Mandy

Trey isn’t saying much as we leave the bank, but I can tell that he feels as incredible as I do after helping Marvin out. It occurs to me that most people would give more to charity if they could see the end results directly like this. Marvin’s transformation was incredible and I really hope he can find his footing. He seems like a good man who just lost his way.

“I hope he finds a job,” I mention as we turn the corner and head toward LaGuardia airport.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Trey replies, lost in thought. “I gave him my card and told him to give me a call if he needed a reference or anything.”

“He would make a great WalMart greeter,” I suggest. “He definitely has the personality for it. I’m sure they would hire him.”

“I’ll make a few calls and see if I can get him in somewhere,” Trey says, putting his arm around me. “Don’t worry about him. He’ll be fine.”

“It’s just sad to think that there are thousands more just like him,” I say, thinking out loud. “I wish there was a way to help more of them.”

“If you figure it out, let me know,” Bolt says, glancing back. “I’ve got a quite a few military buddies who could use a hand. There’s a lot of PTSD out there.”

My mind churns with ideas as we cross the East River and head north toward the airport. “Our luggage is waiting for us,” Trey informs me after checking his messages. “Is there anything you need before we take off?”

“Not really.” I snuggle into him. “Maybe a coffee, but other than that I’ve got everything I need right here.”

Trey

As the warm fuzzy feeling from our encounter with Marvin begins to wear off, my mind turns to a dozen different things that have been stressing me out. Tyler, Vanessa, Tommy, Carly, Aileen and Nolan all weigh on my mind. I’m hoping that Vanessa will come clean, with Mom at least, and then things can take their natural course from there. Everything else will probably come to a head in the next few days, depending upon how much Tommy offers to pay back to the investors. I’m hoping that getting out of the city for a few days will ease my mind a bit. I need a break.

“I talked to Ray earlier and told him our plans,” I tell Mandy as we enter the gates of LaGuardia. “I knew we wouldn’t all fit in his truck, so I had him pick us up an extra car and he’ll meet us out there at four o’clock.”

“I was wondering what you were talking to him about,” she replies, shooting me a suspicious look. “I noticed you got quiet when I came in the room. I figured maybe you guys were scheming or something.”

“No scheming, just planning ahead.” I lean in and give her a kiss. “You can pull right up to the jet,” I tell Anthony. “Now Bolt, like I told Anthony, I don’t want any dents or scrapes in this thing.”

“Hey, no problem, Man.” He nods and gives me a cocky smile. “As long as everyone stays out of my way, it’ll be good.”

“It’s New York City, so you know that’ll happen,” I reply, giving him a slap on the shoulder.

As soon as the vehicle comes to a stop, I’m ready to roll. I reach back grabbing my laptop and my briefcase. The only bummer is that we have to take a Citation instead of the Gulfstream. If we end up going to Lynchburg on a regular basis, I’ll have to see if I can extend their runway by a thousand feet. The Citation is still a pretty nice jet, but there is no privacy whatsoever. I’ll grab the seat in the back and catch up on some phone calls. That will give Mandy and Anthony some time to get better acquainted and they can talk about the case. My first call is to Agent Mitchell, to see when he is going to meet with with Tommy.

Mandy

I feel a bit jilted as Trey deserts me to take his favorite spot, way in the back of the plane. I understand he wants to get a few things done, but it’s not like I’m going to pester him or anything. Glancing back at him, I fail to catch his attention, so I pull a pair of shorts and a tank top from my bag and excuse myself to the lavatory to change. By the time I return, Trey appears to be completely engrossed in conversation so I plop down in a seat across from Anthony.

“Apparently, he’s sick of us,” I mention to Anthony, giving him a sideways glance. “I showered and even put on perfume, so I know it’s not that.”

“Maybe it’s me then,” he quips, giving his pit a quick sniff. “Nope, I’m good too.” He chuckles, reclining his seat. “He seems a little obsessed with Tommy right now. What are your thoughts on how everything is playing out with Carly and Tommy?”

“I think they were both in on things, but Carly realized too late that she was in over her head,” I speculate, giving him my impression of the situation. “Why else would she flee to Belize to shut down the bank account?”

“You think she realized that Tommy was framing her?” he asks, nodding his head as if he is starting to believe it. “Several times, you guys have alluded to the fact that he manipulates and uses people.”

“Trey was talking about that fact earlier,” I tell him. “He thinks that he set up the account in Belize for her and granted himself access to it.”

Anthony gives me a puzzled look, not immediately connecting the dots. “I certainly wouldn’t let anyone else set up my bank account.”

“Trey thinks Tommy offered to set up an offshore account for her to keep Victor from finding out that he was paying her to help sell his company,” I explain. “She probably liked the idea of concealing the twenty-five million from him, but then freaked out when she realized that Tommy was using her account to pay for the crime spree.”

“So you guys think she is innocent in all of this?” he asks, shaking his head and sounding doubtful.

“I don’t think she’s totally innocent, but I can’t believe that she was totally responsible either.” I pause for a moment to reflect upon everything that has gone on. “Trey thinks that maybe Tommy and Carly were having an affair and that’s why Victor didn’t trust her anymore.”

“He must be a busy guy, huh?” He rubs his chin between his thumb and index finger. “I don’t think I could use women like that. I’d have to ditch my conscience.”

“I’m totally convinced that he has no conscience whatsoever,” I reply, expressing my strongly held opinion. “I wouldn’t trust him any further than I could throw him.” I cringe at the thought of him simultaneously sleeping with Liv, Vanessa and Carly. Those are just the three that we know about, there could easily be more. A whiff of Trey’s cologne abruptly interrupts my thoughts.

“So far, Tommy hasn’t gone too far,” he relays. “In fact, he hasn’t left the office yet. Hopefully he is packing up his stuff.”

“So you have been busy tracking him. I thought maybe you were sick of us.” I turn and narrow my eyes.

“No, I’ll never grow tired of you.” He slips into the seat next to me and gives me a kiss. “I could use a little space between us and our chaperone though,” he adds, glancing over at Anthony.

“Yeah, well, I’m getting a little tired of being around two teenagers who keep fawning over each other too, if you want to know the truth.” He turns his head giving us a glare that could cut glass. “It’s like neither of you have ever gotten laid before.” He scoffs, chuckling at his own wit.

“Actually, I’ve just never wanted to be with anyone this much,” Trey whispers, bringing on another eye roll from Anthony.

“Me either,” I reply feeling a fullness in my heart that has been missing my entire life. I can’t wait for this whole thing to be over. To have our lives back and to be able to go and do whatever we want. It’s almost like we have been held hostage. Every move we make has to be planned out, approved by Anthony and even then I still feel paranoid.

I turn and glance at Anthony who appears to be distracting himself with a newspaper. “This is a good exercise in self-control,” I tell Trey, sliding my hand along the inside of his thigh. “I like a man who has control over his wants and desires.”

“I’ll show you self-control,” he says reclining his seat all the way back and closing his eyes. “We’ll be on the ground in about thirty minutes.”

“You can just turn it on and off like a light switch, huh?” I ask, sliding my hand over his protruding bulge. “Hmm, this thing appears to still be on.” I lightly stroke it back and forth with my fingertips.

“All right, you two,” Anthony groans. “I was trying to ignore you but…”

“Talk to her,” Trey replies, without even cracking an eyelid. “She’s the one being a tease over here.”

I look back at him and he is now grinning from ear to ear. “To think, I had a sexy little surprise planned for you.”

Trey

A sexy little surprise, huh? I wonder what that would entail? My mind wanders through a series of sexually oriented scenarios amusing itself for the remainder of the flight. When the pilot says, “Prepare for landing,” it actually comes as a bit of relief. I can’t take another minute of sitting here next to her without being able to do anything. Ever since our first two aerial encounters, I want to make love to her every time we are up in the air.

“Is everything okay?” Mandy asks as I am forced to adjust a few things while bringing my seat back to the upright position.

“Couldn’t be better,” I groan, lying through my teeth. The aching I’ve been feeling only intensifies once I’m sitting straight up. “You’re not allowed to wear shorts or skirts on any more flights, unless there is a chance for some extracurricular activity.”

“Okay, I’ll let you pick out my clothes from now on,” she replies, jabbing me in the side. “You just wait and see what I wear next time.”

“If there is a next time, I’ll take that seat in the back of the plane,” Anthony says, leaning in our direction. “Maybe I’ll pick up some earplugs and one of those little things you put over your eyes to sleep during the day, too.”

“Those are all excellent ideas,” I concur.

After landing, we begin to taxi toward the hangar. I see a black stretch limousine parked off to the side, so it appears everything is ready to go. “Just grab what you need for now and we’ll send the rest with them in the limo,” I tell Mandy as she pulls a bag from the overhead compartment.

“We don’t have that much stuff,” she scoffs. “I’m sorry, but I’ll never be one of those people who can’t pull her own bag. It’s got wheels.”

“That’s not really the point,” I reply with a laugh. “I just don’t know if we’ll have enough room for everything.”

“There will be plenty of room.” She pauses, looking at her bag then looking over at Anthony.

“Just leave the bag,” Anthony tells her. “You aren’t going to want to drag them around with you. Ray and I will make sure they make it to the B&B.”

“Okay,” she relents with a sigh. “Aren’t we all going together?”

“No. You and I have a few errands to run, so I had Ray bring us our own vehicle,” I explain, trying to leave things as vague as possible.

“Oh, so we get to take the truck?” she asks, crunching her brow. “Are you sure you want to be seen getting out of that thing?”

“Maybe he had another bulletproof Land Rover delivered this morning,” Anthony chimes in. “He only likes black vehicles you know.”

“Shit, I didn’t even think of that,” I reply with a smirk. “You’re still offended that I don’t like your diarrhea colored Suburban, aren’t you.”

“Ouch, now it’s diarrhea colored?” He slaps his fist to his chest as if he’s been struck with a fatal blow.

“You can be such an ass,” Mandy chides, shaking her head at me.

“I know, I’m sorry Anthony,” I reply, as we make our way to the front of the plane. I can’t wait to see Mandy’s face when she sees our ride.