Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (34 page)

In Molly’s spare bedroom, Laura sat on the bed and stared at the phone. She’d wanted so badly to believe that Vic was different from other guys, but he wasn’t. He was just a man, a man who was far more interested in feeling good for five minutes than anything else. Any hope she’d had that he would be interested in her was gone. He was spending his evenings in the club, and she knew about the women there, breasts jutting out, proud, naked, and walking around unashamed. That’s what he wanted, to fuck women who made it clear what they wanted, women who weren’t afraid of closeness or of telling a man what they needed. They were confident about themselves and their bodies. That’s what men wanted, women who were sure of themselves and secure in who they were, not something scarred and broken.

And once again, Laura wished she could cry. It would feel so much better than the emptiness that ate at her.

T
he big F-250 navigated the rocks and ruts effortlessly, and in a few minutes Tony was at the first excavation site. Digging water hazards for a hunter/jumper course was new for the crew, but they were following Vic’s instructions to the letter, and the pits were shaping up nicely. Tony looked around until he spotted Vic talking to a couple of the guys who were measuring and staking out other aspects of the course. Vic didn’t notice him, and Tony walked right up before his cousin spotted him.

When Vic turned, it was clear that something was wrong. “Everything coming together okay?” Tony asked him. “It’s looking good, I think.”

“Yeah, good,” Vic said. Nothing else.

“Are we on schedule?” Tony asked.

“Uh-huh.”

This is getting ridiculous,
Tony thought. “I’ve ordered a new truck that turns into a helicopter. And it has a swimming pool.”

“Um-hummmmm,” Vic murmured, looking down at his phone.

“Have you even heard anything I’ve said?” Tony asked, trying to keep his irritation under wraps.

“Yeah.”

“Vic? Hello?” Tony waved his hand in front of Vic’s face and finally got an acknowledgement.

“Oh! Sorry. Preoccupied.” Vic looked at his phone again.

“Go get in my truck.” Vic’s brow furrowed. “Now. Get in,” Tony said, pointing to the big blue rig that had been Nikki’s until his silver Walters truck had been blown to smithereens the summer before. Vic shuffled over in silence and climbed into the passenger side. Once Tony was in the cab, he looked straight at his cousin. “So. You want to tell me what’s going on, or do I need to send out a spy? Because I’ve got one, believe you me, and you know she’ll get to the bottom of this, whatever it is.”

“Oh, nothing’s going on. Nothing at all,” Vic said, looking at his phone again.

“What did you do?” Tony cut his eyes toward Vic, afraid of the answer.

“Nothing.” He paused, then sighed. “It was Jared.” Vic looked tired, like he hadn’t had any sleep. “Laura called the club and asked for me, and Jared told her I was in the back getting laid.”

Tony groaned. “Shit. And I’m guessing she wasn’t in a hurry to talk to you?”

“Nope. I think it’s ruined before it got started.” Vic knocked a lump of dirt from his work boot onto the floorboard, then looked up at Tony. “She doesn’t care about me at all. I never stood a chance.”

“I don’t believe that, bud. I
told
you, you need to talk to her and be honest. You know what happened to her. She needs to know what happened to you,” Tony told him, patting him on the back.

“How am I supposed to do that? She won’t talk to me on the phone, and I can’t go over there. I could lead him right to her, and I sure don’t want that to happen.” Vic dropped his head. “So I don’t know how to fix this, if it can even
be
fixed.”

“Hmmm. Think about it, and I’ll think about it. Maybe between the two of us, we can come up with something,” Tony told him. His heart went out to Vic. The poor guy had been through the wringer, and here he went again.

“Would you . . .” Vic started, then stopped.

“What?”

“Would you talk to Nikki about it? She’s pretty sharp with things like that. Maybe she could figure out some way . . .”

“Oh, if there’s a way, my wife can find it,” Tony said. She’d be the one person who could.

When Tony told Nikki over lunch what Vic had said, Nikki smiled. “I’ll have to think on this, but it’s doable.” And when she said that, he believed it.

“Miss Butler?” The uniformed officer stood on the porch, his partner right behind him.

“Yes?” Laura was confused. Molly had come to the bedroom to tell her that a police car was out front and the officers wanted to talk to her.

“We need you to come with us, please.”

“What’s this about? Is something wrong?” Laura was getting a little nervous about them being there, but for the first time in a while she felt safe standing near an open door.

“Ma’am, I’m not at liberty to say. But I’d ask that you please get into the cruiser and come with us.”

Laura looked at Molly. “You’d better go with them, Laura,” Molly told her. “I’ll call Steve.”

“Please. Call him. Just a second.” Laura went to the bedroom and got her bag, her hands shaking.

“Ma’am, I’d ask that you leave that behind.” The officer had his hands on his belt, inches from his weapon and nightstick, so Laura laid her bag on the hall table and walked out. He took her by the elbow and led her to the car, then helped her get into the back. She glanced back at Molly, who stood in the doorway, looking anxious. When the car pulled away from the curb, there was a moment when Laura almost panicked, and then she calmed herself. At least she was with someone who would make sure she was safe. She hadn’t done anything wrong, so there was nothing they could charge her with, and if they were going to, they would’ve already. Plus, after all, she was getting out of the house, even if it wasn’t in the way she’d hoped for.

Molly watched the cruiser pull away, then took a deep breath and picked up her phone. Nikki answered on the second ring. “Well?”

“I hope I was a good enough actress. She’s on her way.”

“Good. Tony’s calling him right now. Thanks, Molly.”

“I’d do anything to help him, Nik. He’s been so good to me . . .” Molly trailed off, tears welling in her eyes.

“I know, hon. I hope this helps and doesn’t hurt.”

When they got to the police station, the officers helped Laura out of the back and the three of them walked through the station and straight to the back door. Laura couldn’t understand what was going on; they hadn’t said one word to her on the whole ride there, or during their walk through the building, and she was too nervous to ask them anything. The back door opened, and Laura peered into the brightness of the security lights.

There, behind the Lexington police station, Bryson Hawkins leaned up against his unmarked cruiser, a huge smirk pasted on his face. “Well, hi there, Miss Butler!”

“What the . . .”

“Come on, get in. I’ve got somewhere to take you, and we need to get moving.” He held the passenger side door open for her, then got in behind the wheel.

“What’s going on? Where are we going?” She wasn’t afraid anymore, just confused. Where on earth could he be taking her?

“There’s a party, and it’s being thrown for you. Your presence has been requested. This is the only way we could come up with to get you there, so just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“Hey, cuz!” Vic answered, and Tony knew:
He’s at the club.
There were dozens of voices in the background, plus loud music.

“Hi, buddy! Whatcha doin’?” Tony asked, but he already knew the answer.

“Just hanging out at the club. It’s about twenty minutes to opening, and there are already three drop-dead gorgeous women watching me from across the room. I hope one of them gets brave pretty soon or I’ll have to . . .”

“I need you here at my house. Get in the car and come – right now.”

Was something wrong? “Are you guys okay? You? Nikki?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. I just need you over here as soon as you can get here. Come right now,” Tony ordered.

“What the hell? I’m busy! What’s so important that it can’t wait?” Now he was just plain irritated. When had he become someone Tony could order around?

Tony sighed. “Do you want a chance to talk to her or not?”

Vic’s heart thudded to a halt. “Yeah, but . . .”

“But nothing, bud. She’ll be here at our house in about forty-five minutes. Get that hot ‘Stang on the road and get your ass over here.”

A crackling hum started up in Vic’s brain, and he had trouble speaking, but he managed to stammer out, “On my way.”

“Hey, sweetie! You broke outta jail!” Nikki hugged Laura when she walked through the front door.

“It feels good to be out, even if I am in police custody!” she laughed, and Bryson smiled. “Why didn’t you call me and tell me you found a way for me to come out here? I would’ve dressed up a little, done my hair . . .”

“You look fine,” Tony told her. “You look better than fine. Don’t worry about it. We’re all friends here. We’re not all dressed up either.” Laura took a good look – they certainly weren’t dressed up. Tony had on jeans and a gray thermal shirt, and Nikki was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved Bengals tee-shirt. They looked like they were just sitting around until she walked in the door.

“Are you hungry? I’ve got stuff in here.” Laura followed Nikki into the kitchen. “Let’s see, I’ve got leftover chili, and some stuff to make lettuce wraps, and . . .”

Laura interrupted her. “I thought we were having dinner.”

“Well, not exactly. But there’s food!” Nikki chirped. “Help me pull something together. We haven’t eaten. We were waiting.”
This is so odd,
Laura thought. What the hell was going on?

While they puttered around in the kitchen, Tony and Bryson kept watch. They saw Vic’s car crest the hill, then go silent – he’d cut the engine and put it in neutral to let it coast down. Tony opened the front door to let him in. Vic started, “Where’s . . .”

“In the kitchen. Let me get rid of Nikki for you. We’re all going to the pizza place down on Main. Take your time. Just let me know when she’s ready to go back and Bryson will come and get her.”

“Thanks. I don’t know what I’m going to say to . . .”

“Whatever you say, it’ll be the right thing as long as you’re honest with her.” Tony put a hand on Vic’s shoulder. “Remember what I told you.” He yelled, “Hey, Nik, could you come in here for a minute, please?”

“Coming! I’ll be right back,” Nikki said, turning to Laura. “Keep an open mind and heart.”

Laura watched Nikki’s back disappear and thought,
That was weird thing for her to say.
She pulled two slices of bread out of the wrapper, then looked in the refrigerator for the sliced cheese. But there didn’t seem to be any, and she looked a little deeper into the refrigerator, but still didn’t see any. Not knowing where it might be, she wandered into the foyer to ask Nikki where it was.

Right in the middle of the foyer, leathers and all, was Vic.

Should she be angry? Upset? Embarrassed? All kinds of thoughts were colliding inside Laura, and she didn’t know which one was correct for the situation or how to figure it out on the fly. She decided saying nothing might be the best thing to do at that moment.