Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (42 page)

“Oh, yeah, we’re fine. First-class accommodations, room service, all that shit. But all sarcasm aside, yes, we’ll be fine. Just get them out here tomorrow morning. And thanks, you ball-sucking shithead.”

“Glad I could be of service. Oh, wait, that’s your job, right?”

“Goodnight, Steve,” Vic snarled and hit the connection button to shut the phone off.

He got the blanket out of the back seat of the Mustang and spread it out on the floor. “Well, it’s not much, but it’s something,” he said, dropping down onto it. Laura walked to it and sat down beside him.

“I heard him. They’re there waiting for you, wanting to know where you are. Is that where you want to be? Where you’d rather be?” she asked, her eyes searching his face.

Vic smiled at her. “The last few hours while I’ve been here with you have been some of the best I’ve had in a long time, even though I’m running for my life and yours too. I wouldn’t trade them for anything, for any of the women there, for anything I do there.” Laura looked like she didn’t believe him. “Let’s try this. Tell me: What is it that you want? Realistically, that is. A relationship? A family? To move away to another town, another state? For the earth to open up and swallow McCoy?” She grinned. “Yeah, me too,” he laughed. “But think; what is it that you want? Take your time – we’re not going anywhere.” Vic had gotten a jacket from the car, and he wadded it up and lay back, resting his head on it and waiting.

Laura thought about it. No one had ever asked her that question. She’d just done what she had to do to survive day to day. Then she remembered Carrie and the way Nikki had treated the beautiful woman. “I know you’re not supposed to want to be someone else, and I don’t really, but I want to be like Nikki.” Vic’s eyes got big. “I want to have what she has. I don’t mean the house and money, cars, stuff like that. Sure, that would be nice. But I want to be like her, strong, kind, smart, funny. And she’s so caring and loving. People are drawn to her and love her because all of that goodness just radiates from her. I’d like to be like that. I saw her in action today, and it was so, I don’t know, heartwarming and encouraging, I guess.” She wanted to tell him about Carrie, but she didn’t know how. “So that’s what I’d like. Oh, and she’s so . . .” Laura blushed a little, “sexy. And she knows it. I mean, she’s not all that pretty, but there’s just something about her. And she’s got a great guy who worships her and thinks she’s the most beautiful, wonderful, sexy thing he’s ever seen. I’d like to be that to someone, that one person they love more than anything in the world.” She stopped, then said, “I can see why you, well, you know, Nikki.”

Vic closed his eyes for a few seconds, then opened them again. “That’s over, but it never really was to begin with. I think she told you that.” Laura nodded. “But I understand why you would want that, to be like her. She’s a very special woman, and my cousin is a very lucky man.”

“So, what do you want?”

“No one’s ever asked
me
that,” Vic said, “but I’d say that the top of my list is someone to grow old with. I’ve always wanted kids, but I’m afraid that’s a ship that’s sailed for me. I don’t have the patience to be with a woman who’s young enough to have two or three, so that’s a no-go. But I want a woman to adore, to cater to, to buy gifts for, take dancing, eat popcorn with on the sofa, work in the yard with. Someone to fall asleep beside and wake up beside. That’s pretty much it.” Vic stopped and didn’t say anything else.

“Vic,” Laura said. Everything in her wanted to tell him her secret; it was right there on the tip of her tongue. But she just couldn’t make her mouth form the words.

“Yeah?”

“I have something I need to tell you.” She was trying so hard, and it just wouldn’t come out.

“Yeah, baby, spit it out.”

Then she panicked. She couldn’t do it, and she couldn’t say “never mind.” He’d want to know what it was. But she remembered Carrie. “Guess who we met today?”

“I dunno. Who?”

“Carrie.”

Vic’s eyes had been closed, but they snapped open and rotated down to look at her. “Carrie? Carrie Johnson?”

“Yeah, I dunno, I guess. You know, you used to date her?” Laura was beginning to think telling him this wasn’t a good idea.

He sat up and stared at her. “Didn’t just date – we lived together. And where did you meet her?”

“At the store where we were shopping. She was the cashier.”

“How did you know who she was? Nikki didn’t know her. That was before she and Tony met.”

“She saw their last name on Nikki’s credit card and said she’d dated a guy who was related to some Walters in Louisville. And they kind of put two and two together.”

Vic was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, and he buried his face behind them. Then he moaned out, “Oh, god,” and fell quiet.

Laura waited for him to look up again, but he didn’t, so she said, “She was very nice. She asked about you, wanted to know how you were doing. It looks like she’s doing okay. She and Nikki talked, and she started crying.” Laura was instantly sorry she’d said that; Vic was deflating before her eyes. “But that’s why I said I’d like to be like Nikki. She was so kind to Carrie. It was so sweet to see. By the way, Nikki told her that you always spoke very highly of her.”

Vic heaved a loud sigh when he managed to look up. “I’m glad she’s doing okay. She’s a good person. She didn’t deserve what I did to her.” The sudden sadness that fell across his face made her chest hurt.

“You couldn’t help it.” She thought about the club and what he’d told her about his work there, and it all clicked. This was why he did it; he didn’t want anyone else to go through what Carrie had gone through. “Vic?”

“Yeah?”

“I get it. The club? Meeting Carrie? I understand now. I’m glad you found something that would help you. I wish I could get that lucky.”

“You have, sugar. You’ve found me, and I’m going to do everything I can to help you. I promise.” He helped her up and picked up the blanket, then headed for the car. He climbed into the back seat and motioned for her to join him. “Come on. We’d better get some sleep. I don’t know what time Peyton and José will get here, but we want to be ready. We don’t have that many protein bars!” he said, smiling a sleepy smile.

Laura didn’t think twice – she climbed into the backseat and into Vic’s lap. She rested her head on his chest and, when his arms wrapped around her, she felt safe for the first time in a long time. His heartbeat ticked in her ear, and it was like a sweet little whisper that only she could hear. He smelled warm and somehow familiar, a salty pine scent that made her think of the vacations her family had taken to the Florida coast when she was a child. The next morning it would all end, but at that moment it was just her and Vic and this glittering, precious thing growing between them. He kissed her forehead, and she felt the feathery touch of his lips long after he’d drifted off to sleep. For the first time in forever, she thought she just might have a chance at a decent life.

S
he hurt all over. It didn’t matter that Laura’s head had been on Vic’s chest all night; they’d been scrunched up in the tiny back seat of the Mustang, but at least it had been warm. There were no windows in the warehouse and she couldn’t guess the time, so she looked up at the dash, but the clock in the car didn’t work without the keys. She didn’t want to wake Vic, so she turned her phone on. According to it, it was a little after six, and most days she was up by that time. But there was nothing to do in the warehouse, so she rested her head on his chest again.

Laura stared up at the sleeping man and, for the first time, she studied him. He had a headful of black, glossy, wavy hair, and it hung almost to his elbows. She couldn’t see one strand of gray in it, and it wasn’t thin, no receding hairline, nothing, just full and thick. There was a tiny widow’s peak on his forehead, and a lock of hair rose up and then cascaded down from it. Unlike lots of men, his eyebrows were very neat, not bushy, and they had an almost sinister cant to them. His lashes were thick, long, and dark, and she thought about how they framed those luminous, smoky eyes. Tony had the typical aquiline nose of the Italian people, but not Vic; his features were refined and almost delicate, but still very masculine. And his hair wasn’t all that was full and lush – his lips were soft and sweet, and she couldn’t help but remember how they’d felt on hers the night before. His jawline had a perfect slope, with the scruff all the guys were wearing following its cut before crossing his chin and going up the other side. He had a mustache, and the soul patch just underneath that full lower lip gave him a dangerous look. Overall, he looked like some stylist from a magazine had taken the best parts of a bunch of different guys and put them all together to make a perfect specimen. Until she’d met Vic, she hadn’t known a man could be beautiful, but he was. It was no surprise to her that the women at the club fell at his feet.

And the guy was huge. She’d never asked him, but Laura guessed that he was six-six or six-seven, maybe even taller. His chest was broad and his waist narrow, with huge biceps and thighs. The jeans he always wore fit like a glove, like his body was straining to get out, and that included at his fly. Laura decided any woman would have to be dead to not wonder about that, because it looked impressive, even through all that fabric.

She paid special attention to his hands. His fingers were like Tony’s, long and delicate but strong, with smooth, perfect nails. Even though they were soft, there were hints of callouses from his early days on the construction crew, making it obvious that he’d known and embraced hard work. Every time he’d held her hand, she’d been struck by the softness and strength of those hands, and thinking about them on her made her body vibrate in a weird way and get very warm all over. Could she ever tolerate that? If there was any man she could imagine over her, looking down into her eyes as he moved inside her, it would be Vic. Laura blushed just thinking about it. But no need; she’d never get there. She couldn’t imagine that she could have sex with anyone, ever.

While she watched so much love, trust, and hope lost in peaceful sleep, he started to stir. When his eyes opened and he saw her looking up at him, he smiled and stretched like a cat. Watching all of those muscles flex made Laura’s heart thump wildly. “Hi, sleepyhead!” she sang to him.

“Hi yourself! What time is it?” He squirmed around a bit and propped himself up, Laura still in his lap.

“When I looked it was a little after six. Want some breakfast? I’ll whip us up some protein bars!” she laughed.

“Sure! Gourmet breakfast it is!” He looked at her for just a few seconds, then said, “Hey, would it be too much to ask you to kiss me good morning?”

Laura looked at Vic. Even after sleeping in the back seat of the car all night, he looked so just-pressed and perfect that she could’ve sworn he’d just gotten dressed for an evening out. She leaned up and planted a tiny, warm kiss right on his closed lips. When she pulled back, his face was radiating pure joy. Had she done that? How could he be so happy to get just a simple, closed-mouth kiss from her? After all of those lusty, big-breasted women at the club? She shrugged and said, “How was that?”

“Heaven.” And she could tell by the look he was still wearing that he wasn’t kidding. She wanted to ask him why he’d even want to look at her, but she didn’t.
Just take it while you can get it and enjoy it, Butler,
she told herself. “I obviously don’t have the same effect on you,” he said, a tentative smile on those fabulous lips.

“You have no idea,” she whispered. And she meant it.

“I want you to know that having my arms around you all night was like a dream come true. One of these days we’ll be able to enjoy that kind of closeness all the time. I’m looking forward to that.” He wasn’t smiling anymore; he was dead serious.

“Me too,” Laura replied. She wasn’t kidding either. It would be wonderful to be wrapped up in his warm, strong body, feeling his heat and his lips against her skin. She was afraid she wouldn’t live long enough to find out what that was like.

“Good. We’ll get there, I promise. Think I’ll call and see what their ETA is, if you’ll get breakfast ready,” he said, chuckling.

He remembered his burner phone, and when he turned it on, Vic almost sighed out loud: Miranda. There were four calls from her over the course of the previous evening. He’d have to figure out what to do about that, but not right then. Vic pulled out his personal cell and called Tony first, and Nikki answered. “Hi sweetie!”

“Hey, beautiful! Where’s that cousin of mine?”

“In the shower. Are you two okay?” she asked, her voice heavy with worry.

“Yeah, we’re fine. Peyton and José are supposed to be here pretty soon. Tell Tony I’ll call him when I get home, get cleaned up and changed, and start to the office.”

“Okay, sweetie. You guys be careful. Tell Laura good morning for me.”

“Gotcha! Bye, babe.” Vic hit the button to hang up just as Laura came to the car.

“Hey, can you hand me my phone?” she asked, and Vic handed it over. “I’m gonna call Steve, find out when they’re coming.”

“I was going to do that, but . . .”

“No, I don’t mind. You go eat breakfast.” Laura punched buttons, and Vic got out of the car and stretched, then reached to get something to eat that looked and tasted suspiciously like dinner from the night before.

He heard her talking to Steve; they were arguing about something. Then he heard her say “Peyton,” so she must’ve called him to see if they were on their way. When she hung up from talking to him, it sounded like she’d called Nikki because she said something about finding a way to come and get the things she’d bought the day before that were still in the BMW.

Vic ate his protein bar and poked around on his phone. There was a notice on the main screen that he had updates to some of his apps, so he dug around to see which ones. One was a restaurant guide app, and one of his music apps needed an update too, along with his GPS app. He scrolled down through the rest of the apps needing updates, but then something clicked in his brain. He scrolled back up to the GPS app, then backed out to the main screen and went into his settings function. One glance made his blood ice up. To his horror, he discovered something, the one thing they’d all missed: His GPS locator feature was turned on.