She wanted to say something to the male guard whose fat, gin blossomed nose turned up and beady black eyes narrowed when he took her back to her cell. She wished more than anything that she could remember his name, C. Jones, because she was sure he’d done something that he didn’t want her to know about. And she was damn sure that Vince and Jordan could find out for her.
As she lay in her cot and listened to the women in the cells next to hers do things that they thought she couldn’t hear, she wondered what Vince and Jordan were doing. And she thanked God that she was in her cell alone.
Vince was glad that he had Jordan with him. He was happy that Jordan had opened up to the idea of the two of them sleeping together. And he shivered at the memory of taking another huge load of Jordan down his throat and Jordan jacking him off until he came all over himself again only minutes before. Jordan slept on his chest. At least Jordan was sleeping. But God he missed Arianna. He missed her hair in his face. He missed her smell and her body and her bright blue eyes. He missed the way she complimented him, how she perfected him.
“I can’t wait ‘til Arianna is out of there,” Jordan whispered.
“I thought you were asleep,” Vince sighed, and rubbed his hair. Jordan shook his head. “I miss her too. It’s been three nights, but I feel like it’s been an eternity.”
“If she goes to prison, I’ll break her out,” Jordan stated emphatically. “I’ll do whatever I have to.”
“I’ll help you,” Vince said with a chuckle. “Now go to sleep.”
Chapter Twenty
Jordan woke up early, showered quickly, and moved to the kitchen table. He had homework to catch up on, as he really did have class that day, then church in the evening. He’d been away so long they probably filed a missing person’s report. He would take Vince with him. He was no longer ashamed of what they did. They loved each other. Shouldn’t that be all that mattered?
He finished his homework, dressed in his navy blue suit with the blue shirt, and started breakfast. They would have a treat today, French toast. He began beating the eggs when his tablet chimed. He walked toward it and touched the screen. He had an alert from SIB. He created a program so that she would text him with news about Arianna. He dreaded what he might read, but it was still early, just after six.
What he read stunned him. He forgot about the eggs and ran to the bedroom. “Vince,” he said as he sat down on the bed. His huge bedmate didn’t stir. “Vince, wake up.” He shook him this time.
Vince rolled over and with half-opened eyes asked, “What’s wrong? Who died?”
“Margo Tremblay,” Jordan whispered.
“What?” Vince jumped out of the bed and searched around for his underwear. He struggled to get them on, without asking Jordan for help. He’d removed the sling, and he had a small range of motion in his shoulder, but not much. Anyway Jordan was once again glued to his tablet. Vince bounced into his jeans, and buttoned them without killing himself.
“She was found less than an hour ago. The warden just called Selena, and she’s furious.” Jordan said as he ignored Vince struggling to dress.
“How?” He wondered as he gingerly pulled a t-shirt over his head, then gently over his wounded arm.
“They think suicide, but the coroner is doing the autopsy in an hour or so. They called in the city coroner for her.” Jordan seemed morbidly fascinated by it all.
“Is that good or bad for Arianna?” Vince wondered, without thinking of how callous he sounded. Jordan stared angrily at him, and Vince shrugged. He couldn’t fake feeling bad for the woman.
“We’ll still need to wait until tomorrow for the hearing,” Jordan stated. “Probably.”
Vince wished now more than ever that Jordan drank coffee. He pulled on his socks and shoes, at least he could do that with one hand, but he still needed help tying them. He held them up to Jordan, who did it automatically without really looking.
“Where are you going,” Jordan asked when he realized that Vince was dressed without showering.
“To the jail,” Vince stated as he pulled on his jacket. “Do you have binoculars?”
“They won’t let you in,” Jordan reminded him. He searched around in the back of his closet for several minutes, then found what Vince asked for.
“It doesn’t matter,” Vince said. “I want to be there. I want to see who goes in and who comes out. I want to see Selena’s mood when she gets there.” He kissed Jordan’s forehead and headed out the door. Jordan hoped Charlotte liked French toast.
He decided to drive Ari’s car. People had become used to seeing him in the SUV. In Ari’s car he would be a little less conspicuous, he hoped.
The morning was cold, and Vince wished he’d put on more than his sweat jacket. The journalists were out in full force, with microphones in hand. He suspected that someone had already broken the news, and they waited for Vince or Jordan or Charlotte to come out.
He held his good arm up over his face, and slid into Ari’s tiny little convertible. He held his breath as he started it, hoping it didn’t explode. He exhaled as it started, and made his way to the jail. But first, he’d stop for coffee. The convertible didn’t help ward off the chill.
Vince sipped his coffee and watched. He’d found the perfect spot to park; in the lot of a shopping mall that sat on a slight incline. He saw several black SUVs parked in the visitor lot, and the coroner’s van was still parked at the loading bay. He saw Selena pull up in her sleek red Italian sports car. She was livid, and for some reason that made him blissfully happy. She swore into her phone, pointing a finger into the air. He could almost feel the earth quake as she stomped toward the entrance.
He saw both Wolf and White exit several minutes after Selena arrived. And they followed the coroner’s van out through the gated fence. He was shocked and dismayed to see the current Secretary of Homeland Security, Mark Dutton, walk out with Damien Tremblay, Margo’s son. He seemed surprisingly calm as he spoke to Dutton, until Selena joined them. She was obviously still upset, and Dutton tried to calm her down. Damien placed both his arms on her shoulders, and squeezed briefly. Then he walked toward an expensive muscle car and squealed the tires as he left.
Dutton and Selena spoke for several minutes. She shook her head often, and she left stomping as much as she did going in. She squealed the tires on her sports car too. Dutton pulled out his phone and made a call. Perhaps it was the president. Whatever the call was, Selena wasn’t happy and that was good for Arianna.
Vince called Jordan to explain everything he saw. Jordan began reviewing phone logs. “Selena was on the phone with her boss, the Attorney General, when she entered the facility. Then Dutton called him when he left. SIB I need the phone number for Damien Tremblay.”
Vince could hear the faint voice of Jordan’s computerized helper in the distance. He drove back to the apartment without any real goal of what to do next. He would wait for Sam to call him. He felt sure Sam would call as soon as he got the news.
“Damien Tremblay called a private security firm,” Jordan said after a short pause. “Is that bad?”
“Yes, that’s bad,” Vince said aloud. He thought he knew why he called: Jordan. He was the one who leaked the information to the press and ruined his family. But Vince wouldn’t tell him. He’d figure it out eventually. “I want you to go about your normal routine. Go to class. I’ll take care of everything until your class is over.”
“Okay,” Jordan agreed. He showed trust for once, if he was telling Vince the truth and actually went to class.
At 7:30 on the dot Sam called Vince. “Selena will have to release Arianna. And that will kill her. She’s so competitive and she hates to lose. She will take this personally.”
“Who killed the Secretary,” Vince asked. He didn’t think Sam would know, he just wanted to hear his reaction.
“You don’t think it’s a suicide,” Sam asked in his normal tone. Obviously Sam knew nothing about it.
“I don’t know,” Vince sighed. “When can I pick up Arianna?”
“I’d say after lunch. I’ll call you with the details.”
“Thanks, man. You’re the best,” Vince said as he closed the line.
After Selena left the jail where the Secretary was being housed in the county she drove to the city to see Arianna. She didn’t give a shit if Sam was there or not. She had to release Arianna, the AG ordered it.
She seethed as she waited. When Arianna walked in with a smug look on her face it almost pushed her over the edge. Somehow she controlled herself, and said as calmly as possible, “You’re being released. The Secretary committed suicide in her cell last night.”
“That’s horrible,” Arianna said, but she didn’t mean it. “I’m so sorry for her family.”
“We have one condition: no press conferences. You’re right, you need to disappear, and fast.”
“I intend to,” Ari said softly. “I don’t want to be a hero, and I don’t want anyone to idolize me.” She didn’t want any more women in jail.
“How did you do it, Arianna? You never so much as flinched. How did you know you wouldn’t end up in prison?” Her green eyes were ice cold again. She must be a truly heartless woman, Arianna thought, to turn her emotions on and off like that.
“I didn’t know that I wouldn’t go to prison,” she answered honestly. “I’m more worried about staying alive.”
“I don’t think there is anyone in her circle of friends who would kill you out of revenge,” Selena scoffed. “So I think you’re probably safe now.”
Arianna still didn’t feel it. She would never feel normal; she would always have to look over her shoulder.
“How did you get Vince to fall for you,” Selena wondered as she stood to leave. “I tried for years. How did you do it in a matter of weeks?”
“Because,” Arianna said with a smile, “We’re alike. We are exactly alike.” The best part about it: Selena would never know what she meant.
“I signed the forms for your release. Once you’re processed you’ll be free to go.” She stood at the door for a moment, then turned to say, “I’m sure Vince will be waiting for you.”
“I’m sure he will be too.” Arianna glowed with the knowledge that she would soon see her guys again.
The women all cheered as she was escorted back out after three days inside the jail. Some of them would be there for years, or longer. But they were happy to see her go. They shouted out names of men whom they wanted killed, but she was permanently out of that business. She would have to find the most boring job possible now; perhaps she would become a teacher. She didn’t want to give Selena Davies the slightest reason to come after her again. Jordan would help her through school. She’d always wanted to be a Phys Ed teacher. Maybe she’d coach a girl’s team.
They handed her the clothes she wore in. She changed quickly and walked outside, escorted by the male officer who hated her, into the cool evening air a free woman. Guards opened the gate when the officer signaled, and as she stepped through he said, “Don’t come back.”
“I don’t plan to,” Arianna replied. Out in the parking lot, waiting for her, were her guys and her mom. She ran to them, and she grabbed her mom first and held her tight as she cried.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you where I was,” Ari sobbed into her mom’s coat. “I’m so sorry you had to wonder about me for so long.”
“I understand,” her mom said after several minutes of holding her tight. “Let’s get you home.”
“Okay,” Ari said as her mom led her to the back seat of the SUV. Jordan kissed her quickly when she turned to him.
“I missed you,” Ari sighed, and grabbed him close.
“Oh, Ari,” he whispered, and kissed her cheeks.
Vince couldn’t wait, and impatiently broke in to kiss her hard on her mouth. “Get in the car,” he said with a smile. “I want to get you home.”
“Can we eat first,” she pouted. “I’m starving.”
Arianna relented and allowed Jordan to order pizza on the way home. It was delivered just minutes after they arrived. They ate and talked, Ari mostly catching up with her mom.
“I like the arrangement you have here,” her mom said after dinner, as Vince helped Jordan with the dishes. “Your men are very committed.” Jordan turned bright red, and Vince turned toward them with a fiendish smirk.
“You told her,” Arianna cried out.
“I figured it out,” Charlotte corrected her. “They couldn’t hide it at all. They were both missing you like crazy.”
“I missed them too,” she said with a grin to Vince.
Charlotte made a show of looking at her watch, and although it was only 8 pm she yawned and stated, loudly, “I’m tired. I think I’ll head to bed.”
Arianna kissed her mom, and walked her back to her apartment. Vince and Jordan both hovered at the door, and when she came back in they both pounced.
“Vince and I had sex,” Jordan announced when the door was closed. Vince wrapped her up in his right arm and carried her to the bedroom. But when Jordan said it, he stopped. “We had sex, and I thought you should know.”
Arianna was stunned. She didn’t expect it, and she didn’t know what to say. She wiggled out of Vince’s grasp and walked slowly toward the couch. Vince glowered at Jordan, but he was unapologetic. Vince sat down on one side of her, and Jordan on the other.
“Why did you have to tell her now?” Vince was angry, and his raised voice just reinforced the fact.
“Because I didn’t want to lie about it, and I didn’t want to hide it from her,” he argued. His eyes were sad, but he refused to cry, even if she did decide to break up with them.
“We had sex in Kentucky, without Vince,” Arianna reminded Jordan.
“That’s true, but that’s not the same.” Jordan wasn’t nearly as confused about his feelings for Vince, and he wanted Ari to accept it. He did not want to lose her over what he and Vince did. “We’re a team, you know. And, we love each other.”
She hadn’t let the thought of Jordan and Vince together cross her mind. Although she knew Vince was bi. She just didn’t think that Jordan would… Would what? Fall for Vince? It was easy enough to do. He was pretty irresistible, Ari knew that.