Chapter 4

<Gavin Forrester>

I walk into my small apartment around 1 A.M. and collapse on the bed. My night has been one of mixed feelings and unperformed promises.

Talon is going to kill me unless there is a notice about her death on the news later today but I just can't kill her. She's not the one that deserves to die, Carter is. He illegally invades her privacy and then forces her to marry him but refuses to spend any time with her because of his highly demanding job.

I now understand why Talon hates Carter so much...

I roll my eyes and slip out of the suit. I don't have enough sober brain power left in me to think about this rationally. I take off the suit jacket and begin to unbutton the shirt when my phone rings. I look at the lock screen and sigh.

Of course he'd be calling me at this God forsaken hour.

I pick up so he won't suspect anything of me.

"Is it done?" Talon asks in a gruff voice.

"No, not exactly." I sit down on my bed and rub the back of my neck.

Angering Talon is not high up on my list of pleasurable things to do.

"What do you mean by not exactly?" He questions and I can almost feel his anger seeping through the phone.

"I mean I don't think she deserves to die, her fiancée on the other hand..." My voice trails off as Talon chuckles. "What?"

"I knew something like this would happen..." He continues to chuckle and I have to sudden urge to hang up because I know what's coming next.

"Like what?" I grumble, probably giving him ample satisfaction.

"I knew you'd get attached to her...You may be my best operative but you're still a man and I should've known better than to send you on a mission to kill a pretty girl such as Victoria Grayson." Talon finally stops laughing and takes in a deep breath. "I should've sent a female operative, they'd have it done by now."

"Her dad is the police chief of the NYPD." I mutter with sarcasm lacing my tone.

"I'm aware." He states serenely.

"How the hell do you expect me to kill her without having all of the cops after me before I even exit the scene?" I shout and stand up forcefully.

"That is for you to figure out, my friend." Talon's tone is still calm which aggravates me further.

"Talon, I can do this, I just need some more time." I say, trying to calm down.

"Fine, you are my best so I'll give you some more time because I trust that you can get this done. You can have until her rehearsal dinner which is in a two months exactly but only because I want you to make her trust you so she'll suffer and Carter will suffer more." He says in a thoughtful voice.

"I thought you didn't want me to become attached to her?" I ask suspiciously.

"Changed my mind, make her trust you so she'll suffer greater." Talon chuckles darkly and I feel a bit of fear in my chest. "I'll check in with you in a week."

With that the line goes dead and I toss my phone onto my dresser.

Great, just great...

~~~~~

I'm not actually sure if I slept at all last night. I vaguely remember dozing off but then I'd start to think about Victoria and my eyes would snap open once again. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair, a million thoughts chasing themselves around in my head.

I stand up and grab some clothes from my dresser before going into the bathroom to shower. The effects of the alcohol from last night still haven't worn off and I have a splitting headache that's threatening to make my head burst. I grab some Advil from the bathroom cabinet and swallow it down with some water before turning on the shower. I slip under the warming water and let out a deep breath.

Hopefully, this will take care of my headache.

I step out of the shower, the pain of my headache subsiding a bit but I have a feeling it'll be coming back. I wrap a towel around my body and look in the mirror. My eyes are tired and a little bloodshot.

I guess I owe that to the alcohol.

I continue examining my tired face and then go to get my phone so I can call Victoria. I walk out of the bathroom and pick it up from my dresser. I dial the number on the little slip of paper Victoria gave to me last night. I take in a sharp breath as the phone rings.

"Hello?" I say when the person picks up.

I walk back into the bathroom to put on some clothes.

"Quite a greeting there, Gavin." I smile at the sound of Victoria's voice.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit hung-over." I chuckle and pull on a pair of ripped jeans while putting my phone on speaker.

"Not as invincible as you thought?" I can hear the amusement in her voice but I choose to ignore it.

"Yeah, I guess..." I roll my eyes and pick up a black t-shirt from the ground.

I slip it over my head and begin to tie my red converse.

"How was the devil?" I ask and reach for my towel from the counter.

I towel dry my hair while Victoria recounts her night with Carter to me. Apparently, he still hasn't come home so that's why she's in such high spirits.

"So, now we can sneak out without him catching us." Her voice lowers, most likely because someone from her family is passing by.

"Sounds great, where did you have in mind?" I stand up and toss my towel into the hamper by my door.

"I was hoping you could come up with something. I want to be surprised." She says with a playful edge in her voice.

"Okay, I bet I can scrape something together." I smile to myself as she laughs a little from the other end.

"Babe, where are you?" I roll my eyes as Carter's tired voice joins our conversation.

"In the bathroom," She calls back to him.

I hear her shuffle around a bit and then slam a door.

"Listen, I can't talk for much longer because you know who is back but I really want to see you. Pick me up at Grand Central around noon." She whispers hastily as someone knocks on the door. "I'll be in a red dress and black sunglasses."

"Okay," I knit my eyebrows together in confusion as I listen intently for what's happening on the other end.

I hear a door burst open and Victoria's phone drops.

"Who the hell are you talking to?" Carter yells.

"A friend, I need somebody since you're always off doing God knows what." I hear her yell back.

"I'm working, you ungrateful little brat!"

Yeah and I'm a fairy...If you're going to lie Carter, try doing it well.

"You smell like you made out with a bottle of Jack Daniel's. Would you like to marry it because I would be totally fine with that." Her tone has lowered but I can still hear the anger lacing it.

You go, Victoria.

"So, I need a little something to get me through all of my work." Carter says in a less ballistic tone.

"A little something is one shot...downing the whole bottle is borderline alcoholism." She mutters in a calm voice.

No, I'm pretty sure it crossed the line, babe...

"Quit judging me, you think this marriage is only hard on you? Well, it's hard on both of us." He scoffs and I can hear him move around a little.

"Oh, don't pull that one on me. You left me alone at our engagement party and the minute you see me all you can do is yell at me." Her voice cracks and I feel a pang of sympathy in my chest.

"I'm a little hung-over at the moment," His voice trails off and Victoria starts laughing.

"If you didn't down a whole bottle of Jack every night then you wouldn't be." I hear her pick up her phone and then, with loud, angry steps, she walks out of the bathroom.

I hang up the phone and chuckle at what I just witnessed. These two are going to have so much fun when their married. I mean if they survive each other long enough to qualify as being 'married'. My guess is one of them is going to murder the other on the honeymoon. Hopefully it'll be Victoria because she has her dear old dad the police chief to cover for her.

A smile crosses my face as I try to think of something Victoria and I can do this afternoon. A few ideas cross my mind but none of them seem worthy of her. I tap my chin and continue to think.

Hopefully, I'll come up with something by noon...

I look over at the clock and breathe a sigh of relief that I still have two hours until I need to be at Grand Central.

~~~~~

I tap my fingers on the steering wheel as I search for a park at Grand Central. Victoria just called me and said that she'd wait by the newspaper stand but I don't want to leave her there too long for fear someone will recognize her. I roll my eyes as the guy in front of me pulls into the park I wanted.

Thanks a lot, man...

I continue driving and a park catches my eye. It's a bit of a hike from the station but it's my only option at the moment. I pull into it and take my keys out of the ignition. I grab my beat up leather jacket and sunglasses. Apparently, I have to be disguised to be with her but I guess it won't really differ from what I wear every day. I make sure to lock my car as I walk back towards the station.

The large clock at the front of the building rings out 12 o'clock noon and I begin my search for Victoria. She told me she'd be wearing a red dress, a pair of thick sunglasses and a head scarf. I look around for someone matching that description but there are none to be found.

I sit down on a bench and fire a quick text to Victoria, hoping that her train just got delayed or something. She replies telling me that she's over by the magazines. My eyes wander in that direction and sure enough there's a girl in a red dress with her nose in the latest issue of Vogue. I stand up and slowly approach the woman. She lowers her magazine and smiles when she catches sight of me.

"You look even more like the red wine type in this little get-up." I whisper in her ear as she grabs my hand.

"I'd take Tequila over that grape juice any day." Victoria smirks as we walk back over to my car.

She shivers while we walk through the cold New York air. I quirk an eyebrow at her and she just rolls her eyes.

"A bit chilly are we now?" I chuckle and hand her my jacket.

"Oh no, then you'll freeze, Gavin."

Despite her worry about me, she doesn't put up much of a fight and accepts the jacket the minute the wind picks up.

"Thanks," Victoria mutters as we come to my black convertible. "This car is amazing."

The way her eyes light up boosts my ego just a little.

"Thanks, it's a Ferrari." I wink and slip into the driver's seat.

She sits down lightly in shotgun and carefully buckles herself, so as not to damage her dress.

"Where are we going?" She squeals as I turn the key in the ignition.

"I thought you wanted to be surprised..." I smirk and back out of the parking spot.

"Fine, but this better be worth the lecture I'm going to get when I get home."

"Don't worry, I'll make it worth your time." I pull out of the parking lot and continue driving along the busy New York streets.