face and smash my rain soaked lips to his, “Thank you!”
He bites his lip and I'm instantly aroused. I'm glad my shades are shielding my eyes and I can freely stare at them.
“You have no idea what you do to me, baby. No fucking clue.”
“Tell me,” I urge, wanting him to open up to me and stop being cryptic.
“Have you changed your mind about how you feel about me?” He seems hopeful and his voice has taken on a more youthful tone, making him seem like the teenager he never got to be.
“Never,” I promise with certainty, because he will forever be a part of me.
He appears to wince and I oddly feel sadness radiate off him, “Let's get going. We don't have a lot of time.”
I drop down and he takes my hand, guiding me to the curb while he tries to get a cab, and we get more soaked with every passing minute.
A taxi finally stops and he opens the door for me to get in. He points things out to me as we pass, but he's aloof and distant towards me the whole ride.
I'm confused once again. He seemed to want to know I still had strong feelings for him, but clearly my answer was not what he was wanting. My stomach twists and churns when I finally become aware of how assured I was when I answered him. He must have sensed that what I feel for him is somewhere in the love realm, when from the very beginning of our time together he has made it clear he doesn't want me to stay a part of his life. I mistook his comment as something deeper. With heavy sadness, I realize me jumping on him and kissing him got him excited and hard, and he made that comment because I'm too naïve to realize that would make him aroused. When I urged him to tell me what he was feeling, I thought it was closer to how I was feeling, but I understand now that that wasn't the case. I feel like such an idiot.
I need a distraction from my heart splitting in half and crumbling all over the floor of the cab.
“What's the deal with Vault?” I turn my head to Jay and place a hand to the side of my mouth, making sure the driver can't see my lips and I mouth, “Why was he so sure you wouldn't shoot him?”
Jay swipes his head and scoots to the middle seat. He lowers his head to my ear and whispers into it, “Everybody does business with him. If someone is stupid enough to try and take him out, anyone who he keeps their shit safe for will be after you. It's like writing your own death certificate.”
Wow, that's a lot of power.
“He's a very powerful man,” Jay responds to what I had thought aloud. “Nobody messes with him. Don't misjudge him being friendly for something else, he can be ruthless if provoked.”
We arrived at Jay's favorite spot to view the bridge and it's everything he promised and more. We sit in silence, not touching, for a long time, taking it all in. I want to reach for his hand but his walls are at an all time high and I'm afraid he'd pull away from me.
Since he's already upset with me I decide to continue my questioning.
“Why is it okay if he knows who I am?”
Jay scratches his scruff, splattering falling rain around him, “I briefly had to tell him who you were for business purposes.”
“If you were going to tell him about me, how come I couldn't go with you in the first place?”
“I didn't want him to actually have to meet you. I thought we could discuss matters and would have you sign the papers from our hotel and I'd bring them back to him.”
“Are you ever going to tell me what I signed?”
Jay tenses up and then lets out a long sigh, “I'm not ready to have another argument with you. I'm too fucking tired as it is.”
I need to shut it before I provoke him, but my stupid mouth doesn't know when to quit, “Why aren’t you worried about him knowing who I am?”
“Vault is the most trustworthy man you can ever do business with. He wouldn’t be who he is if he wasn't.” He stands up and starts to walk away, “Time to go. I have work to do before we go out tonight.”
I hop up, “We're going out?”
“I need to try and find someone, and I think I know exactly where to find 'em.”
Chapter 29
10:13pm
“Who exactly are we looking for?” I ask, eyes scanning the swank night club, drinking my vodka gimlet.
Jay remained distant the rest of the day and only spoke when he was pointing to different things or telling me about them. Much to my disappointment, we had room service for dinner while Jay worked at the desk in our room. The food was surprisingly quite tasty, but I wanted to try out another iconic restaurant. I tried getting him to let me go to the bar in the hotel, but of course he refused. I ended up watching HBO until it was time for us to come here. It had put me in a sour mood. Who knows when the next time I will be here, and I was stuck inside a room. A room with an awesome view, but it still sucked being forced to stay inside in one of the coolest cities I have ever seen. Movies don't do this place justice.
“We are not looking for anyone. I'm looking for an old acquaintance that can help me.” Jay drinks his Daniels on ice and continues to scan the bar.
I feel out of place here. It's definitely upscale, more so than any place back home. Luckily my clothes were still soaked when we left and Jay had no choice but have me wear something else. I forced him to take me into the shopping center close to the hotel; when I had picked out clothes in Yuma I hadn't prepared for the cold San Francisco weather. We spent a good amount of time arguing inside GAP about what I can buy and wear. I wanted something cute he wanted something baggy. He won, and now I'm wearing a cream colored cable knit sweater that I pared with the skinny jeans I bought at Target. He did let me buy faux brown leather boots on the pretense it was raining and the ballet flats I'd previously bought had soaked my poor, cold feet (I totally up-played that one). He also wanted me to wear another Giants hat but I refused. I refused not because I don't like baseball, because I do (it's an American classic, how can you not?), I just wanted something stylish and less boyish. I chose what the women at the store called a cloche. Jay agreed to it because it hung low enough in the front to somewhat shadow my face. I also picked up See's Candy to bring home for everyone. It's the best chocolate I have ever tasted. I almost had an orgasm in the shop from my free sample, that's how good it is. I did finally get a laugh out of Jay with how much chocolate I bought. He told me I'm the only person he knows that would think to bring back souvenirs, considering why we're here. Obviously he didn't try his free sample or he'd be right on board (naturally I ate his for him, you can't waste chocolate that good). I hadn't thought to wear any makeup, I keep forgetting to grab some. It hasn't bothered me; in fact, I never thought of it, but now I feel dowdy and unattractive in this club. If I had known where we were going tonight I would have put up more of a fight as to what I wore and refused to wear a hat. I am, without a doubt, the most homely, drab girl here.
“There she is,” Jay says, standing up. “Stay here. I'll be right back.”
I watch him strut over to the bar in a confident “I own the world” strut I have never seen him use.
His hand rests on the small of a
woman's back and he says something in her ear, causing her to turn around.
My jaw plummets to the floor. This woman is beautiful, beyond beautiful. She's a stunning Italian goddess and she's smiling back at Jay seductively, seeming ready to pounce on him.
I instantly hate her.
She has long, black hair that flows to the curve above her bottom and beautifully curls at the end. It shines and gleams unnaturally in the dim light of the club. Even from here I can tell her olive complexion is smooth and silky. Her eyes are a rich and sultry blown. I graze down to her juicy ripe lips and scowl. And then I take in her body. She's wearing a skin tight black dress that shows off her long, toned legs that even a ballerina would envy. It curves around her voluptuous ass and melons that are obviously real.
Jay's hand has moved to her waist and her hands are now on his biceps as they lean to talk into each others' ears. I can't see Jay's face and I pray it doesn't mirror her lust-seeking bedroom eyes. It doesn't take a genius to assess they're intimately familiar.
I think I want to become a hit-man just so I can take her out.
Wow...this is what jealousy feels like.
I had no idea it harbored so many pain inflicting, murderous thoughts.
Jay appears to be ordering drinks, then nods for her to follow. He hands her a glass as they head towards me. Now I really wish I had made him let me pick out my clothes. I have never felt more inadequate as a woman in my life.
Please say she's a cousin, or better yet, a lesbian.
Jay pulls out a seat for her and scoots it into the table. He's never done that for me.
Score one for her.
He takes his seat between us and drinks from the other glass he had gotten at the bar. Apparently he didn't get me anything.
Another point for her.
“Jay, you didn't tell me you had company,” even her voice is sexy, purring almost naturally, and it reminds me of what caramel would sound like if it had a voice. Her eyes (she also has outrageously long lashes, the bitch) survey me and immediately they show that she doesn't view me as a threat. This has me fired up – even if it's true. No woman’s a threat to her. I think happily married men wouldn't say no to her.
Marked. Part I: The missing Link Page 22