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She rinsed out her mouth, spitting to the ground, and then drank some of the water. “I’m fine. I promise,” she said. “I feel better now that it’s out.”
“Okay, as long as you’re sure.”
“I’m sure.”
She yanked the door shut again, and I pulled the car back out into the traffic. We drove in silence, me casting anxious glances over at her. This all felt like too much. Yes, I had access to some things that could help us, but I worried it wouldn’t be enough to achieve what she wanted. She might have better knowledge than anyone about her father, and also the house where she’d grown up, but that didn’t mean it was going to be easy to get in there and kill him. His guard would be well and truly up. Plus, she wanted to go and warn her sister, and I didn’t think she had good things planned for Tony the Hound either.
We reached the building where the luggage storage was housed. A sandwich shop rented out the bottom of the building, while the floors above were used for the luggage storage. The place rented out storage space in hours, days, weeks, or months. I’d taken the longest option, using a story about traveling abroad a lot for work and not wanting to cart everything around with me. They didn’t ask too many questions—happy just to have the regular business.
I recognized the woman in her fifties, her dark hair graying, who manned the desk. She looked up as I approached and gave me a warm smile.
“Ah, Mr. Stafford. Welcome back to New York.”
I gave my most charming smile. “Thank you. Just here to collect a few things.”
“No problem at all.” Her gaze darted to Vee standing behind me. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll bring your case down.”
We waited until she reappeared, hauling my belongings. The suitcase was a large, hard case in gray, with a combination lock at the top, like an oversized briefcase.
I suddenly remembered the series of numbers that had come back to me while I’d been in the hospital. I hadn’t known what they’d related to when I’d remembered them, but I did now. They were the code to get the case open.
“Do you have a private area we can use?” I asked the woman. “I need to check the contents before we leave.”
She gave that bright smile again. “Of course. My office is right this way. Please come through.”
We followed her into a back room. “I won’t be a moment.”
She gave me another nod, then left us to it.
I worked the numbers into the combination lock and then unlocked the suitcase and folded it out. Inside were the normal things you’d expect to find—several changes of clothing, a toiletries bag, and a pair of black dress shoes.
Vee stared at the contents. “How’s that supposed to help us?”
“Just wait.”
I removed the material inlay of the case from one side then slid my fingers down the edges of the case’s hard shell. My fingers found what they were looking for and I flicked a couple of hidden catches, and the inside of the case came away in my hands. Beneath, carefully embedded in shapes cut out of an inlay of foam, were two handguns and several spare magazines of bullets.
“Holy shit,” Vee breathed. “I never would have known.”
I repeated the action with the opposite side of the case. Here were documents this time, two fake IDs, a bundle of cash, several credit cards to go with the identifications.
“We’ve got enough money to go,” I said, pressing her again, though I doubted I would get a different answer. When Vee’s mind was made up, she wasn’t one to be swayed easily, but I had to try. “I have enough contacts to get you some new ID as well. Just say the word and we’re out of here. Your father will never find you.”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry. I just can’t. You go if you want to, but I can’t walk away knowing he’ll have gotten away with what he did.”
I reached out and threaded my hand in her hair, pulling her in to kiss her mouth. The kiss was slow and sweet, and the coils of desire wound tight inside me. I wanted more, but I knew this wasn’t the time. I broke the kiss and touched my nose to hers. “I’m with you all the way.”
She fixed her eyes on mine. “Why?”
“I already told you. I love you. I’m not going to let you do this alone.”
A ghost of a smile touched her lips, but she still didn’t tell me she loved me in return. Had my girl built her walls so high around her heart that she was too afraid to admit to her feelings, or did she simply not feel them?
I couldn’t answer that for her.
Pulling away, I packed the suitcase back up to take with us. I didn’t want the woman who worked here coming in and asking about the weapons the case contained.
“So what now?” Vee asked.
