Face Value (19 page)

“Tucker?”

He turned to
see her standing in the doorway of the kitchen towel-drying her
hair. The bright pink terrycloth robe nearly swallowed her up, but
he still saw the garish bruises marring her delicate skin. “Why
don’t you crawl into bed?” he suggested. “I can bring this tray in
as soon as the toast is ready.”

“Are you
sure?”

“Positive.
Go.”

Lauren had
claimed she wasn’t hungry, but when she admitted she hadn’t eaten
anything since a muffin at breakfast, Tucker insisted on feeding
her before he put her to bed. Taking care of her seemed like the
most natural thing in the world. Too bad it was only a temporary
assignment.

He prepared the
tray with orange juice, raisin toast, and grapes before carrying it
down the hall to her bedroom. Nudging the door open with his foot,
he swallowed when he saw her propped up against the pillow wearing
a black nightgown with thin straps over her shoulders. “What don’t
I leave this? Call me when you’re ready-”

“No, I want you
to come and sit with me.” She patted the bed beside her. “I don’t
want to be alone tonight, Tucker.”

He wasn’t
surprised. She’d been attacked by a madman. “Sure,” he said,
setting the tray down on the free side of the bed before sitting
down near her feet.

“Thank you.”
She smiled at him before inspecting the items on the tray. “You
didn’t have to go to all this trouble. I’m really not all that
hungry.”

He rolled his
eyes. “I made toast, washed grapes, and poured juice from the
container. I didn’t make a gourmet meal. Now stop talking and start
eating.”

They shared a
smile before she offered him one of the slices of toast.

“Thanks, but I
grabbed a bite while you were in the shower.”

“Weren’t you
supposed to pick up your kids tonight?” she asked, taking a bite of
toast.

“I called
Amanda and told her what happened. She said I could see them on
Sunday.”

Lauren cast her
eyes to the tray at the mention of his ex-wife’s name. “How was
Mason’s hockey game?”

“It would have
been better if you’d been there.” When she didn’t respond, he
added, “At least that’s what he said.” Picking up a grape, he
popped it in his mouth and chewed slowly. He wanted to confront the
issue driving a wedge between them, but he didn’t want to lay all
of that on her tonight. She’d been through enough.

“Your kids
really are great.” She finished her toast and laid back against the
pillows with a sigh.

“Why don’t I
take this away so you can get some sleep?” He reached for the tray.
“I’ll set the alarm on my phone so I can wake you every-”

“Wait,” she
said, reaching for his hand. “Can you sleep here tonight?”

He’d like
nothing more, but he didn’t want to cross any boundaries. “Um, I
think it might be best if I took the couch.”

“Tucker, I need
you tonight.”

Tucker couldn’t
have said no to her quiet plea if he tried. He would be there for
her as long as she needed him. “Okay, let me take this out to the
kitchen. I’ll be right back. You mind if I grab a shower?” He kept
a change of clothes in the car because he often got dirty at job
sites, and he’d brought his bag upstairs with him. At least he
could crawl into her bed without the vile residue of the horrible
night lingering on his skin.

“Of course,
help yourself,” she said, gesturing to the ensuite bathroom. “There
are fresh towels in the linen closet.”

“Thanks.”

He carried the
tray out to the kitchen before grabbing his overnight bag and
retracing his steps to the bathroom. He paused in the doorway when
he saw her curled up under the white duvet with a pillow clutched
in her hand. The contrast between the angry mark on her face and
the white sheets was startling, stirring Tucker’s anger all over
again. He hated himself for not being there sooner.

Images of the
past few hours tormented him as the water pounded him, washing
dried blood down the drain. He would never forget the way he felt
when he walked into that house and saw Lauren pinned, helpless to
defend herself, completely at that bastard’s mercy.

More helpless
cries echoed in his head as he was transported to another time and
place. He heard his sister’s pleas, her tears, and the animalistic
grunts of that monster who stole her innocence. Tucker would never
forgive himself for not intervening, but at the age of six, he’d
believed he was helpless. By the time he felt stronger, it was too
late.
Sarah was gone.

Tucker pushed
the past to the back of his mind. He stepped out of the shower and
dried himself off. The only way he could survive was to relegate
those memories to a locked compartment in his mind. But they always
surfaced when he was pushed to the limit of his control and he
wanted to protect someone he loved.

Slipping on a
pair of black boxer briefs, he considered wearing jeans to bed, but
it seemed pointless. They’d already made love. The door on
propriety was already firmly closed. He brushed his teeth with the
extra toothbrush he’d stashed in his bag, set the alarm on his cell
phone, and treaded lightly into the bedroom.

He watched
Lauren for the longest time. Her face was bare, and her long blond
hair fanned out on the pillow. Her eyelashes dusted her cheek, and
her breathing was shallow. She took his breath away.

Pulling the
duvet back, he slid into the king-sized bed, grateful there was
enough room to afford her some space to maintain her distance. But
instead of doing that, she rolled over and curled into him.

Tucker held his
breath, wondering whether she would realize her mistake and move to
the other side of the bed.

Instead, a
contented sigh slipped past her lips and she murmured, “’Night,
Tucker.”

He was so in
love with that woman. How the hell could he let her go?

***

“If not for
Tucker, I may not be able to tell my story,” Lauren said, glaring
at her uncle. “I don’t understand why you’re treating him like the
criminal. That son of a bitch tried to rape me. He would have
killed me!”

“Just calm
down, honey,” Derek said, cupping her shoulder. “No one is treating
Tucker like a criminal.”

“How can you
say that? He’s been locked in that interrogation room with one of
your men for the past two hours.”

“We just want
to get the full story. I have no intention of lettin’ Rob get away
with what he did to you. It’s my job to bring him to justice, and
Tucker can help us.”

“I hate that he
got dragged into this. Given his experience with cops...” She
smiled when her uncle raised an eyebrow. “You know what I
mean.”

“Look, I know
you’re grateful to him for bein’ there for you last night, we all
are, but that doesn’t mean you should start seein’ him again.”

If seeing
Tucker meant sharing the same bed, Derek’s advice was a day late.
Nothing had happened between them though. Tucker just held her when
she woke up from a nightmare. He’d been so kind and supportive. She
couldn’t reconcile that man with the one her uncle claimed had beat
his wife. She knew she had to confront him about what happened
between him and Amanda. Speculating about it was driving her slowly
crazy.

“I appreciate
your concern, Uncle Derek, but what happens between Tucker and me
is my business. Not yours and not my parents.”

Derek heaved a
sigh and slid his chair away from the table. “You can’t ask us to
stop caring about you, or wanting to protect you when you’re
gettin’ mixed up with a guy who could be dangerous.”

“Would someone
who wanted to hurt me defend me the way he did last night?” Lauren
couldn’t get the image of Tucker pummeling Rob out of her head. He
was sick with guilt about what had almost happened to her. Surely
that wasn’t the behavior of an abusive man.

“Look, I don’t
know what he was thinkin’.” Derek scrubbed his hands over his face,
looking weary. “I’ve dealt with too many criminals over the years
to believe that one good deed means he’s a changed man. He’s
violent, Lauren. Last night was just another example of that.”

She couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. “How can you say that? He protected
me. Tucker saved my life.”

“Did he have to
go that far?” Derek picked up his silver pen and slid it through
his fingers, fixating on the action instead of his niece’s
reaction. “Couldn’t he have just restrained Rob and held him until
we got there?”

A sick feeling
of dread came over Lauren. “Don’t tell me you’re going to punish
him for the way he reacted when he found that beast on top of me.”
When Derek didn’t respond, her heart started beating double time.
“You can’t do that! It isn’t fair. You or my daddy would have
reacted exactly the same way.”

“True.” Derek
looked up. “Because we love you. Do you think that’s how Tucker
feels?”

Lauren couldn’t
speculate on Tucker’s feelings or what he was thinking. Until he
told her himself, she wouldn’t set herself up for disappointment.
“I don’t know. It’s pretty obvious he and I have some things to
discuss.”

“You know how
your daddy feels about him, sugar. If you decide to get involved
with him, it’s always gonna be tense between them, to say the
least.”

“I’m a grown
woman, Uncle Derek. I can’t live my life to make my parents happy.
I have to do what feels right to me.”

“And bein’ with
this guy feels right, huh?”

She didn’t
expect her family and friends to understand what she saw in Tucker.
He only let his guard down and let her in when they were alone. “It
does. I’ve had some time to think about what you told me, the
pictures you showed me, and it just doesn’t seem like the Tucker I
know.”

“It could be
you don’t know him as well as you think you do.”

“You might be
right, but I need to figure out what’s real and what’s not. I can’t
let my well-meaning family do it for me.”

Derek grinned
as he stood up and ruffled her hair. “Point taken. All right, let
me go and find out what’s keeping him.”

Lauren checked
her messages while she waited for her uncle to return. After a few
minutes, Derek stood in the doorway.

“What’s wrong?”
She knew something was. He got the same look in his eye her father
did when he had bad news.

“Uh, they let
Tucker go.”

Lauren frowned.
“Why didn’t he wait for me?”

“He left in
kind of a hurry.” Derek braced his hand on the doorway. “His mama
just died, sugar.”

***

Lauren rushed
into the spa hoping Amanda was working. She’d tried Amanda’s cell
and home numbers and received her voice mail. She spotted Amanda
placing bottles of nail polish on a glass shelf. “Can I talk to
you?”

Amanda spun
around, looking startled. “Jesus, girl, what’re you doing sneaking
up on me like that? I didn’t even hear you come in. The damn buzzer
over the door’s broken.” She rolled her eyes at their receptionist,
bopping her head in time to the music playing on her iPod.

“Can we talk in
private?”

Amanda looked
wary. “Uh, sure. Come on in the back. I’m due for a lunch break
anyhow.”

Lauren followed
her into the small back room, which was furnished with a round
table, two chairs, and a kitchenette. “It’s about Tucker.”

“I figured as
much.” Amanda pulled out both chairs and claimed one. “I meant to
call you this week, but things were kind of hectic around
here.”

“I heard
Tucker’s mama died.”

“Yeah, he
called me. He was supposed to see the kids tomorrow and wanted to
let me know he wouldn’t make it.”

“The kids
aren’t going to their grandmother’s funeral?” Lauren just assumed
Tucker would take his kids to help him through it. Knowing he was
facing the funeral alone didn’t sit well with her.

“No, they
really didn’t know her. Tucker didn’t have much of a relationship
with her or his stepfather.”

“Do you know
why?” Lauren braced her hands on the back of the vacant chair.

“Uh, I think
he’d better be the one to tell you about that.”

Lauren raked
her hands through her hair. So much about the man remained a
mystery. “There is something you can tell me about...” Lauren
didn’t even know how to broach the subject. How did she ask a woman
whether her former husband abused her?

“The
pictures.”

Lauren’s head
snapped up. “How did you know I’d seen them?”

“Tucker told
me.”

The
conversation was getting stranger by the minute. “He told you?
Why?”

Amanda looked
her in the eye. “He wanted me to explain what happened. He didn’t
think you’d believe him.”

Lauren sank
down when her legs trembled. The twisting in her stomach told her
she would regret her rush to judgement. “Please, I need to know
what happened.”

Amanda sunk her
teeth into her lower lip as she crossed her arms. “Tucker didn’t do
that to me. Rex did.”

“Who’s Rex?”
Lauren could barely get the question out past the lump in her
throat.

“He’s the
reason Tucker went to jail.” Amanda covered her mouth with one
hand, her eyes brimming with tears. “He hurt me, but I never
thought he’d want to hurt my daughter.”

Closing her
eyes, Lauren sucked in a deep breath. She’d been so wrong about
Tucker. Could he ever forgive her for doubting him? “Why did the
police think Tucker did that to you?”

“I blamed him.”
Her face crumpled, and she began to sob. “We were in a really bad
place. I hated him, and I wanted to punish him for leaving me.”

“Oh God,”
Lauren cried, bending at the waist. Her stomach roiled, and she
feared she just might lose her breakfast all over her Prada flats.
“I can’t believe this.”

“Rex swore it
would never happen again. He was drunk and...” She shook her head.
“I was such a fool. When I heard the things he said to my baby, the
things he wanted to do to her...” She pulled her knees up to her
chest, resting her feet on the edge of her seat. “I couldn’t
believe I’d been so stupid. And that mistake cost Tucker eighteen
months of his life. It should have been Rex behind bars, not
him.”