Blueprint for Love (16 page)

“
By confronting me at my
house?”

“
By telling you about
Vic.”

“
Did it ever occur to you
that I already knew about his record?”

Toye shook her head. “I didn’t think you
would have hired him if you knew he was an ex-con. Besides, Allen
did a good job of convincing me you were in danger.”

Toye was a beautiful woman. But she made
dumb decisions. Just like she’d done with Gabe and Candace, Toye
was butting into Ronnie’s business. “Are you and Allen screwing or
something?” Ronnie asked.

Toye’s jaw dropped. “God, no! The man is in
love with you. He came to me begging me to help him find a way to
tell you about Vic. He was so worried for you.”

“
To hell with Allen!
You’re my cousin, Toye. After all we’ve been through, I expect more
from you. You should have come to me privately with any concerns
you had. Instead, you humiliated me.”

“
I know that now.” She
gave Ronnie a pleading look. “I’m sorry. I messed up.”

“
Majorly.”

“
Everybody is mad at me.
Candace won’t speak to me. Marlowe called me a name that rhymes
with witch.”

Ronnie had filled her sisters in on what had
happened at her house that day. The day Vic took off like the
hounds of hell were dogging him. He’d never looked back. Not
once.

“
Please forgive me,” Toye
pled. “I’m miserable without my best friends. Don’t let what Allen
did come between us.”

Ronnie pointed her finger at Toye. “You need
to quit being so meddlesome.”

“
I promise, I
will.”

“
If you do anything like
this again, I will disown your ass.”

Toye nodded. “I get it.” She picked up the
coffee mug and held it out to Ronnie. “Peace?”

“
Peace.” Ronnie accepted
the cup of coffee. She’d forgiven her cousin. She hoped she
wouldn’t regret it.

Ronnie worked non-stop for the rest of the
day. At some point, a plastic container with a turkey on wheat
sandwich, chips, and a bottle of lemonade appeared on her desk. She
was so busy typing she hadn’t realized Olivia must have brought it
in. Ronnie immediately felt contrite. Poor Olivia. She’d learned to
stay out of the boss’s way when she was in a bad mood.

“
Probably didn’t want to
get yelled at for letting Toye in here,” Ronnie muttered
aloud.

The next time she looked outside her window,
the sun had set. She realized it was time to go home. Jovan would
be waiting for her.

She shut down her computer, slung her purse
over her shoulder, and stepped into the outer office. Olivia’s desk
was empty; the tiffany-style lamp she kept on it was turned off.
Ronnie set the office alarm and walked the short distance across
the street to the lot where she usually parked her car.

Even though it was dark and the seasons were
changing, it was still incredibly warm outside. She shrugged out of
her suit coat as she walked. She’d almost made it to her car when
out of nowhere, a masked man blocked her path.

“
Give me the purse, lady,
and nobody gets hurt.”

Ronnie panicked.

Oh, God! I’m being mugged!

She hesitated for a second, her heart
pounding in her ears. As the man reached for her handbag, her
natural impulse was to resist. She clenched the purse strap
tightly.

“
Dammit, lady. Let go,”
the thief ordered.

The man’s voice sounded vaguely familiar.
His foul breath stank of garlic and liquor. She recoiled, and
turned her face the other way to avoid the pungent odor. She tried
to make a run for it, but she stumbled in her pumps and twisted the
heel of her new designer shoes. Through it all, she clutched her
handbag close to her body, thwarting the robber’s attempt to take
her purse.

“
Enough of this shit,” he
grumbled.

He swung at her, but he missed.

Ronnie ducked in time to avoid his powerful
fist. She knew if he would have connected, she’d probably be out
cold on the sidewalk by now. The thought pissed her off. She
brought her leg up and kneed him in the nuts.

“
Oof!” The man groaned and
clutched his balls.

She thought that would be it, but he
recovered quickly, grabbing the hem of her dress as she tried to
flee. He spun her around and gripped her by her elbows. His fingers
dug into her skin. A nearby street lamp reflected the deadly gleam
in his eyes.

Ronnie struggled to escape his grip.

“
You like playing with
people’s private parts?” he threatened. “How ‘bout I play with
yours?”

Just as her mind began to comprehend his
meaning, the man was suddenly wrenched away from her. He stumbled
backwards and lost his balance, sprawling to the ground. She
watched, mouth agape as Vic grabbed her assailant by the collar and
hauled him to his feet. Without warning, Vic punched the guy in the
face, landing a blow that made the man’s head snap back.

Vic felt the power of his punch unleashed on
the man. For years, he’d held this raw energy in check, afraid of
the consequences. Few knew he was capable of delivering such a
blow. The man looked up at him through rage-filled eyes that peeped
from behind a black ski mask.

Vic snorted. What this guy didn’t know was
Vic could get just as enraged. Just as angry. Just as calculating.
The image of this son-of-a-bitch attacking Ronnie spurred his
movements. He stepped forward and swung again, this time connecting
with the man’s midsection. Vic’s bare knuckles protested as they
smashed into part of the man’s belt buckle. This would be much less
painful if he was wearing gloves. But the motion was still there.
Had never left him. Who the hell was this fool attacking a
defenseless woman? His woman?

The man fought back, swinging wildly, but it
was no use. He punches didn’t even land. Vic was too quick, too
seasoned. It was like sending an insect to crush an elephant. The
man was no match for him. Vic cracked the man’s jaw, and kept
punching until the man’s head rocked back and forth like a bobble
head. Somewhere in the distance, he heard Ronnie scream, but he
kept punching. Vic took pleasure in splitting the top of the man’s
nose. And even more pleasure in watching the crimson liquid that
flowed freely.

“
Vic! Stop!” Ronnie
yelled.

It served this guy right for thinking he
could steal from anyone.

“
Viiiicccc!” Ronnie drew
his name out in a half scream. “Let him go! Please,
stop!”

Vic let up, standing menacingly over the
hunched and bloodied man.

The guy held his hands up, shielding himself
from Vic’s blows.

Ronnie tugged on Vic’s sleeve. “Vic, that’s
enough.”

He wheeled around to face her. “Are you
okay?” he demanded.

“
Yes. Just shaken
up.”

Up close, Vic could see the strain on her
face. Her full lips were drawn tight. Her eyes fearful. “Ronnie,
you could have given that thug the purse. It’s just money.”

“
Oh really?” she accused.
“I couldn’t tell by the way you were fighting him.”

“
What?”

“
Is this how you solve
your problems? With violence? It seems to be a trend with
you.”

He couldn’t believe she had the nerve to
throw that in his face. “Would you rather I’d let him attack
you?”

“
You didn’t answer my
question, Vic.”

“
And you didn’t answer
mine, Ronnie!”

Vic passed a hand through his hair. “I don’t
believe this. I try to protect you and you hold it against me.” He
shook his head. “You know what? Forget it.”

He returned his attention back to Ronnie’s
attacker, but the man was gone! He must have run off into the dark
while Vic and Ronnie were arguing.

“
Great,” Vic said dryly.
“He’s gone.” He let out a long breath. “C’mon, I’ll walk you to
your car.”

“
No. I don’t need you to
walk me anywhere.”

“
Don’t be stupid. It’s not
safe out here.”

“
Oh, so now, I’m
stupid?”

“
I didn’t mean it like
that.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here
anyway? Didn’t you quit?”

He didn’t appreciate the way she was
dismissing him. “I was coming to get my final paycheck.”

Her mouth formed a tiny ‘o’. Then, she
snapped it shut. “You should have called first.”

“
I did. Olivia told me to
stop by any time.”

“
Obviously, you came too
late.”

“
Well, if I’d known I’d
run into you with this accusatory attitude, I would have just told
her to mail it to me.”

“
Maybe that would have
been for the best,” she shot back.

Truthfully, he’d waited until after hours,
hoping he’d run into Ronnie. He knew she had a habit of working
late. He’d missed her face. Her smile. Apparently, she didn’t feel
the same. Nothing had changed since last week. She still regarded
him with suspicion.

He shook his head. “Just get in your car,
Ronnie.”

“
Excuse me? You don’t tell
me what to do.”

“
Still as ornery as the
day I met you.”

She glared at him. “You’ll find I can be
quite soft when treated with kindness.”

He smirked. “I know. I’ve felt your softness
beneath me.”

He’d intended for his remark to remind her
of how good they were together, but he could tell by the look on
her face, he’d hit a nerve.

“
Cherish the memory,” she
said. “There won’t be any repeat performances.”

Ouch!

Why was she so mad?

Vic watched as Ronnie brushed past him and
walked several feet to her car. He waited to make sure she made it
safely. As she slipped behind the wheel and drove from the parking
lot, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Ronnie
Jones didn’t make empty promises. Vic realized then, he would
probably never see her again.

“
You told me all I had to
do was pretend to steal her purse.”

Allen listened to his pathetic brother who
sat on a hospital bed in the Emergency Room, whining like a
two-year old. It had taken two hours for doctors to see Kent. He’d
given some flimsy excuse about being jumped by three teenagers.
Allen stood across from him and tried not to laugh at Kent’s
bandaged face. The idiot had a broken nose and three sprained ribs.
But it was no laughing matter. Kent had screwed up big time.

“
I asked you to do one
thing,” Allen scolded. “And you couldn’t even do that.”

“
How was I supposed to
know some asshole would be there to defend her? Where were
you?”

“
I was sitting in the car
across the street.”

“
Why didn’t you jump in?
The plan was for you to—”

“
I know what the plan
was!”

Allen didn’t need to be reminded. He’d
created the plan, just like he did all the thinking for both of
them. Kent was supposed to act like he was mugging Ronnie. She’d
cry out for help and Allen would come to her rescue. Kent would run
off, and Ronnie would be so grateful, she’d invite Allen back to
her house. He would console her and then she would see him through
new eyes. He would be her protector. Her hero.

That was the plan.

Until Vic showed up.

“
I wasn’t supposed to get
my goddamn nose broken,” Kent complained. “How am I supposed to
work with all these injuries?”

“
Lack of work never
stopped you before.”

“
Your idea was dumb
anyway.”

Allen shook his head. “You can’t make
chicken salad out of chicken shit.”

Kent frowned. “What the hell does that
mean?”

“
It means I picked the
wrong moron to carry out my orders.”

“
You’re the moron,” Kent
snapped. “Why didn’t you help me when I was getting my ass
kicked?”

“
Did you want me to blow
my cover? There was no need for me to jump in. Prince Charming had
already made an entrance.”

“
Who was that guy,
anyway?”

Allen smirked. “The competition.”

“
That was Vic
Romano?”

“
Yeah.”

Kent’s eyes bulged. “Are you crazy? Bro, you
don’t stand a chance!”

“
Shut up.” Allen was
getting more irritated with his brother by the minute.

“
Seriously, this is out of
control now. You need to back off this bitch.”

“
Watch your mouth.” Allen
took a threatening step toward Kent. “Veronica is not a
bitch.”

“
Okay, okay. You’re going
through all this for some broad who hasn’t shown the slightest
interest in you. Not to mention, her boyfriend is a killing
machine.”

Not for the first time tonight, Allen
seethed. “Vic is not her boyfriend,” he said through clenched
teeth.

The debate was laid to rest when a male
nurse walked into the room. The man gave Kent a prescription for
pain medication and told him to rest for a few days. After the
nurse left, Kent smiled like a Cheshire cat. “Hydrocodone. The good
shit.”

Allen shook his head. He knew Kent would be
no more good to him, high on booze and prescription drugs. No
matter. Even if this hadn’t happened, Kent was becoming more of a
liability to him. Sometimes, when you wanted something done right,
you had to do it yourself.