An intern led him to a waiting area where Jordan sat attached to his tablet. “Well this can’t be good,” Vince exhaled loudly. Jordan didn’t answer. He didn’t respond except to shake his head slightly. Vince knew what he meant. The room was bugged, maybe even had cameras watching them. Vince didn’t say all the curse words he thought.
They didn’t have to wait long before the intern retrieved them and led them to Secretary Dutton’s office. Jordan walked tall with his chin up beside Vince. Vince would make sure to kiss him for it later.
The Secretary shook hands with both men, and studied both of them. They were used to those looks from Ari, and now Charlotte examined them the same way. Vince was sure Ari’s mother was looking for reasons not to like them, but found none. Dutton, on the other hand, didn’t seem to find much reason to like either of them.
“Special Agent Vincenzo Argento, you’ve been a busy man,” the more mature but still attractive man stated as he stared at Argento’s file. “You carry more decorations than a Christmas tree. You’ve been commended by two Presidents. And yet you seem to have a problem keeping your dick in your pants. You’ve been cited for inappropriate relationships twice: once with a commanding officer while you were a Marine and another with a lawyer who defended a suspect that you brought in.” Dutton’s faded blue eyes narrowed, which brought his grey eyebrows into the center of his nose.
“Yes, sir.” Vince could do nothing but agree. It was all true.
“At least we don’t have that problem with you, Agent Stewart. But you have no real life experience. You never played sports; you weren’t even in the high school band. You have limited social skills, and you believe your computer is your friend.” Dutton didn’t sugar coat anything, that was for sure.
“Sir, I know the difference between a computer and a friend,” Jordan stated. He caught a glimpse of Vince out of the corner of his eyes. Dutton noticed.
“You’re having a sexual relationship, and have included Arianna Becker in your little fling,” Dutton lambasted the two men. “Becker was a suspect in several murders. I don’t need to tell both of you how bad this looks.”
Jordan opened his mouth to speak, but Vince merely flicked his wrist and Jordan stopped. “No, sir, you don’t,” Vince answered.
“But that is also why I would like to offer the two of you, and Arianna, a special assignment. It is an experiment at this stage. The internet has brought about a need for this task force. And we know what Arianna did for Margo Tremblay. We know we can’t prove it, but we know that she did it.” Dutton had Vince from special assignment. Would they be hunting down the Secretary’s killer?
“In recent times we have had situations where Americans have been accused of heinous sexual crimes in other countries. We even have sex offenders flee the US and find countries where the laws of consent are more relaxed. Not to mention Americans who have raped women in other countries.” Vince and Jordan turned to glance at each other. This was something the three of them would definitely be interested in.
“We need an international task force to hunt down those offenders, the ones that contemn the laws of our country and other countries as well.” Dutton paused there and scrutinized their reactions.
“We would need to speak to Arianna,” Vince said after several moments.
“So basically we would be international bounty hunters for sex offenders,” Jordan surmised.
“Yes, Jordan, exactly,” Dutton nodded. “Well, Arianna and Vince would be. You would be here in your little office keeping point. We can’t leave your work unattended, or risk the chance of you getting killed in the field.”
Vince and Jordan nodded at each other. Vince couldn’t think of anything he’d rather do at the time. It would get Arianna out of the country, and continue her work.
“I just have one question,” Vince stated unemotionally. “Who killed Margo Tremblay?”
“Margo Tremblay killed herself, Vince,” Dutton said calmly. “The evidence points to the fact. The medical examiner did every test twice. There will be no murder investigation.” Dutton was telling the truth.
But Jordan? Jordan flinched. It was a small movement. When Vince asked the question Jordan shuffled in his seat. Minutely. Dutton didn’t even notice, but Vince did. He said nothing. But he would question it later.
“Yes, you’re completely right sir,” Vince nodded. “We’ll discuss your offer with Arianna, I’m sure she’ll accept.” And then he stood. “Thank you for your time, Secretary Dutton, and thank you for considering us for this unique opportunity.”
“I’m sure I won’t be disappointed,” Dutton remarked. He shook hands with both men, handed Vince his card, then walked them to the door.
“This will be just what Ari needs,” Jordan said as they walked toward the front of the building.
“I agree, you’re right,” Vince nodded. He needed to think of something to say that wasn’t why did you have Margo Tremblay killed. And it took him a minute to think of something. “So will you be okay staying in the States while Ari and I travel the globe?”
“That will be hard, but I’m sure you two will be fine. And you’ll come back home to me, won’t you?” The hopefulness in his voice touched something deep inside Vince. But he didn’t want to be touched. He was angry, damn it all. And he was going to have it out with him when they got home. And then he smirked at that thought. Home. He finally had one.
“Of course,” Vince said as he grabbed Jordan’s shoulder. “I’ll meet you at home.”
The thought would not go away. It festered in his mind. It spread and moldered, spoiling his mood and his emotions. It was nurtured by his mistrust, fed by his doubt. Vince knew that Jordan killed Margo Tremblay, as well as he knew that Jordan loved and would do anything for Arianna and himself. Vince knew his devotion to Arianna caused him to do it. He knew he felt he had no other choice. The Secretary wanted Ari to kill Jordan. The Secretary arranged to have Vince shot. And Arianna wouldn’t be free until she was dead.
Vince knew why he did it, but he didn’t know how. And that scared him. If he could have a powerful woman killed in a jail without any trace of it happening, what else could he do? No, it wasn’t possible… was it? The only way he would know for sure is if he asked him. But he was afraid. He didn’t want to know the truth.
Arianna happily accepted Dutton’s offer. She would have to leave her mother again, but it was okay. At least she would see her mother while she was back in the states. They planned a road trip to Ohio to take Charlotte home, and see a few sights in between. But they couldn’t do that in DC, there were too many protesters still amassed at the mall and the white house.
Jordan planned the route out, made sure they all knew as much information about the sights they would see, and basically kept everything organized. Arianna drove since Vince’s shoulder was still injured. Jordan navigated from the passenger side, and that left Charlotte and Vince in the back seat together.
“You really love them, don’t you,” Charlotte said warmly. Vince nodded, and tore his attention from Jordan to meet Charlotte’s eyes. “Something’s bothering you, Vince.”
“Yes, but I have to handle it alone,” he answered. “And I can, I can handle it.”
“You’re jealous of Jordan and Ari.” Charlotte was nothing if not perceptive. Charlotte placed her hand on Vince’s. “He reminds her of her sister. But you don’t need to be jealous, you remind me of her. You are both matching pieces for her puzzle.” Vince tried to smile as he stared out the window.
When they arrived at Charlotte Becker’s house the trio realized they couldn’t all sleep in one room unless one of them slept in the floor. Arianna and Jasmine had shared a room with bunk beds, even until they were teenagers. Their small house only had two bedrooms.
Jordan offered to take the couch on the first night, and Vince would take it on the second. Bringing Charlotte home was not the only reason to come to Ohio. Arianna had left a job unfinished, and she refused to start a new job before finishing the last.
She put on her Florian Desjardins wig and clothes, and snuck out of the house on their first night in Canton. She’d done it enough times since she was 13. The only person who knew she was gone was Vince, she didn’t tell Jordan where she was going or why.
“Just be careful,” Vince warned as she climbed out of the first floor window.
“I will, I promise.” And then she was in her SUV and on her way to Martinsburg. She found his apartment easily enough, but she didn’t normally take care of them on the first night. She got to know their routines and approached them when they were comfortable.
But she didn’t have the time. She saw a light on, and she knocked on the door. He opened it and stared at the pretty blonde on the other side as if he’d won the lottery.
“Are you alone,” she asked innocently.
“My roommate is at his girlfriend’s apartment,” Robert Thompson said. He smelled of cigarettes, beer, and body odor. He was a light-skinned black man with no hair and sunken eyes. He was an addict, his skin was horrible and his teeth were worse. Probably meth, she thought as she took a step around him and entered his apartment.
He wasn’t hard, the easiest she’d done in a long time. She struck him in his sweet spot, right under his ear, as he walked toward the couch. The blow rarely left a bruise, and even if there was a bruise it wouldn’t be questioned by the coroner. He had several syringes lying around his apartment. She used one to plunge an air bubble into his vein. And then she knelt down beside him in his dirty floor and watched him die. She tried to rouse him long enough to look into his eyes as he expired, but he was too far gone. Good riddance, she thought as she left the apartment and returned to her mom’s house.
She crawled into Vince’s bed when she returned. She’d never had the chance to spend the night with someone after the hunt was over. But this time the adrenaline high didn’t go to waste. She shook his shoulder, still dressed like a teenager in her super short skirt and crop top.
He seemed bewildered, or bewitched, for several moments. He held her at arm’s length and inspected her, as if he’d never seen her before. She snickered as she bent to kiss his neck, right under his ear. “Don’t you want me,” she asked in her best drama-queen voice.
His dark eyes held shock, and desire. She straddled his naked body in the skirt, and just her panties separated their most sensitive areas. She rocked her hips, rubbing herself against his thick hard shaft.
His hands dove under the shirt that barely covered her breasts. He breathed faster as he watched her, using her body to seduce him. She’d been pliable in bed, but not aggressive. Now she seemed like a different woman, especially with the blonde hair and the violet contacts. He felt like he was cheating on Arianna with Florian, and in the back of his mind he liked it.
She didn’t wait for him to take control, and he didn’t know if she would have allowed in anyway. She moved her hand to his cock, and without removing her clothes she took him inside.
He felt that creeping fire inside him again, and he couldn’t breathe as if his heat burned up all the oxygen in the room. Her rock hard body rode his like a cowgirl on a bucking bronco.
He watched her performance as much as he felt it, fueled by her hormone high. She had no idea how amazing, how unbelievable, how incredible he found her. He couldn’t talk, couldn’t speak, he could only enjoy her.
She rode him harder and faster, trying to find her own orgasm. As she did, she brought him closer to his own edge. “Don’t you love me,” she asked naively. “Don’t you want to cum inside me?”
“Oh lord, Ari, you have no idea how much I want to,” he sighed as he shuddered, and lost every bit of himself inside her. She smiled as she took it, and found her own release as well.
“I love you,” Vince whispered.
“I love you too, Vincenzo Argento.” His lip quivered as she said it. His heart melted. He was completely hers.
Epilogue
Arianna slept late the next morning, as she had since she left jail. She felt free and loved. Her life couldn’t possibly be more perfect. She stretched and grinned at her family, and kissed all three on the cheek. “What’s for breakfast,” she wondered as she smiled at Vince.
“Breakfast was four hours ago, princess,” Vince growled. “We’re thinking about going out for lunch.”
Arianna pouted. She didn’t want to wait to eat, and she didn’t like Vince’s nickname. “Why do you call me that,” she whined like a spoiled child.
“Why did your mom give you a name that sounds like some cartoon princess?” Vince reciprocated. Charlotte chuckled as she took a sip of coffee.
Jordan knew something had changed between the two, he just wasn’t sure what. Arianna grasped her pinky with her thumb on one hand, and drummed her three fingers on the table. Jordan frowned and shook his head slightly. Vince coughed, and Arianna shrugged as she headed down the hall to shower.
Charlotte rolled her eyes as both men followed after her, Vince first, then Jordan several minutes later. She couldn’t say she was thrilled that her daughter would be travelling the world chasing criminals, but at least she had two men who would give their lives to keep her safe. Charlotte smiled as she returned to her room to dress. Thankfully it was on the other side of the house from Ari’s bedroom.