by Cara Carnes
But she had no business going down that road, the one which hoped he’d say yes to Marshall’s surprising offer. Judson Jensen working for The Arsenal. Vi didn’t even know what to do with the possibility. It was too out there in terms of improbable, which was why she’d locked herself in her room and far away from anything that would let her spy on him and thereby feed that dangerous what-if scenario processing in her brain.
She sat at the coffee table and pulled out the strips of paper she’d just printed out and cut up. She organized the quillery supplies and got to work. She didn’t bother hiding the important tidbits with useless colorful ones. This message was far too important, too complicated to bother with finesse. She thought about the day and what all they had uncovered. Her mental walls were scrubbed raw and she’d yet to write anything down.
She probably had no business quilling, but hiding important facts in small shapes of colored paper got the gunk out of her head even if it hurt. She pulled out the first bright blue strip and got to work creating the pattern. Minutes flowed into one another as she lost herself in the process. One teardrop became two, then ten. Then twenty. A multitude of colors woven together, the pattern bright. Unlike the message buried beneath, a message no one would ever read.
Her mental purge of the day.
“Viviana.”
She startled at the word, but it was the firm hand on her shoulder that made her jump. She blinked. The room was dark except for the lone lamp she’d flicked on.
“Babe, you were a thousand miles away.” Jud looked at the desk. Eyebrows raised, he cupped the back of her neck. “How long have you been at this?”
“Since the meeting,” she answered honestly.
“The one eight hours ago?”
Oh wow. Time slipped by. Weird. He’d changed at some point, was now wearing a white button-down shirt which stretched across his chest and hugged his thick biceps. Black jeans completed the look. So damn gorgeous.
“Come on. We’re going to grab some food and get away from the compound a while.” He helped her stand.
Pain shot up and down her legs. His gaze narrowed. “You didn’t even get up.”
“I zoned.”
“I’ll be back. I’m going to pull the truck closer so you don’t have to walk as far.”
She nodded, grateful Jud had left long enough for her to tend to business in the bathroom and make sure she didn’t look as terrifyingly freaky as she suspected. Loud voices in the living room drew her attention and pulled her from what she called the quillery haze. She trundled out of the bedroom and slammed into her brother.
“Hey, sis. Still as ugly as always.”
“Hey, bro. Just as dumb as always.”
“Viviana.” Her father’s face distorted, as if he’d sucked on a few too many lemons. “I saw that man leave here. We need a word.”
“It’s probably best to wait until later, Dad. We’re headed out and I’m not…” She halted the explanation. They didn’t get her why. Not anymore. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”
“What on Earth is going on, Viviana? We deserve some answers. All we’ve gotten so far is attitude,” her mother said.
“Perhaps if you’d listen instead of whining, people would explain a few things. Or, perhaps if you treated them with a modicum of respect, they’d explain a few things.” She rubbed her temples. “You were in danger. Now you’re not. There’s your explanation.”
“Why?” her brother asked. “What’d you do?”
“I’m afraid I can’t give you details because of security clearance, but we’re working on eliminating the threats.”
“How long are we stuck here?” her father asked.
“Long enough to keep you safe. It could be days, weeks.” God forbid. “Months.”
“We need to have a chat with your boss about monetary compensation,” her father said. Vi blinked as he continued. “My time is valuable, too valuable to be wasted here.”
“You’re a used car salesman in Hoboken, Dad, not the president. I’ll make sure your bills are paid if you’ll round them up or forward them to me.” She rubbed her neck. Sometimes she wondered how she was related to them. Then again, you couldn’t pick family.
“This is much nicer than that vile den of inequity they put us in. People tromped up and down the hallway all night, shouting and carrying on. I swear, it’s a miracle I got any sleep. Poor Richie didn’t sleep a wink.”
Probably because brother dearest had been passed out the day before, but Vi kept quiet. It’d been years since she’d endured one of her mom’s rants, but she knew the best thing to do was ride it out. Silently. She tuned the droning voice out and focused on getting her purse.
Shoes.
She spotted flip-flops. She toed them on and thanked fate when Jud walked in. He froze in the doorway with a glower on his face. His eyes narrowed. “Are you ready, Viviana?”
“I am having an important conversation with my daughter,” her mother replied. “Now, I’m thinking your father and I can take your room. Richie can have the pull out. The sofa’s a bit ragged and old, but he can make do.”
Addy would string her up by the nearest tree if she let her family stay in the house. She kept her gaze settled on the floor. “We need everyone in one place. The compound’s the most secure building around. You’ll need to stay there for now. If this goes on longer than expected, I’ll see what can be done.”
“Nonsense. Ralph, move our things. Or better yet, have that man do it. What was his name? The rude one with the town name.”
“Dallas,” Richie supplied. “He told me I needed to drink a pot of coffee and grow the fuck up.”
“Oh, you poor dear.” Mom patted him on the face. “You don’t pay any mind to him. You’re doing so good. Even your dad doesn’t know how you do it. Viviana, Richie has been employee of the month at his Best Buy the past six months straight. We’re so proud.”
“That’s great,” she supplied. “I’m afraid we’ll have to chat later. Jud and I need to go somewhere.”
“Where?” Richie asked.
Anywhere but here.
“There you are, dear. We were worried. Is everything okay?” Jenna Jensen peered past her son and smiled. “Oh, hello. You must be Vi’s parents. I’m Jenna. This is my husband, Jarold. Our handsome son here was about to take us all into Nomad for a steak. Nolan and the boys raved about this one place and we’re ready to dive in.”
Dread struck her in a one-two punch. Punch one was the announcement they were going for steak. In Nomad. Nomad was a slightly larger than pea-sized town twenty miles north of Resino. It was big enough to have a string of national fast food chains along the highway running between San Antonio and Del Rio. There was a hospital and a few banks and other businesses, mostly centered around farming and ranching. The grocery store everyone in a hundred-mile radius used was there.
According to Momma Mason, a trip to Nomad was a big deal, one undertaken by busy Resino residents once a week. Errands were run. Groceries were bought.
Jud taking her somewhere to eat with his parents was a shock. Going into Nomad for said food was on an entirely different level of surprise. She looked down at her clothes, recalled the couple of times Mary had ranted about Dylan dragging her into Resino looking like a bridge troll. At the time she’d laughed, finding it hysterical her friend gave a damn what she looked like.
Now she totally got it. And karma was making sure she got it in a huge way since Jud’s parents were tagging along.
The second punch came immediately after the extended offer. Her mom smiled the smile she’d seen a hundred times. She might be the housewife of a used car salesman in Hoboken, but she thought she was the Queen of freaking England.
And Mrs. Jensen was her new quarry.
Damn.
“We’d love to go,” her father answered.
Great. Now what?
Vi sighed and peeked at Jud. His jaw twitched. His eyes lit with amusement. What could possibly be funny about this situation? His father ha
d a matching look on his face. She backpedaled toward the hall.
“What are you doing?” Jud asked, his voice soft despite his tense stance.
“I-I need to change.”
“Oh, don’t be ridiculous. You look adorable.” Jenna shoved into the room and wrapped her arm around Vi. “I really need to find out where you find all those lovely leggings, dear. Those skeletons are adorable.”
She peeked down at her attire and stifled a groan. She hoped the skeletons weren’t predicting tonight’s outcome. Jud and his mom steered her out of the house. Jarold herded her dad and brother. They headed down the wide, paved walkway.
“We’ll be ready to go in a minute. We’re waiting on a couple of people,” Jud commented as he put his phone into his back pocket.
“Who’s going with us?” Vi asked.
“Reinforcements,” he replied. The smirk on his face stifled some of the dread.
Rational reasoning demanded she make the best of the situation. Perhaps Jud and his parents were the padding she needed to have real communication with her parents. Maybe they’d taken Jud’s heart-to-heart seriously and were turning over a new leaf.
Yeah and maybe pigs flew.
“There they are.” Jenna clapped her hands together. “Everyone, this is Dallas and his brother Dylan. And you already know Mary.”
Her best friend flashed her a smile. “Actually, we’ve never met, Mrs. Jensen.”
“Oh.” The woman looked between the groups. “You’ve been friends since you were fifteen. How can that be?”
“No matter,” Jarold replied. “Is Jacob coming?”
“Not this time. He’s working with Cord,” Jud replied. “I’ll bring him something back.”
“Marshall’s calling a large order in, assuming the kitchen can handle it. Mom’s going to have our heads when she finds out we went without her.”
“What nonsense. We can stop off at the house and get her. There’s plenty of room,” Jenna declared. “She motioned toward Dallas. Be a dear and go get that sweet mother of yours.”
“She’s in town at a bunco party with Riley,” Dylan explained. “We’ll make sure we go back again so you two can visit.”
“Wonderful! I had the most marvelous time helping her and your sister with lunch today. And all those men and women you all are helping. You’re all salt of the Earth.”
Apparently the plan was to drown her family in kindness. It was an interesting approach, one she was grateful for—mainly because it shifted focus away from her. Since ten people were a few too many to squeeze into one vehicle, Jenna decided she and her husband would ride with Dylan, Dallas and Mary.
Which left Vi with Jud, her parents and Richie.
“You can ride shotgun, Richie. I know you get motion sick.” Her mother patted him on the face and looked at Vi. “You can ride in between us.”
“Vi rides up front with me,” Jud declared. When she didn’t move, he nudged her with a hand to her waist. “You want me to lift you up?”
She shook her head and climbed in after he opened the door, a bit stupefied he’d somehow pulled off her riding up front. She looked over at the other vehicle, where Dylan and Mary were climbing into the front. Jud’s mom laughed when Dallas lifted her and set her into the back seat. Jarold clapped him on the shoulder and climbed in. Dallas winked at her and closed the door.
Operation Nomad was officially underway.
The large vehicles used by The Arsenal seated everyone comfortably. The trip in was quieter than she expected.
“Are we sure this is safe? Maybe we should just bring Mary and Dylan back something.”
“Dylan and I wanted you two out and about getting some recreation. You’ve been working too hard. You deserve a night out on the town.” He reached over and caressed her face. “Sit back and enjoy.”
“Jud, I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“It’s fine, Viviana.” He smiled. “I’m thinking a greyhound is the way to go. We need something fast to keep up with us.”
“I just saw the most adorable calico up for adoption,” she responded with a smile. “I think he’ll make the perfect playmate for Penny the Persian.”
“We tried having a cat once, but Viviana killed it,” Richie added.
Jud’s hand settled atop hers and squeezed. “What happened?”
“Reckless and I were playing in the yard. I was looking for bugs along the sidewalk and he ran out into the road after a butterfly. A car came around the corner and…” She swallowed and shook off the visual. “I’d gotten him for my seventh birthday three days earlier.”
“It was such a disappointment,” her mom said.
“Yes, it was.” Vi looked out at the road, knowing Jud probably had a couple follow-up questions. He remained silent, as if sensing she needed time to strengthen her armor.
18
Jud put the car into park and glanced in his rearview mirror. Viviana’s family had been thankfully silent after sharing the cat story. Jesus. He was down for buying her a dozen of the things if they chased away the haunted expression on her face. He’d intended to take her to a nice dinner, catch a movie afterward.
A date.
How long had it been since he’d gone out on a traditional date? Neither he nor Viviana were traditional in any sense of the word, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t try. Things had gone to hell, though. First his parents wanted to spend time with her. He liked that. Then her parents piled in. No one liked that. So he’d added Dylan and Mary into the pile. Dallas tagged along. The jury was out on that being a good idea.
Her family fled the back of the vehicle and headed toward the restaurant. The mother was whining about something, but Jud didn’t listen to much past “that man.” He figured someone might take exception to him handling her parents the way he wanted.
Permanently.
He reached over and cupped Viviana’s face until she looked at him. Leaning over, he kissed her, lightly at first. She deepened the contact. The desperation in her kiss unsettled him. A new plan formed in his lizard brain. They were alone in the truck. He could haul ass out and let Dylan and Dallas sort out their families. Yeah, his lizard brain loved the idea.
But she deserved better than base instincts.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are?”
“A few times,” she whispered. “I’m starting to believe you mean it.”
“Good, because I do.” He smiled. “Let go eat.”
“This isn’t a good idea.”
“It’s going to be okay,” he assured her. He’d make sure it was. “Stay seated. I’ll come around.”
Jud went around the vehicle and helped her out. She was more than capable of handling it on her own. Hell, Viviana could do anything she put her brilliant mind to, but she was short and the flip-flops weren’t exactly optimal footwear. Cute as hell, but he didn’t want her tumbling, and they weren’t exactly the optimal footwear for a fast exit if necessary. No matter. He wasn’t leaving her side until they were back at the compound.
“You’re staring at my feet again. I’m starting to think you have a foot fetish.” She tapped his chest with a playful fist. “Eyes off my toes. You’ve had your requisite foot time when you gave me a massage.”
“I’m thinking I could develop lots of fetishes where you are concerned.” He whispered the admission into her ear and wrapped a protective arm around her. “Cute flip-flops, but you can’t run in those.”
Her eyes widened. She glanced down and wiggled her toes. Pink tinged her cheeks as she looked back up. “I can handle my own in a crisis, Judson Jensen. Don’t worry about me and my footwear. Keep your bad ass focus elsewhere.”
Cute as hell. He kissed her again, playful and quick. “Let’s go.”
He turned and almost knocked his parents over. They wore twin expressions of curiosity and amusement. Unfortunately her parents were on the opposite end of the spectrum. Arms crossed, they glared from their location nearer the restaurant than anyone else. Dallas, Dylan and
Mary were all either grinning or laughing outright.
“I wish you would have let me change,” Viviana stated.
“I’ve said it before, I don’t give a damn what you wear. You’re beautiful in anything. You’d make a trash bag a fashion trend.”
“I’d be better off in a Hefty bag than this.” Her gaze swept the restaurant. “Seriously, Judson, this place is fancy.”
“Leave it be, girlfriend,” Mary said. “It took Dylan several trips to get me desensitized to this. I finally get it. They’d rather get time away from The Arsenal with us than waste it while we gussy up. Next time we’ll make sure you’re dressed to kill.”
Jud offered Mary a smile. She got what he was saying.
“Besides,” she pointed to her leggings. Zombies. “We match!”
The women laughed and headed toward the restaurant arm in arm. He shook his head and chuckled.
“You’re good with her,” Dylan commented.
“She makes it easy.” He regarded the two brothers, then looked over at his parents, who’d quietly followed his progression with Viviana. “This’ll likely be an awkward dinner. Her parents are…”
“We know, dear,” his mother said. “Let’s go.”
He closed the distance between him and Viviana as she and Mary made it to her parents. Dallas smirked and opened the door, motioning everyone into the restaurant. He let Dylan handle the seating situation.
“Oh, yes. We have your table ready, Mr. Mason. The order you called in is in works. It should be ready by the time you are ready to leave.”
“Appreciated,” Dylan responded. He turned and scanned the room as Mary snuggled closer.
The restaurant was a typical layout of several closed off sections, two of which spilled out onto a wraparound porch.
“Oh, miss, we’d love a seat outside.” Viviana’s mother motioned toward the double-doors.
“Inside,” he replied to the young girl escorting them.
“Inside,” Dylan affirmed.