Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (39 page)

“Too late for that. Nikki, pull over. I want to talk to you privately, please.”

“Okay. Hang on.” Nikki found a pull off on the side of I-64, stopped the car, and got out with Laura’s phone, closing the door behind her. “Yes, dear.”

“Are you as mad as I am right now?” he asked her.

“Every bit,” Nikki answered.

“Any problems yet?”

“No. And before you ask me, I have my Walther in the back of my waistband, so I’m armed. I can’t believe she did this to me.”

“I can’t believe you fell for it. You’re a smart woman, Nikki, and I can’t believe you and Tony both fell for it,” Vic growled.

“Hey, wait a minute! I never dreamed she’d lie to me!” Dropping her defensiveness, Nikki muttered, “I guess I’m just too trusting.”

“No, precious, that’s one of your better qualities. Just another way that you’re like me. But now I’m concerned. I don’t know if I can trust . . .”

“Hey, everybody’s under a lot of stress. Don’t go making a lifetime decision over one incident, okay? Give her a chance,” Nikki said. “The two of you need to talk this out.”

“Yeah, I guess so. In the meantime, keep your eyes open and your phone and handgun handy. If anything happens to you, to either of you . . .”

“We’ll be fine. I’m going to hand the phone back to her, okay? I need to get back on the road; sitting still makes me a sitting duck. And I’ll stay in touch with you and Tony during the day.”

“That sounds like a good enough plan. I’ll talk to her. Thanks, babe,” Vic told her and waited for Laura to come on the phone.

He heard the car door close and the engine accelerate. There was a long pause and a tiny voice said, “Vic, I’m so . . .”

“We’ll talk about this when you get back to Lexington. In the meantime, you need to know that you’ve broken my trust; mine, Nikki’s, Tony’s, Steve’s, I can’t name everybody who’s going to be mad and disappointed. You need to think about that during the day, and decide if this little outing of yours was worth all the damage you’ve done. In the meantime, I’ll be blind with worry the whole time until I know you’re back at Molly’s and safe. So I’m going to go now and try to calm down before I have a stroke.”

“Okay.” Laura stopped, almost too timid to speak again. “Vic, I’m really, really sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

“I’ll work on that.” He got quiet, and Laura wondered if he was still there. Then he said, “Might as well go have some fun. I’ll talk to you later in the day. Nikki will stay in touch with me and Tony, and you listen to her, you hear me? She’s a smart woman – obviously smarter than you.”
Ouch!,
Laura thought. “Be careful.”

“I will. And I really am sorry.”

“Cut it out. I get it. And by the way, since you might not make it through the day alive, I should just tell you,” Vic said, taking a deep breath, “that I love you. I’ll talk to you later.” Before Laura could say anything, Vic hit END, then doubled up his fist and hit the side of his F-250. He got in and headed for home to swap the truck for the car. He might wind up needing the speed.

Laura held the phone in her hand and stared at it like it was on fire. “What’s wrong?” Nikki asked. “What did he say?”

Laura turned and stared at her. “He said . . . he said he loves me.” She turned back to the phone and stared at it again.

“That’s a news flash? By the way, in case you haven’t figured this out too, if Vic Cabrizzi says it, he means it. I’m convinced you’re a complete idiot, ladybug. But right now, I’m so pissed at you that I don’t know how I’m going to make it to the shopping center. So keep your fingers crossed,” Nikki said, pulling onto the off ramp.

Hmmmm, Frankfort.
Wagner had never been there, but he guessed it was time to see the capital of Kentucky.
If they’re shopaholics, I’m going to be bored out of my mind until I can hit her. It won’t be long now.

Laura picked out a little black dress; she’d never had one, and Nikki had suggested it. She managed to make a royal mess-up, but there was always the chance that Vic would forgive her for what she’d done, wasn’t there? Nikki had found some slacks for the trip she and Tony were taking in April – their belated honeymoon to see his relatives in Italy – and she needed some things that would pack well. Besides the dress, Laura had picked out two pairs of cute shoes and a pair of sandals to get her started when the weather got warmer. She’d always bought utilitarian things, especially since she worked for the security firm, but these were colorful, fun things that she could see herself wearing for a picnic or to a ballgame. And if she didn’t start behaving herself, she was afraid she’d never have anyone to go on a picnic with.

When they got to the register, Laura was struck by the cashier ringing up her purchases. She was a beautiful woman, near Laura’s age, not overly heavy, just curvy and soft, with coloring like Brittany’s, alabaster skin and curly, red hair. Her name tag said “Carrie,” and she was very kind and cordial. She finished with Laura’s purchases and moved on to Nikki’s.

Nikki handed her a credit card, and the woman ran it, then looked at it and said, “Walters. I dated a guy who was related to some Walters, but they were from Louisville.”

“That’s where my husband’s business is. We live in Shelbyville,” Nikki told her.

“Yeah. He had a cousin he was close to who had a house in Shelbyville. His name was . . .”

“Tony?” The woman nodded, and Nikki almost choked when she saw the woman’s name tag. It was Carrie, Vic’s last girlfriend; she remembered Vic’s description of her. “Tony is my husband. We got married on Christmas day.”

“I dated . . .”

“Vic. He’s told me about you. He speaks very highly of you,” Nikki added.

Laura’s eyes got huge. This was one of Vic’s old girlfriends? She was gorgeous, as beautifully pale as he was dark.

“Thanks. Yeah, Vic and I . . . I wish . . . oh, this is still hard,” the woman said, and she looked like she was about to cry. “It was just, you know . . .”

Nikki reached over and put her hand on the woman’s arm. “I know. And I’m so sorry. Vic cared about you, Carrie. He was devastated.”

“Is he doing okay? I cared about him too. It was so . . .”

“I know, honey. But he’s okay. He’s tried to move on, and he’s done pretty well,” Nikki said. “But I’ll tell him that I met you and you asked about him, if that’s okay.”

“Yes, please,” the red-haired woman whispered, a tear coursing down her cheek. “I miss him. Please – tell him that I miss him.”

“I will. It was good to meet you; you’re as lovely as he says you are. You take care of yourself, honey. Be happy and have a good life.” Nikki walked around behind the register and hugged the woman, who hugged her back. Laura watched as Nikki put her hand on the cheek of a woman who was a complete stranger to her, and the woman smiled and took Nikki’s hand in hers like they’d always known each other.

That’s who I want to be,
Laura’s mind whispered.
I want to be like Nikki, full of love and light, someone others look to for hope and encouragement. I’m tired of being broken and dark on the inside. I want to let the light in. I hope I haven’t messed up too much, driven Vic away. I don’t have anyone else.

Nikki pulled back onto the interstate and set her cruise control on the BMW. They’d made it about five miles when, without turning to look at her, Nikki said to Laura, “Look in your vanity mirror and tell me what you see. And don’t panic,” Nikki added.

Laura went on red alert head to toe. She pulled down the visor and, in the mirror, she could see a vehicle behind them – a green Rav 4. She squinted to see the driver, and her insides went cold.

“Is that who I think it is?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah,” Laura stammered, fear gripping her throat.

“Okay. Hang on. I’m going to start making calls. Let’s see what we can come up with.” Nikki dialed Steve’s number, but it went straight to voicemail. Laura started to shake. “It’ll be okay, honey. Let me try something else.”

“Hey, baby! How’s my girl?” Tony sang into the phone.

“Tony, Wagner’s right behind us.”

Tony could hear the knife-edged fear in her voice. “Where are you?”

“About seven miles outside Frankfort.”

“Hang up and call Vic. He can get to you before I can. I’m heading that way right now, angel. Don’t get rattled. It’ll be fine. But call Vic.”

“I will. I love you.”

“I love you too. I’ll see you in just a bit.” The line went cold, and Nikki hit Vic’s number.

“God, please tell me you’re okay,” he said when he answered.

“No. I’m about eight miles outside Frankfort toward Lexington and he’s right behind us,” Nikki said.

“Let me think for just a second.” Vic was quiet, then he asked, “Isn’t there a rest area in the median near Midway?”

“There is.”

“Here’s what I want you to do. Drive it like you stole it. What are you in?”

“The BMW,” Nikki answered.

“Yeah. That’s good. Push it. If the cops stop you, that’s a good thing. If not, head to the rest area. I want you to put as much distance between you and him as you can. What’s he driving?”

“Green Rav 4. Not new.”

“You can outrun that thing. I’m heading out now. I’ll take the back roads and I’ll beat you there anyway, I can guarantee. I’m in Georgetown at a jobsite, so I’m close. Pull into the rest area; I’ll be sitting there, car running. Tell Laura to be ready. Pull up, let her out, and go. Drive as hard as you can. She’ll get in my car and I’ll pull around the back of the rest area until he passes. Then I’ll take her somewhere safe and be in touch. And if I’m not there when you get there, pull around the back of the rest area and wait for me. Remember, once you leave, you drive it hard, babe, go out the other side, go straight toward Louisville.” There was silence. “Nik, are you okay, honey?”

“Yeah. I’m just scared.”

“Don’t be. We’ve got this under control. Does Tony know?”

“Yeah, he’s on his way from the house. He told me to call you.”

“Good. Look for Tony to intercept, let him fall in behind you. If Wagner figures out that you’re not alone on the road, he’ll back off. Tony will pull a uey when he sees you and follow you in. You’ll be fine. Remember what we’re doing?”

“Yes. Got it. See you at the rest area. And Vic?” she said.

“Yeah?”

“Please be careful.”

“I will, sweetheart. Same there.” And with that, he hung up and Nikki and Laura were alone again with a maniac following them.

Nikki filled Laura in on what they were supposed to do, and the two rode in silence. After a while, Laura spoke. “Nikki, I just want you to know, I appreciate how hard you’ve tried to be good to me, and I’m so sorry for what I’ve done. This was so wrong. I don’t know what’s wrong with me . . .”

“You’re under a lot of stress, and you don’t have much of a coping mechanism. I trust Vic; this will all be okay, you’ll see. In the meantime, get ready for when we get to the rest area. It’s going to be a real on-the-fly kind of thing. We’re about fifteen minutes or less away.” Nikki took a deep breath. “Laura, I want you to know, no matter what happens, you and I, we’ll work through this. You’ll have to work to earn my trust back, but no matter what, I’ll stand beside you, Tony and I. Vic will too. It’s going to be okay. But there’s something I need to say to you.”