His head whipped around, absolutely horrified. “No-no-no! No, baby! What I meant was, if I’d known somebody would try to hurt you because of me, I might have been slower to get involved, that’s all. No, I don’t regret a single second we’ve been together. But I feel guilty that it’s my fault you’re getting hurt, that’s all.”
“That’s not your fault, Tony Walters. That’s those bastards with GoGreen. If I ever get my hands on them, so help me god, I’ll . . .” She buried her face in his chest, and he wrapped her up in his arms and squeezed her tight.
“Let’s go inside. I’m not really hungry – I’m sure you’re not either – but we really need to try to eat something. And then let’s try to get some sleep, even though we probably won’t be able to. Tomorrow will be another day, and we’ll start again. Okay?”
“Okay. I love you, Tony.”
“Oh, little girl,” he murmured, stroking her hair, “I love you too.”
It was late when Tony and Nikki finally got everything taken care of so they could go to bed. Tony put Bill and Hillary’s bodies in the basement on the cool floor, thinking that would be the best place for them. In the yard he’d found the bowl with traces of antifreeze in it, just as the vets had suspected. After he’d showered, Nikki had fixed them a salad and they’d eaten it while they waited for Detective Ford to come by and take a statement.
When he was done and gone, they climbed into the big bed together and, for the first time since they’d been together, sex didn’t seem like an option. They lay together in the darkness, her head on his chest, his arms around her, and listened to each other breathe. It dawned on Nikki that this was why elderly nursing home patients often married; for the comfort they could take from each other in their distress at being old and sick and weary. Tony’s arms around her were more comfort than she’d had in a long time, and she wanted that to last until they were old – old together.
“So you’d mentioned you’d like to go away. Would you like to go to the Gatlinburg house next weekend?” Tony asked out of the blue.
“I think I would.”
“So let’s work toward that.” He hugged her tighter. “I love being there with you. The mountains always make me feel so . . .” he stopped, searching his mind for the right term.
“Fresh and new?”
“Exactly!” he answered, surprised. “How’d you know?”
“They have the very same effect on me. Plus I like making love out on the balcony in the night. I feel so free there.” She smiled up at him.
“Well, sweetie, I can definitely take you out there and set you free, no problem!” he chuckled and gave her a soft kiss. “But right now, get some sleep. Things will be a little better in the morning.”
“Sweet lord, the tired old woman in me needs the optimist in you,” she whispered.
“I’ll always be here for you, babe. You can count on it,” he promised as he closed his eyes and drifted away beside her.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“You won’t believe this, but the committee for the Labor Day parade called and asked me to be the grand marshal.”
Nikki squealed and clapped. “You said yes, right?”
Tony frowned. “No.” Nikki’s face fell. “I talked to Steve and he said he thought it was a bad idea. And he’s right. That would leave me extremely vulnerable in a very public setting.”
“I agree, but I’m still disappointed.” Nikki frowned back. She wouldn’t have cared if they wouldn’t let her ride with him – just seeing him riding in the parade as grand marshal would’ve been enough to make her heart burst with pride.
“I explained the situation to them, told them I really wanted to do it but my chief of security said it wasn’t a good idea. They told me no sweat – next year would be fine. We’d better have this cleared up before then or I’ll do it anyway.” As he fiddled with his stapler absentmindedly, Nikki could tell he was disappointed too. “Hey, by the way, what have you got going on this afternoon?”
“The usual. Run some errands, some meetings with HR, take those revised plans out to Clayton. Why?”
“I was wondering if you’d go to Lex, see Vic. They’ve got the new office in pretty good shape, and he could use some decorating tips. Poor guy, that’s definitely not one of his strong points.” Nikki could see that – Vic’s wardrobe was black, black, and more black, with some black thrown in. She shuddered to think what the office might wind up looking like, but then she realized she’d been to his house several times and it was as gorgeous as he was, so she was pretty sure she shouldn’t be overly concerned.
“Sure, if you can cover my stuff, I can do that.” As she spoke, she grabbed his stapler, took it away from him, and set it pointedly down on the desk. Tony huffed, and she grinned. “When do you want me to leave?”
“Whenever you can. If you could go real soon and take him to lunch, that would be all the better.” He reached for the stapler and Nikki playfully slapped his hand, then he grinned wider, snatched it, and put it in his lap. He laughed at her. “You’ll have to come and get it if you want it now.”
“Pervert!” she laughed back at him. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”
“Shoot.”
“What’s with Vic?”
“How do you mean?”
“I mean, he’s a good-looking, no, gorgeous guy. I mean really gorgeous. Like if-I-hadn’t-met-you-first-I’d-follow-him-to-the-ends-of-the-earth gorgeous. But there’s no woman. Is he gay?”
Tony chuckled. “No, he’s definitely not gay.”
“Then what is it? He doesn’t have a woman, and he doesn’t seem to be interested in having a woman. I’ve never heard him even mention a woman. What gives?”
Tony motioned for Nikki to close the office door. When she had, he said, “Um, Vic has a problem.”
“Erectile dysfunction?”
“No!” Tony answered quickly. “Not that. No, it’s more of a, well, an emotional problem, I guess you’d say.” Nikki looked at him, puzzled and more curious than before. “He’s had girlfriends, had one for awhile, in fact, but something happened.”
Nikki waited. She could tell Tony was fishing for the right word or words to describe it. “Oh, out with it, baby,” she groaned. “Surely you can tell me.”
“Well,” he began, “he has a control problem.”
“Premature ejaculation?”
“Geez, girl, there’s nothing wrong with the guy’s dick!” Tony chuckled at her; then his expression turned somber. “He, well, he hurt her. Pretty badly, in fact. Almost got himself thrown in jail.”
Nikki’s eyes flew open wide. “Vic? He beat her? He’s the gentlest guy I’ve ever met!” That didn’t sound like the Vic she knew.
“No, no, he didn’t hit her. He hurt her, um, sexually.” Nikki looked at him, confused. “When I said he almost got himself thrown in jail, I mean the doctor who examined her almost had him charged with rape.”
“Oh, my god! What the hell?” Nikki gasped – Vic?
“He’s fine, and then he gets involved in the act, and, well, he gets a little crazy, forgets himself, and gets a little too, shall we say, exuberant? The way he described it, he gets kind of animalistic and just completely loses control. One minute, they’re enjoying themselves; next minute, she’s screaming that he’s hurting her, she’s bleeding, and he can’t stop himself. She winds up with serious vaginal tearing and he winds up trying to fend off rape charges. In the end, she forgave him, but she was so afraid of being with him that they couldn’t work things out. Very sad.”
Nikki was shocked, and it showed. “I’ll say. Poor Vic! Has he tried counseling?”
“Actually, he did. The therapist said it had to do with his childhood and all the trauma.”
“I knew you said it was bad. How bad?”
“Zia Serafina thought Vic’s father loved her when they married, but she found out later that he married her because she was beautiful and would make a good trophy wife, especially considering his position.
” Nikki didn’t know what that meant, but she didn’t want to interrupt. “Then he started beating her, and they separated. Vic was about two at the time. They got back together when he was about six, and his father started beating her and Vic. He was drinking, gambling, sleeping around, whatever. It was torture. At least that’s the story I got.”
“When he was fourteen, my parents sent her tickets for the two of them to come to the states, and they never went back to Italy. Mamma and Papa helped Zia Serafina get her citizenship, and Vic went through naturalization while he was in high school. They lived with us, but he had a lot of problems, truancy, bad grades, discipline problems. He and Bennie are the same age, so he was graduating from high school when I was graduating from college. Mamma and Papa offered to send him to college, but he wanted to join the military. When he started talking about getting out, I sent him word I’d hire him into the company – I was running it by then. By the time he got out of the military, Papa had passed, and I hired Vic and taught him the business. We grew up like brothers, but I guess he really looks at me more like a father than a brother or cousin.”
“No wonder he loves you the way he does.” Nikki beamed at Tony. “I know you love him too.”
“Two straight guys couldn’t love each other more than Vic and I do. I’ve never been as close to another man as I am to him, even to Papa, and we were together every day while he taught me the business. Vic and I just have a solid, strong relationship.”
“I’m glad he has you. Seems like he doesn’t have anybody else.” As they talked, Nikki straightened papers on Tony’s desk. It was a habit she couldn’t seem to control, the constant straightening and organizing.
“Well, actually, he does. The kids all love him, and my mom does too, and now he’s got you. And in case you haven’t noticed, he’s crazy about you.”
“Me?” Nikki looked surprised. “You think so? How nice!”
Tony rolled his eyes. “Oh, good god, Nikki, he’s in love with you. I mean stone-cold in love.” Tony shook his head in wonder. “You must’ve realized that.”
“Nah!” Disbelief was plain on her face. “He couldn’t be, he wouldn’t . . .”
“No, he wouldn’t. He’d never say anything, and he’d certainly never act on it, but it’s true. I can tell when he’s around you. He’s smitten. Completely, totally, head-over-heels in love.”
“Oh god!” Nikki whispered, horrified. “Do you think it’s a good idea for me to go there and spend time with him?” She was feeling a bit uncomfortable, and she hoped Tony was wrong.
“I think it’s absolutely a good idea. He needs to spend time with you, know we’re totally committed to each other and you’re not interested, get used to the idea. He’ll be fine, honestly. But he needs a woman to give him confidence, and your friendship can do that for him. It’ll be all right.” Tony stood up and leaned over to give her a kiss on the forehead. “You can handle this. You’re a tough girl with a really big truck!”
“Uh-huh. How bad?” There was a long pause. “Well, fuck me. Okay, call me when you know more.” Tony hit END on his cell and sighed.
“Geez, what now?” Nikki asked. It had been a beautiful weekend, hot but nice. They’d hiked to a waterfall, then gone to her favorite barbecue place in Gatlinburg. Visits to a couple of local wineries had their cargo deck full of bottles. Nikki had hit a couple of the outlet stores in Pigeon Forge and gotten a very pretty dress to wear to dinner sometime. Then came the phone call, and it looked like all of the rest and relaxation Tony had managed to get was now undone. “GoGreen again?”
“Looks like it. That was Clayton. They went into the hospital project and busted up every porcelain fixture that’s been delivered. Over a quarter of a million dollars’ worth of fixtures. I don’t understand – Cal was supposed to be watching that site. I’ve got somebody on every site. How did they get in there and do that much damage without somebody noticing?”
“Wait – you’ve got somebody on every site? Watching them? You’re kidding!” Nikki hadn’t realized it was that bad.
“Nope – have had since your SUV was firebombed. I’ve been paying employees to take shifts ’round the clock. I didn’t say anything because I thought this wouldn’t last long, but I was wrong about that.” Tony started folding clothes to put them in his bag. “But I’m pretty pissed about this. Cal was supposed to be watching the place. What the hell was he doing?”
“Guess you’ll have to ask him when you see him.” Nikki rushed around and packed her things too. So much for peace and quiet.
“Well, you can bet I’ll be seeing him tomorrow morning. I’ve had just about enough of this shit.”
“Would you care to explain how this happened?” Tony was still livid and about ten seconds from a rip-roaring rant. Cal was appropriately subdued, and that was probably a good thing.
“Boss, I’m so, so sorry. But I guess it happened when I ran home. The kids called and said Jenny was sick, so I went to check. She was just, you know . . .” Cal shrugged. It sounded like a good-enough story; Tony would never know the difference.
“Yeah, I know. You need to get your wife into rehab; our health insurance will pay for most of it. Her drinking is keeping you from doing your job and, much as I like you, working is why you’re here, after all. This problem of hers is costing me money, money on the project, and money I was paying you to watch the project.” Tony was so angry that he couldn’t even look at Cal. The idea of firing him immediately was definitely there, but he knew what it was like to have a spouse who fucked up your life.
“Don’t pay me for last evening, boss. I don’t deserve it.”
“No, you were there most of the night, so I’ll pay you. I’ve never asked any employee to do anything I wasn’t willing to pay them to do. But don’t, and I mean don’t, let that happen again. You understand? Next time I might not be so forgiving. You’ve been with me for awhile now, Cal, and you’ve been a good employee. But this is some serious shit. I can’t afford another fuckup like this.” Tony slammed a desk drawer shut and stood. “Now get your ass back to work. I’ve got a million things to do, and now this to clean up.”
“Yes sir, Tony. It won’t happen again.” Cal turned and shuffled out of the office, head down and shoulders slumped. If Tony ever found out . . . Well, he couldn’t. They’d just have to be more careful.
“I’m taking a half-day off. Gonna go sit by the pool. When you get done at the dentist’s office, why don’t you come by and swim?” Tony asked Vic. For reasons nobody could understand, Vic came all the way to Louisville to go to the dentist. If anybody asked why, he said he’d finally found a dentist he wasn’t afraid of, so it was worth the drive. Imagining Vic being afraid of anyone was nearly impossible.
Vic smiled. “Yeah, I’ll be there! I could use some down time. Want me to bring anything with me?”
“Beer.” Tony walked out the door with Vic. “That’s your ticket to the Walters swimmin’ hole.”
“Goes without saying. I think I can manage that. Whaddya think, Newcastle?”
“Sounds good. See you in a couple of hours.” Tony waved goodbye to Vic, then called Nikki on his hands-free in the truck. “Hey, baby, whatcha doin’?”
“Going over to the hospital site to take some revised plans to Clayton – just picked them up at the architect’s office. What’s up with you?” she asked as she climbed back into the big blue monster.
“Taking a half-day off, gonna go sit by the pool, do a little swimming, invited Vic over. This GoGreen shit has me completely stressed out. Can you come home?”
“It’ll be a little while, but I’ll be there. I’ve got a couple of things to do at the office, then I’ll be on my way!” Um-hum – when the boss offers you the afternoon off, you take it, she chuckled to herself.
When Tony got home, he changed into his trunks, got a little lunch, and opened a beer. He’d made it down and back the length of the pool several times when Nikki walked out the doors onto the patio. “I’m going to put on my suit. Need
anything?”
“Nope. Not a thing.” He climbed out and kissed her, slapped her butt as she walked away, then took back his spot on the chaise lounge.
Within a few minutes, Tony heard a car alarm being set. Vic – had to be. He heard the front door open and close and then, a few seconds later, he looked up to see Vic coming out the door onto the patio. Already shirtless, Vic’s jeans were lying on the floor just inside the door. “Hey, buddy, you know . . .” Tony started.
“Give it a rest, cousin boss man. Don’t wanna talk about work. Just let me get into the water and relax for a second, okay?” Vic peeled his boxer briefs off, dropping them where he stood, and slipped head-first into the pool. He swam the length of the pool and started climbing out at the far end just as Nikki stepped out the back door. Rubbing the water out of his eyes, he turned toward the house and opened them, only to find Nikki standing at the other end of the pool, her face a mess of startled confusion as she stared right at him and held his jeans in one hand, his briefs in the other.
Her eyes went wide and her mouth formed an “O.” What she was looking at was beyond her wildest imagination. Even flaccid, Vic had set a new size record for Nikki. She thought only porn stars were hung like that, and she was having trouble pulling air into her lungs from the pure adrenaline surge.
Horrified, all Vic could think to do was jump back in the water, which he did as fast as he could.
Nikki looked at Tony, and he grinned; she grinned back. Vic swam over to where Tony was sitting and snarled, “You could’ve warned me she was here!”
“I tried, but you made it clear you didn’t want me to tell you anything. Besides, in case you forgot, she lives here!” Tony laughed.
“I thought she was at work!”
“Well, she was, but she wanted to come and see you. And she sure did see you!” At that point, Tony was laughing so hard he was having trouble catching his breath.
Vic swam up to where Nikki knelt by the edge of the pool, waiting for him to swim over. He folded his arms onto the edge and looked up at her. Her face was pure mischief. “Sugar, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were home,” he moaned, his dark face scarlet.