Of All the Luck! (10 page)

She flashed a heated look at the man who was already sniveling in fear.  “Yes, Xavier.  He is not worth a kick in the teeth.”  She looked down and said, “I will get Doc for you.  You are in terrible pain.”

“I will live, thanks to you,” he smiled, even though it hurt to do so.  He looked through swollen eyes at Oscar.  Where is he, Oscar?”

“I can’t tell you, Xavier.  He will kill me just like he killed Angela; he is crazy and obsessed.”

“I already know this.  Make it easy on yourself, Oscar. I do not have time to waste and I will make you wish you’d never been born if I have to.”

* * *

The atmosphere in the car was tense.  Victoria knew better than ask them to stop for coffee, just so she could get out of the car for a few minutes.  Griff wouldn’t hear of it; he was too busy watching each car and truck that came close to them, a gun in his hand and ready to fire if necessary.  By the same token Jacobson kept both hands on the steering wheel, his eyes on the road and mentally planning their escape at any second should it be necessary.  Neither man said much, and she was left to feel sorry for herself because sitting was beyond uncomfortable.  “Are we close to Tiemery yet?” she finally asked when the squirming told her she needed to get up.

“We have at least another forty minutes, Victoria.  You need to put your seatbelt back on,” Griff bossed.

“No,” she replied, giving him to know she wasn’t going to be ordered around.  She pulled her knees up under her and knelt on the seat, giving her aching bottom some relief.

“Victoria, you know that isn’t safe.  Sit down and put on your seatbelt.  If we need to make a run for it, you could be thrown.”

“I am too sore to sit, Griff.”

“You will be even sorer if I have to ask Jacobson to stop this van so I can seat you and put the seat belt around you myself!”

“Do not threaten me, Griffin Conway!  It is your fault I am so sore.  If I fly out the window, then I will accept the responsibility for it, but I am NOT going to sit right now.”

“You are making a target of yourself, Victoria,” Ian tried to reason with the woman, but she was too upset to be sensible.

“So, drive faster… Or better yet, pull over and let me walk!” she demanded with a show of temper.

“Victoria Conway, you are asking for another spanking.”

“No, Griffin Conway, I am certainly NOT asking for another spanking.  In fact, I am adamantly opposed to a spanking of any kind for at least the next six months!  Now please, get back to securitizing the traffic and ignore me.  I am not bratting; I am impossibly sore and in terrible pain.”

“If I had a pillow I would give it to you, Victoria, but I don’t,” Griff shocked her by saying.  “Now stop behaving like a whining child and sit down and buckle up.  You are drawing attention, and that is the last thing we want.”

Victoria cursed fluently, cursing Griff in several different languages, but she did as she was told, knowing that if she attracted the wrong attention it could get them all killed.  Tears ran down her face as she was once again trapped on the seat, her bottom pressed against the leather.  She was not one bit comfortable, and she hated the fact that she was so miserable she couldn’t keep from crying, even though the tears made her feel weak.  She steadfastly turned her head so that she was looking out the window on her right side.

Griff heard Victoria’s tantrum and it was all he could do to keep himself from telling Jacobson to stop the vehicle so he could paddle her rump until she calmed down.  It wasn’t like her to act like such a brat, and he wasn’t going to put up with it now.  She needed to keep a cool head just in case there was trouble and she had to act quickly.  Right now she was so emotional that it wouldn’t take but two seconds for someone or anyone to set her off like a stick of dynamite.  He clamped his lips tightly shut to keep from scolding her in front of Jacobson.

Victoria cried silently, scolding herself for behaving so badly.  It certainly wasn’t Jacobson’s or Griff’s fault they had to flee the cabin, and it wasn’t their fault that Liz and Cal’s cabin was so far away.  She’d known that Griff would spank her soundly the moment she opened the door to Jacobson when Griff wasn’t there.  She was in pain, and she was taking it out on everyone.  She had to pull herself together and get over herself.  If there was trouble of any kind, they would have to trust each other.  She slowly pulled herself together and forced herself to endure sitting.  Yes, it did hurt, but they were safe, and that was all that mattered.  She waited a few more minutes and then said, “Griff, I’m sorry for losing my temper and acting like an idiot.  I am alright now.  Jacobson, I know none of this is your fault.  Please forgive me for being so rude.”

“There is nothing to forgive, Victoria. I’m glad you are feeling better,” Ian said quietly.

“We will discuss your behavior when we are alone, Mrs. Conway,” Griff said quietly.  “Right now we all need to keep our eyes peeled on this road and other cars.”

Victoria met his eyes in the mirror attached to the visor that he was using to keep an eye on traffic in back of them, and saw that his anger ran deep.  She couldn’t really blame him; she was making a difficult situation even more difficult and she would be lucky if he didn’t punish her again.  She lowered her eyes first, blushing and feeling guilty.

“Do you think we should change this van out for something else?” Ian asked the other man.  He knew Griff removed all the bugs he could see, but Ian couldn’t shake the feeling that they were in serious trouble.

“It wouldn’t hurt,” Griff answered.  “Why don’t we stop in the next town and get a paper and buy something from a local, not a dealer.  It will be harder for anyone to trace that way.”

“I don’t think all three of us should approach anyone,” Victoria said, adding her opinion.  “I think only one of us should see to buying a car, and it should be me.  I can disguise myself easier than either of you can, and they wouldn’t expect that I would be the one to buy a car.”

“Victoria has a point,” Ian said to Griff.

“I agree.  We’ll drop Victoria off; she can buy the car; then come and get us wherever we decide to leave the van…  You don’t want to make the car owners suspicious, honey, so you’ll need to haggle the price down as much as possible.  Then you’ll call your father to get his opinion.  I want you to appear as young as possible, Victoria, and act like this is the first car you are buying yourself.”

“I can do that,” she said, nodding.  She loved playing roles, and it would be fun to do something that the guys couldn’t do as well as she could.  She took her hair and pulled it into two pony tails, and took her shirt and unbuttoned the buttons and tied the shirttails into a knot below her breasts.  While she didn’t look like a high school kid, she knew she could pass for a young adult.  They stopped and bought a paper out of a machine, and while Griff scanned the ads, Jacobson ran into a WalMart and got a throw away phone.  He activated it, and gave the phone to Victoria to make a call about a car.  She had enough in cash with her to pay for it, but of course, she would try to get the car for less.  The two men dropped her off at the house, and she was to buy the car and come and pick them up in the WalMart parking lot when she was done.

Victoria pretended long enough to be indecisive, and then made a pretend call to her Dad.  She handled the transaction like a pro, and got the signed title and then hurried away.  She picked up the men, and they were on their way, positive the new car wasn’t bugged and General Weatherby’s underlings would not be able to find them.

“You did well, Victoria,” Griff praised her, smiling as he slid in beside her.

“Thank you,” she gave him an answering smile.  When she looked in the rear view mirror she saw that Jacobson was already half asleep, stretching out on the seat.  One of them should have offered to drive over an hour ago.  She paid attention to the speed limits and did nothing to draw attention to them.  It was well after noon when they pulled onto the road that led to the cabin.

“Are you sure no one will be here?” Griff asked quietly.  “The other cabins here look deserted.”

“It is kind of cool to go swimming, and the lake is set up for swimming and jet skiing and skiing.  I cannot promise that no one will be here.  Sometimes people just want to be alone, but Liz and Cal both work and I can’t imagine that they will be here.  We will do a drive by first just to make sure there are no cars and such.”  She did exactly what she said, showing the two men how the road wound around the lake, and which roads would get them out of here if they needed to make a run for it.

Victoria drove them back to the cabin, and prayed the key was where it was when she was there before.  It was, and within minutes they were inside, checking out the cabin and delighted with what they found.  The kitchen was stocked, even though they would have to make do with canned milk and powdered eggs.  The freezer was full of food, and if they carried in wood, they would be warm enough at night when the temperatures dropped into the cold levels.  There were three bedrooms, and the two larger ones were on opposite ends of the cabin, giving Jacobson his privacy, and well as giving her and Griff some privacy, too.

Victoria knew that Griff was simply biding his time until he could get her alone and then he was going to deal with her lack of professionalism earlier that morning.  She knew better than to behave in that manner, and she knew that she not only upset Griff, she upset Jacobson, too.  He didn’t have an easy job, and the fact that Xavier picked him for the job told her how highly the man regarded Jacobson.

She fixed a decent meal for all of them, and did her best to relax.  She knew she was safe here, but how long would it be before they were discovered, however innocently by someone else?  They couldn’t very well stay here if other people showed up, people who were invited to use the cabin.  She looked at Griff and asked, “Do you think I should simply call Liz and clear our staying here?”

He looked at her in utter amazement.  “Victoria, I know it’s been a while since you worked this job, but are you crazy?  Don’t you think the General knows everything about you by now… including who does your hair?  He’s probably sending operatives in there to gossip about you and ask all sorts of questions.  All Liz has to do is mention this place and we’re screwed.”

“Okay, it is a bad idea,” she conceded.  “I just thought that I could warn her not to mention the cabin to anyone, and make sure that no one else is coming up for the weekend.”

“And what if one of Weatherby’s people is in the salon when you call and overhears Liz’s side of the conversation?”  Griff looked at her in disbelief and disappointment.  “Can I trust you to behave, Liz?  Or do I need to take the phone and smash it into little pieces?”

“Now that would be foolish indeed!” she railed at him.  “Honestly, Griffin Conway, you are acting like I am your enemy!”

“I am trying to protect you, and you seem determined to make it difficult.”

“I am not making things difficult.  I am doing my best to keep from making any mistakes, which is why I prefer to talk things through.  However, I am tired of your acting as though I am a stupid imbecile who has no idea of what is right and what is wrong.  I’m not a novice, and Lord knows I have been on enough protective custody cases to know the drill.”

“I’m tired of the attitude, Mrs. Conway, and it is past time to deal with it.”  He looked at Jacobson and said, “If you will excuse us, my wife and I need to have words.  Actually, I need to do the talking and she is going to do the listening while she is bent over the bed getting her butt laced good.”

Griffin pulled Victoria from her chair at the table and the pillow that she’d placed on the chair fell off the wooden seat and to the floor.  The look of disappointment in his dark eyes told her that he was upset with her for sneaking the pillow onto her chair.  She knew that she wasn’t to ease her discomfort in any way after a punishment spanking, and that is precisely what she did.  And her behavior since that spanking was that of a pouting, spoiled little girl; wanting her own way, arguing when she should have been paying attention, and throwing a tantrum when she was told to do something.  With their lives in jeopardy they couldn’t afford to have her acting this way, and Griffin needed to do something about it right now.  He knew she was already sore as could be from the punishment he gave her the night before, but by the time he was done with her now, she would be more than ready to stop testing him every step of the way.

Victoria waited until they were in the bedroom with the door closed to speak.  “Griffin, will you calm down, please…?  I would like to talk to you.”

“Talk?  I think that talk needs to happen with you bent over the bed with your butt bared for my belt.”  He was angry and it showed.

“No, Griffin.  That isn’t going to happen… at least not until we have talked.  You are too angry right now, and I want to explain a few things.  Please…?” she pleaded with him.

Griffin looked into her blue eyes and simply couldn’t resist.  “All right, Victoria.  You win.  Talk to me.”  He sat down and patted the bed right next to him.

“I would rather stand right now,” she told him.  “My bottom is still welted from the strapping you gave me last evening, darling.”

“If you are going to try and make me feel guilty for strapping you, Victoria, it isn’t going to work.  You earned that punishment.”