Tearing Down Walls (Love Under Construction Series Book 2) (61 page)

“And a wife? Children?” she asked, wringing her hands.

“No. He’s never married.” The look on her face made something in his stomach knot up. “I hope you’re not disappointed.”

“No, no. I did not expect he would ever marry. Not after everything that happened.” A sad look passed over her thin, rosy face.

“I don’t understand. I know his father, your son, left them, but I know very little other than that.”

“Antonio, they did not leave Italy because he’d abandoned them. They ran from the hit man my son hired to kill Vic’s mother.”

Tony was having trouble believing what he was hearing. What was she talking about? “He hired a hit man to kill his own wife?”

“Yes. You do know what my son’s position was, do you not?” she asked.

“No. I have no idea.” Tony couldn’t understand any of this.

“Antonio, he was our country’s minister of finance. He was only concerned about how he looked to everyone, and what he did to our Vittorio – it was such a disgrace.”

“A disgrace? I don’t understand.”

“You know that Vittorio was educated in the best schools in the nation. He also had a modeling contract by the time he was twelve,” she said.

“I knew a little about the modeling thing, and definitely about the schools. But I still don’t understand.”

“Vincenzo was very proud of the fact that Vittorio was so handsome and smart. But then things turned ugly, and . . .”

“Turned ugly?” Tony asked.

“Yes. You do not know? I can tell you, but it will take some time and it will be difficult for you to hear,” the old woman told Tony, dropping her head and staring at her hands.

“I have the time and if it will help me help Vic, I’ll stay as long as you need me to,” Tony told her, taking her hands in his.

Nikki sat in silence. She understood almost nothing they said, but she did hear Vic’s name and the name Vincenzo, which she knew was his middle name, so she waited while Tony and Mrs. Moretti talked.

And she soon became concerned about the look growing on her husband’s face. He grew more and more distraught, and she had no idea why. A couple of times she asked him if he was okay, but he motioned for her to be quiet, so she tried to just sit back and wait. She couldn’t imagine what Mrs. Moretti was telling him that was upsetting him so much. They talked for almost two hours, during which Mrs. Moretti spent a good deal of time crying. That disturbed Nikki even more. What could be so terrible?

When they finished their conversation, Mrs. Moretti handed Tony something that looked like a small book. After he’d glanced at it, Tony hugged Mrs. Moretti close and whispered something to her in Italian, then said something that sounded like a farewell. He took Nikki by the hand and pulled her to the door, leaving the old woman sitting in her chair by the fireplace, crying into a handkerchief.

“What the hell happened in there?” Nikki asked Tony when they were outside. Before he could answer, he wrapped his arms around her and shuddered. “Tony? Honey? Talk to me, please! What did she say? What’s wrong?”

He managed to calm himself enough to look at her. “I’ve got to talk to Steve, and then to Vic. He’s got to level with Laura and get some help. I’m worried about her too. I don’t want her to get hurt, and that’s what’s going to happen. Oh, god, Nikki, I can’t believe I’ve got to do this.” Nikki stroked his hair and wondered what bombshell her husband was about to drop.

“Steve, how deep have you gone into Vic’s reasoning for serving at the club?” Tony asked over the phone in a park near Zia Angelina’s house. He and Nikki had looked to find a place where no one would overhear.

“I suspected there was something going on there based on some things I’ve seen and heard, and I’ve been a little concerned about how disconnected his emotions seem to be from the sexual act. I was planning to call you to talk about it because I haven’t found anything,” Steve said.

“Well, then, you haven’t dug deep enough because it’s sure as shit there. Listen, I need you to keep an eye on Laura. I’m worried about her,” Tony told him, and Nikki listened, wondering and waiting.

“Gonna fill me in?” Steve asked.

“No. I’m going to give Vic a chance to do what needs to be done first but if he doesn’t, yeah, I’ll fill you in. I’ll have to.”

“Hmmm. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Tony said. “I’ll need it.”

Nikki’s irritation was growing. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you. Then I have to call Vic, and I want you to call Laura and talk to her. There’s a disaster brewing if something doesn’t happen pretty fast.”

Nikki listened as Tony told her what he’d learned from Mrs. Moretti, and the more he talked, the more horrified Nikki became and the harder she cried. It took him almost thirty minutes to work his way through the truth.

Then Tony held up his phone and said, “I’m calling Vic. You call Laura.” When she hesitated, Tony looked into her eyes and said, “Make the call.”

Nikki’s hands shook as she dialed Laura’s number. How would she tell Laura what to expect? How would she keep her composure long enough to even talk to Laura? They talked for thirty minutes and as they were finishing their conversation, Tony heard Nikki say, “Laura, I know it’s hard to promise something when you don’t even know what you’re promising, but please, please don’t hurt him. But we don’t want him to hurt you either. Honey, we’ll be thinking about both of you. Tony’s calling Vic now; we want him to have a chance to tell you everything himself, and I hope you’ll be merciful and forgiving with him when you hear what he’s got to say. He needs you more right now than he’s ever needed anyone.” There was a pause, and Nikki nodded, then began to cry again; Tony could hear Laura sobbing on the other end. “If anyone understands what he needs now, it’s you. Thank you, sweetheart. Call us if you need us. We love you – we love you both.” She pushed END, then dissolved into Tony’s arms while he gripped her to his chest and stroked her hair to soothe himself as much as her.

When Tony pulled away, he looked at Nikki, kissed her on the forehead, wiped the tears from her eyes, and pulled out his phone. He hit Vic’s contact, and within seconds he heard his cousin’s cheerful voice call out, “Hey, cousin-brother, having a good time?”

Tony took a deep breath, and Nikki’s heart broke for him. “Vic, we saw your nonna.”

“Oh, god! Is she okay?” he asked, and Tony could hear the excitement in his voice.

“Yes, she’s fine. She misses you terribly.”

“Oh, I miss her so much! I’d give anything to see her. Thanks – thanks so much. I appreciate you going to talk to her. I hope you told her how much I love her.”

“Vic, we need to talk.” Tony’s voice was so somber that it stopped Vic in his tracks.

“What? Is she sick? What’s wrong?” he asked in fear.

“Vic, I know.” Vic waited – what was Tony talking about? “She told me everything, Vic. I know it all. Understand?”

Vic’s heart seized. She couldn’t – she wouldn’t. “Tony, what are you . . .”

“Bud, I love you. You know that. I would never do anything to hurt you, not in a million years. But I’m giving you forty-eight hours to come clean with Laura, talk to Steve, and get some help. What you went through, no one,
no one,
should have to go through that. But she deserves to know. I can’t imagine that you hadn’t figured out what caused your problems, but it’s pretty clear to me, and you’ve got to start the process of healing right now. If you hurt Laura, I’ll never forgive myself, and you’ll never forgive yourself. Forty-eight hours, brother. Nikki’s already talked to her; she’s expecting you to talk to her about something, so do it.”

Vic’s face burned. “Nikki knows?” he whispered.

“You know full well there’s no judgment here. We both love you and we’d walk through hell and back to help you. And I’ve got a feeling you’re getting ready to make that walk. Forty-eight hours. I love you, bud.”

Vic could feel the blood draining from his face. “I love you too, Tony, and I love Nikki. And I love Laura. I don’t know how I’ll make it through this, but I will. The last thing I want to do is hurt her. I’ll do it; I’ll do it right now.”

“Don’t put this off. She’s going to want to know what’s going on since she and Nikki finished talking. You’ve got to do this, please?”

“Okay, I will.” Vic’s voice was weak in the phone, and Tony was worried.

“Godspeed, brother. Go talk to her. Our love goes with you.” Tony hit END and looked at his wife. She’d never seen him look so forlorn, not even with everything they’d gone through the year before. “It’s done,” he told her. “I don’t know what we’ll go home to, but I did the right thing.” He stopped. “Didn’t I?”

“Yes, baby, you did. You didn’t ask to have this information dumped on you, but it would be very irresponsible of you to just sit on it. Laura could get hurt; Vic could get hurt or get into a lot of trouble. I just wish we were there right now.” Tony nodded. Now all they could do was wait.

J
ust as Vic reached the living room, the front door opened and Laura walked in. She looked shaken and pale, and when she saw him standing stock-still in the foyer facing her, she closed the door and just stood there, waiting.

“Laura, I . . .” Vic started, then faltered.

There was a calm about her that gave Vic courage. “I don’t know what’s going on, but let’s get this over with.” She reached for his hand and when he took hers, he felt stronger, like everything was going to be all right, but he was still terrified. He didn’t speak, just started toward the den, leading her along behind him. She sat down on the sofa and he took his usual seat in his recliner; then he thought better of it and moved onto the sofa beside her.

“I don’t know where to start.” Vic’s hands had started to shake and he stared at them in his lap.

She stroked his cheek, then put a hand under his chin and lifted his face. “Start at the beginning, baby. Please. The very beginning.”

Vic took a deep breath. “Remember when we said no more secrets?” She looked straight into his eyes and nodded. “Well, I lied.” Shame flooded over him, and he had trouble looking back at her. “I have a big secret, and I don’t know what will happen when you know, but I have to tell you.”

“Babe, whatever it is, we’ll work through it.” She pushed a strand of hair off of his face, her fingers grazing his skin with gentleness. “After what I’ve put you through, I owe you that.”

He shook his head. “You don’t owe me anything. In my defense, I’d tried to stuff this all down over the years, and I must’ve done a pretty good job.” He straightened, then looked into her eyes. The way she looked back at him gave him confidence, even though he was afraid his world was about to shatter.

“You know the family I have now, but I haven’t told you much about my family when I was growing up. My father was a very important person in Italian politics, but he wasn’t much of a father. It was important to him that everyone knew how strong and special he was, and he expected a lot from my mother and me. He had me tested and sent me to the best schools; my I.Q. was high enough that he could get me in any school he liked, and his position didn’t hurt either. By the time I was eleven, I was almost ready to graduate from high school. When I was twelve, I graduated and got a modeling contract with the biggest agency in Italy. My dad was proud. He wanted that kind of recognition, a good-looking son whose picture was everywhere.”

“That was good, right?” Laura asked.

“No. Well, I mean, it was. I enjoyed it. With a father who didn’t spend much time with me, I enjoyed the attention most. But I got attention I hadn’t expected.” Vic stopped; he didn’t know how to go any farther.

“What do you mean?” Laura was trying to be calm, but she’d started feeling a little panicky.

“From . . .” Vic’s mouth went dry, and he wasn’t sure he could get anything else out. So he tried again. “From . . . from women.”

“You mean like a teen idol thing?” She was afraid of the answer.

“No.” He took another deep breath and his face fell. “I lost my virginity when I was twelve to a woman who was forty-seven. And there were plenty more after that.” Vic couldn’t look up at her, couldn’t stand the thought of the way she was sure to be looking at him. “The first time I fell in love, I was thirteen and she was sixty-one. It lasted for four months until she moved on to another guy only a little older than me. But in two weeks, I was in a relationship with a thirty-four-year-old movie producer. Even then, I was hooking up with two or three women a week, and that went on for, well, until we moved here when I was fourteen.”