Secret Surrender (The Forever Book 2) Read online

  “Do you surf?” I blurted.

  He laughed even harder. “It was a hypothetical. Can you imagine me surfing?”

  I shrugged and wracked my brain for a useful nugget from the research I had done on Vincent’s company before the pitch. “Actually, India has lots of great surfing, and his company has been targeting China as a new growth market. Apparently there are people going out on the water there, though I imagine they’re avoiding the river mouths.”

  Still chuckling, Carl nodded. “Shows what I know about that stuff. I like this BRIC plan. Focus on that, and present the safer bond strategy as a backup if you need it. We’re going to get some analysts working under you, but that will take a while because people are wrapping up other jobs, so for now you’re going to be on your own. Knowing your work ethic, I’m sure you won’t mind the longer hours in the interim.”

  I nodded, eager to get back to my desk and see if this plan was even remotely viable. This is what happened when you weren’t prepared: you had to make stuff up and it might not work out.

  “Anything else for me?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “No. I do think Vincent will like this BRIC plan. He’s actually flying to Rio tonight for a product launch.”

  He furrowed his brow. “How do you know that?”

  Great question—how did I know that? Beyond the truth, of course. This whole seeing a client thing was going to keep me on my toes.

  “I saw a news story about it,” I said, scrambling. “I have Google Alerts set up for his name and his company. Just saw the story before I walked over here actually.” It didn’t explain why I knew he was flying over tonight, but hopefully it would be enough of an answer for him not to push me on it.

  It was. He shook his head. “It’s been so long since I was an analyst, I feel out of the loop. Great to see young blood getting their feet wet. I’m predicting great things from this account, Kristen.” He stood up and I did the same before he motioned me to the door. “I have a lunch meeting now, but keep me posted on how things are going and let me know if you need anything.”

  With another nod, I left.

  I was taking deep breaths to stop myself from hyperventilating all the way back to my office. When I got there, I closed the door behind me and sat in the dark. Meeting with Carl would have been stressful in itself, but adding in the situation with Vincent made it even more so. Thankfully, it seemed to have gone well. Carl liked me, which was more important than Richard liking me, since Carl was my new boss.

  I knew better than to go to Carl about anything Richard was doing unless it was absolutely necessary. Bosses were a lot like clients: they wanted you to make their lives easier and make them money. Giving Carl a situation to deal with was the best way to make sure he liked me less.

  Other than losing him money. That would be worse.

  I got up and flicked the light on in my office before checking my phone. No new messages. I tapped out a belated reply to Vincent’s earlier message about taking up new positions at our next meeting.

  Probably not our next meeting, right? I don’t think they will let us fool around at the store.

  Seconds later, I got a reply.

  Oh right, I meant in my daydreams about you. Make sure you get out of work as close to 5 as possible. It might be a little tight to catch my charter down there.

  I suddenly felt bad. He was so busy and I was burdening him. Even though he was still doing his best to squeeze me in his schedule, I was definitely making his life more hectic. This shopping trip was probably going to work out, but I almost wished I had kept my mouth shut about Marty. It was hard to argue this wasn’t a negative element in whatever was going on between us.

  I sat staring at my phone, thinking of what to text back, but there was nothing to really say. The best I could do was apologize when he arrived, because he wasn’t going to take no for an answer at this point. Once he set his mind on something, he followed through. Getting me protection items was evidence of that.

  The rest of the day passed in a swirl of research and note taking. It looked like the BRIC strategy would be doable, to my relief. I could start preparing materials for my next business meeting with Vincent soon.

  First though, there would be another non-business meeting.

  At 4:59, I packed up my stuff and left the office earlier than I had in months. I knew Vincent would be waiting for me in his Camry by the time I got down.

  ***

  “I thought we were going to the grocery store to get mace,” I said as I stared at a sign with a rifle and knife crossed over one another like crossbones. Bold letters read ‘Army and Navy Surplus’. The towering brick facade was almost as intimidating as what I imagined they sold inside. Vincent had driven us to the outskirts of the city on the pretense that there was an awesome grocery store there with lots of free food samples. But as I looked at the barren strip of highway to my right and the stretch of farmland to my left I knew we were miles from any grocery store.

  “I knew you would’ve protested to coming out here, but I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. You need to protect yourself, Kristen.”

  He was right, I would have protested—we hadn’t even gone inside yet and I was already itching to leave. Having weapons lying around my apartment was only going to make me more nervous about Marty making a reappearance. If I admitted to myself that I needed protection then I was also admitting that he was a legitimate threat to my safety, and I didn’t want to revisit that thought.

  “Martin probably realized it was a bad idea to stop by my apartment,” I began, trying to convince him that the trip was unnecessary. “I bet he’s already gone.” I knew Vincent felt strongly about my safety but I was determined not to be treated like some damsel in distress.

  He turned to me, his lips set into a thin line. “This is about more than that. You’re a young woman living in the city . . . I need to be sure that no one can hurt you.”

  “Vincent, you can’t save me from everything.”

  “I can try.”

  I nearly blushed at his sincerity. Maybe I wasn’t ready to face the severity of the situation I was in, but Vincent was—I’d never seen him so persistent, and he certainly didn’t have anything to gain from bringing me here. My earlier fears that my relationship history had lessened his feelings for me were quickly dissipating.

  Still, I tried to imagine what we would find in Army and Navy Surplus that would be of any use to me and came up empty—I envisioned gun-lined walls and cases of sharpened knives. I’d never so much as used a sling shot, let alone a real weapon.

  “Well, you should know that I’ve never fired a gun or anything before,” I admitted bashfully.

  Vincent took me by the hand. “Let’s look around first. We’ll find you something you’re comfortable with.”

  I rolled my eyes as he ushered me through the entrance to the store, but I wasn’t going to argue with him since we were already here.

  The inside resembled a massive warehouse and I was immediately hit by the sight of military accessories—army jackets, yucca packs, deactivated hand grenades, and antique first aid kits were only a few of the items that decorated the storefront. Beyond us lay conveniently labeled aisles for “cooking,” “outdoors,” and “defense.” I swallowed a hard lump as I considered the last one.

  “Some of this is just for show,” Vincent said, gesturing to a set of novelty dog tags. “The stuff we’re looking for is locked in display cases near the back.”

  As I fingered the length of an empty bullet casing poised on a nearby shelf I wondered why Vincent knew so much about this place, down to its very layout.

  “Have you been here before?”

  “Just a few times. When I was living from place to place after college I needed supplies I could rely on, things that wouldn’t break down. I got so used to shopping at places like this that I guess I never broke the habit.”

  It was hard to imagine Vincent roughing it after having seen his house, but I knew he hadn’t always
lived a privileged lifestyle.

  “I also learned that you need to be able to defend yourself,” he added.

  “What did you need to defend yourself against?”

  “Nothing serious. People would sometimes try to take advantage of us, steal from us, because we were young and seemed vulnerable. It’s funny, even when you become successful you find yourself dealing with the same thing.”

  “I guess I was young and vulnerable, too,” I admitted, thinking of how clueless I was when I began dating Marty. “Just in a different way.”

  “Now you won’t be.” He put his hand on the small of my back and urged me forward. We made our way toward the defense section, bypassing a few shoppers, but the place was nearly empty.

  As we approached the back of the store I spotted a glass display case that stretched at least ten feet across. Its shelves were illuminated from below so that the items crowded onto them seemed to glow.

  A middle-aged man came out from a door behind the case, cleaning the barrel of shotgun with a rag. He had thinning grey hair cropped short to his head. He wore a forest-green jacket overloaded with pockets. A gray shirt underneath covered a paunch belly draping slightly over a pair of army cargo pants. His arms were so muscled that he seemed to be walking with his chest permanently puffed out.

  “Can I help you?” he asked in a distinctive accent as we approached him. The name tag pinned to his t-shirt read “Darryl.”

  “We’re just looking for some protective equipment,” Vincent answered.

  “This is the place for it. What kind of protection are we talking about?”

  I wondered how many different things you could defend yourself from, but the length of the display case suggested there were plenty.

  “Something she can use if she finds herself in . . . a bind.” His mouth twisted. Vincent was taking the threat of Marty very seriously.

  Darryl’s eyes widened. “A bind, huh? I’ve got just the thing. Give me a minute.” He disappeared behind the door he came out of earlier, leaving Vincent and me alone.

  “Maybe I should just leave town with you,” I teased as I turned to him, leaning my hip into the display case. “He can’t find me if I’m not here, right?”

  Vincent seemed to stiffen at the mention of his trip but quickly reached up to cup my chin in his hand, gently running the pad of his thumb across my jaw line. “You can’t put your life on hold because of this, Kristen.”

  “I know,” I sighed, leaning into his touch. “A vacation just sounds nice right now.”

  “The trip is going to be anything but vacation.”

  “What are you doing in Rio?” I asked as I realized that he hadn’t told me much about the details of his trip.

  “We’re throwing a launch party for a new product,” he said, dropping his hand from my face.

  “What kind of product?”

  “We’re releasing a new surfboard in South America and there’s a big party to publicize it. There’s going to be famous stars, business people, media—the usual.”

  Thoughts flooded my head of the women surrounding him at the bar in Cape Town. I’d wondered why he hadn’t told me about the party earlier, but I tried to chalk it up to distraction. After all, I had given him a lot to think about. “Sounds like vacation to me.”

  “In this business even parties are work.”

  I was just about to ask him for more details about what kind of people would be there, worried that a launch party in Brazil would be as wild as it sounded, when Darryl reemerged. He had a silver revolver in his hand that looked like he reached into a television and pulled it out of a Dirty Harry movie.

  “This is a Ruger SP101. It’ll take some getting used to especially with your small hands. I’d take it out to the firing range a few times to get a handle on it and build up some callouses.”

  I shot Vincent a doubtful look but he gestured for me to try it. Really?

  Darryl placed the gun in my outstretched palm and I had to use my other hand to help support the weight.

  “How does it feel?” Vincent asked.

  Like I’m holding a bowling ball.

  “I’m not sure this is going to work,” I replied.

  Darryl wrinkled his brows and scratched his chin. “Okay, I got something better.” He went into the back room again and reappeared. This time he was carrying a large, steel tube with a trigger attached to its bottom.

  “This is an M1 rocket launcher,” Darryl said, his voice raising an octave with excitement. “It’ll obliterate any ‘binds’ you might find yourself in. Try it out, see how it feels.”

  Darryl thrust the rocket launcher into my hands before I had a chance to protest. I stood, awkwardly bearing the heavy weight, unsure how I was even supposed to hold it. I unwittingly laughed from the overkill.

  “I’m not sure I can fit this in my purse,” I joked.

  “How about something a little more discreet?” Vincent asked, taking the rocket launcher from my hands and setting it on the display case.

  “Well, we’ve got these over here.” Darryl scurried over to the end of the case, beckoning us to follow him with a frantic wave of the hand. He pulled a knife from its shelf and unsheathed it, revealing its thick and serrated edge. “This”—a wide and crooked smile spread across his face—“is an OKC-3S Bayonet. This is a real bang for your buck, multi-purpose, you know, not just for defense. But if that’s what you’re looking for, a defense weapon, this will get them every time.” He thrust the handle of the knife at me, his own fingers digging into the blade.

  “Try it,” he insisted.

  “I think I’ll just . . . look.”

  He shrugged, as if to say suit yourself. “If you’re looking for discreet, this is it.” He stuck the knife back into its sheath and slipped it into the hip pocket of his cargo pants. “Can’t even see it.”

  “Don’t you think this is all a little overkill?” I asked to both men. They both looked at me, surprised.

  “You can never be too prepared, honey,” Darryl said.

  Vincent nodded.

  Ugh. Men.

  I exhaled heavily, which seemed to make Vincent come to his senses.

  “It’s a beautiful knife,” Vincent said, his charming business persona taking over. “But I think we’re more interested in something like this.” He pointed to a row of silver necklaces spread across the top shelf of the case, a different pendant attached to each chain. The quaint pieces of jewelry looked out of place next to the weapons that surrounded them.

  “Ah, these are very popular,” Darryl said as he set the knife down next to the rocket launcher, much to my relief.

  “A necklace?” I asked, turning to Vincent.

  “Not quite.”

  “Which one are you interested in?” Darryl asked.

  Vincent looked at me contemplatively, as if considering which pendant would suit me best, before turning back to the case. “That one.”

  Darryl pulled one of the necklaces from the bunch and held it up, a small heart-shaped locket spinning from the chain. He showed me the bottom of the heart which contained a small hole.

  “You can insert a mace cartridge into the back,” Vincent said, taking the necklace from Darryl and laying the heart flat on his palm. He flipped it open to reveal a small canister, its nozzle situated into the hole.

  “You just squeeze the heart in the center to shoot the mace.” He draped the necklace around my neck and fastened it.

  I looked down at it, afraid to even touch it for fear of setting it off inside. “I don’t know, Vincent. What if someone knocks into me and it goes off?”

  “There’s a safety switch,” Darryl cut in. “See the small button on the side? You have to slide it down to be able to use it. If you’re in trouble you won’t have to reach into your purse, these necklaces are one of our best sellers because they’re so convenient.”

  “Kristen, if someone attacks you, you’ll be able to defend yourself without inflicting any real damage to them. All I want is to be able t
o protect you, and this is the only way I know how. I can’t always be there.” He reached out and touched the pendant, his fingers brushing against my exposed clavicle. The gesture was tender and so were his words. If it would make Vincent feel better knowing that I could defend myself then I didn’t see the harm in wearing the necklace. In fact, the idea of having something so accessible already felt like a small comfort to me.

  “All right, I’ll take it,” I said.

  “We’ll get one for Riley too,” Vincent said.

  “Riley already has her own.”

  “But is it a necklace? It’ll be more convenient than whatever she’s carrying around in her purse.”

  It was a good suggestion. Although Marty had been cordial with Riley the first time he stopped by, I knew his mood could escalate, and quickly. I didn’t want her to be collateral damage.

  I nodded in agreement.

  “I also think you should have something else, just in case the mace isn’t enough,” he added.

  “I’ve got just the thing,” Darryl said, reaching below the display case. I imagined him pulling out a flamethrower or a chainsaw so I was almost taken aback by the simplicity of the small rectangular device he set in front of us. “It’s a taser. If the mace doesn’t subdue him, this will. Guaranteed.”

  I picked it up and pressed its button, jumping as a bright blue electric current ignited at the taser’s end.

  “This seems dangerous.”

  “It will hurt someone, no doubt. But not permanently,” Darryl assured me.

  “It’ll be a last resort item,” Vincent said. “Just keep it in your purse.”

  I could think of a million ways something could go wrong with the necklace—I could forget to wear it one day, it could break, or get ripped from my neck. Having a backup plan couldn’t hurt.

  “Better safe than sorry,” I conceded.

  Vincent smiled and pushed the taser and necklace toward Darryl. “And a few extra mace cartridges,” he said. “So she can practice.”

  I turned to Vincent as Darryl rang us up. “Well, if Marty does show up he’ll be sorry,” I tried to laugh off my unease.