Page 19 of Instinct & New Identity

I thought back to one of the men who protected us in the beginning who was constantly sleeping while on shift and not really good at “watching us.”

A knock at the door took me out of my thoughts.HadVinceforgotten something?Iwalked over to the door and looked through the peephole.Andclosed my eyes.Iwalked the few steps back to the kitchen and whispered toValthat it wasSteveagain.

“Vince said ignore him.Don’topen it,”Valwhispered to me.

“He knows we’re here.I’mjust going to tell him we’re busy and to come back tomorrow,”Itold her and walked back to the door.

I opened it with the chain still attached and peeked out atSteve, his hair now a bit disheveled, and who appeared to be a bit distraught.

“Hey,Steve, now’s not a good time.ValandIare making dinner,”Itold him.

“That’s good becauseIneed to talk to both of you.Letme in,” he said and started to push the door.

“Steve, no.We’rejust going to have a girl’s night tonight, but we can catch up with you maybe tomorrow,”Itold him and found myself hopingVincewas here whenStevecame back.

“I need to talk to you both about us before your boyfriend comes back.Letme in.Thiswon’t take long,” he said a bit more impatiently, and once again tried to push the door.

Getting angry myself that he wouldn’t back off because he had never been this unpleasant or disagreeable,Itold him to have a good night and proceeded to close the door, but he stepped his foot in, blocking me from doing that.

“Catherine, this is serious.Weneed to talk about our relationship, andValentinashould listen too so she knows not to let that other man into the apartment if he shows up again,” he said clearly irritated and angry.

Two could play that game.Therewas no relationship with me, andIwas shocked he ever thought there was one.Moreimportantly,Iwas done with him pushing his way in andIended this conversation.

“No, we are not in a relationship,”Itold him as forcefully asIcould. “Goaway,Steve.Thisconversation is done, orI’mcalling the cops.”

I pushed the door with everythingIhad, and he released his foot just before the door slammed.Iswitched all of the locks into place, and he instantly began knocking again and calling my name.Notloudly, but enough for me to hear him.

Turning to my sister,Isaw she was on the phone, andIpaused to hear her talk.

“Okay, we’ll see you soon.Thanks,” she said into the phone.Aftershe hung up, she told me, “IcalledVince.He’son his way back.”

Ugh.Great.Now, he was really going to think of us as damsels in distress.

“You shouldn’t have called him,Val.”

“He made us promise,” she countered. “Andhonestly,Stevehas never been that forceful before, soI’mnot taking any chances.”

I knew she was right, but still.Oneof the thingsValandIhad in common was the need to feel independent after living inWITSECfor so many years.Havinghad to rely onVincefor something likeStevedid not make me feel independent, andIdidn’t like it.

“At least when he gets here, we can tell him we’re moving toGeorgia,” she said to me with a grin on her face. “Yourlist proves we should, and you know it.”

Then she dropped the grin, and took a more serious tone. “I’llmake you a deal.Ifit doesn’t work out, we can leave his house and go stay at a hotel somewhere until we find a place of our own.Iwon’t even fight you on it.ButIjust want to try thisCat, andIthink this could be a really good option for us.”Shepaused and then looked at me with a pleading face. “Deal?”

I sighed and sat down on the chair next to me.Iknew she was right.IfVincereally was the good guy he appeared to be and his security company was as good as he said, which they likely were since they’d found us, then they could help us find a safe, secure place to live.Wecould start over in a place whereValandIcould start to branch out.Getreal jobs, somethingIknew my sister was dying to have.Shewas way more social thanIwas.Shewanted to be with co-workers and have friends to hang out with.Iwouldn’t mind a little of that too.Plus,Ihad always been the one to decide where to move, so maybe it was timeIletValhave a turn.

I sighed again, getting up from the chair to look over at my sister who was staring at me like she was patiently waiting for me to give her the okay.

“Let’s start making some food, and whenVincegets here, we can ask him what the next step is,”Iconceded and immediately saw the smile grow on her face.

She started jumping up and down, clapping her hands, and then came over to hug me and giggle-shrieked the whole time.

Thirty minutes later,Vincewas back, and he had a duffel bag and a large military backpack with him.Assoon as he walked in the door, he informed us that he had checked out of his hotel and was sleeping on our couch that night because he didn’t trustSteve.

“Cat,Ifinally found you after seven long years.I’mnot going to risk losing you all over again because of that dickwad,” he said.

I felt like he was givingSteveway more credit than he deserved, butIhad also learned that you could never be too careful, soIlet it go.Instead,Ichose to focus on the fact that he didn’t want to lose me now that he’d found me, and it made my belly flutter.

We ate dinner together then told him we would move toAtlantawith him.Whilewe would move in with him when we got there, this would only be temporary.Ididn’t want to be a freeloader, but this would give us time to find a safe and secure location, thankfully withVinceand his team’s help.

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