“Huh. Guess that’s right. Oh, well, love you, baby. See you in a bit. You be careful driving back.”
“You bet! Love you too.”
Nikki called Tony to tell him that Vic wanted to take her and Laura to dinner before they headed back to Louisville. “You and Laura getting along okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Can’t not get along with someone who won’t talk to you.”
“Do you like sushi?” Nikki asked. Laura sat in the front passenger seat of Nikki’s Volvo as they followed Vic to the Japanese hibachi and sushi restaurant.
“Doesn’t matter. I won’t be eating anyway.”
The boss lady in Nikki rose up; she’d had just about enough and she was going to put an end to it. “Actually, yes, you will be eating,” she growled in a measured, even, firm voice that let Laura know she wasn’t going to tolerate being fucked with. “Vic wants to treat us to dinner, and you will not be rude to him. He’s a prince of a guy, and he at least deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. So you’re going, you’ll eat, you’ll be gracious, and you’ll thank him when we’re done. You got that?”
Laura turned to look at Nikki, but one glance at the fiery blond beside her told her there was no need to try to argue. She’d never seen this side of Nikki, but she had to admit she liked it. The woman looked a little fluffy, but she was tough as steel, and Laura respected that. “Yeah, I got it. Sorry. I don’t mean to come across as rude. I’m just trying to be professional.”
“Being professional and being cold and distant are not the same things,” Nikki reiterated, not looking at Laura. “You need to work on your people skills, take some lessons from Peyton and José.”
The corners of Laura’s mouth turned up slightly. “Point taken.” Then she got a little bold. “You’re not at all what I thought you’d be.”
“Thought I was just some spoiled little hank of hair trying to hook a rich man, huh?” Nikki’s smirk drew the corners of her mouth up.
“Something like that.”
“Well, you obviously don’t know my background or you wouldn’t think that. And if you ever decide you want to know about it, just ask. I don’t mind talking about it, but I won’t bore you if you don’t care.”
Laura made a note to herself to ask on the way back. Now she was curious.
Vic smiled the smile of the totally smitten as the server cleared the table, and Laura couldn’t help but notice how he looked at Nikki. “I hope you enjoyed that, princess.”
“Oh, god, it was so good! This place is amazing,” Nikki gushed, tinkering with her chopsticks. She’d enjoyed watching Vic eat with his, but she’d never master the things in a million years. He’d tried to give her a crash course, but she was a lost cause.
Vic turned to Laura. “What about you, Laura? Was it good?”
“Very. Thanks so much, Vic.” She stared at the table as she dabbed at her mouth with her napkin.
“Wow – five. I think that’s the longest string of words I’ve ever heard you speak. And you’re so welcome. I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He looked Laura right in the eye when he spoke, and his voice was smooth as satin. She felt something stir in her gut, but she shut it down. Vic Cabrizzi was unbelievably good looking, the hottest guy she’d met in a long time, maybe ever, and he seemed extremely nice too, but she couldn’t let him in. She couldn’t let anybody in. That was just her life, nothing new.
Nikki and Vic hugged goodbye, and he kissed her on the cheek. He turned to Laura and took her hand in his. Laura tried to pull her hand away, but Vic held it firm. “Thanks for coming to dinner with us. I enjoyed your company,” he told her, and she could tell he was being genuine. Matter of fact, she got the distinct impression that Vic couldn’t be anything but genuine. He turned loose of her hand, and she snapped it away from him, but she instantly missed the warmth of his skin. She wanted to run and, at the same time, she wanted to run back and touch him. What the hell was wrong with her?
On the way back to Louisville, Laura asked Nikki about her past, and Nikki quietly and simply told her without a lot of details. Listening to her, Laura thought, We’re not so different, she and I. Oh, yeah, different circumstances, but the pain’s still similar. I wish I could tell somebody what happened to me, but that’ll never happen.
“And so that’s how I got here,” Nikki finished up. “I’m no cream puff. I’m used to working hard to take care of myself. Being with Tony is a dream come true. I didn’t think I’d ever love or be loved again.”
“I don’t believe in love,” Laura blurted out. “There’s no such thing.”
“Oh, I can tell you, you are definitely wrong about that. Maybe one day you’ll know what I mean,” Nikki argued, glancing at her. “I hope you find somebody who changes your mind.”
“Not likely.” Especially if I’m not even willing to give it a chance to start. She stared out the window and watched the miles, and her life, go by.
It had been a long day and they’d been apart the whole time. Tony practically pushed her into the bedroom when she walked through the front door.
“Oh, Mr. Walters, that was amazing! Can we do it again?”
“We can do it as many times as you like, princess.”
“You know, you’ve never spoken Italian to me in bed. I think that would be really sexy.”
“Oh really? Well, ‘Voglio fare l’amore con te tutta la notte, preziosa.’”
“Oooooo, that’s lovely. What does it mean?”
“I said, ‘I want to make love to you all night long, precious.’”
“Oh, yeah, baby, that’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout.”
“Yeah? Well, ‘Voglio scopare il tuo cervello fuori, puttana.’”
“Mmmm, that sounds exciting.”
“I just said, ‘I want to fuck your brains out, slut.’”
“Ooooo, baby, say something else.”
“Uh, um, ‘Perché non fare un carico di bucato?’”
“And?”
“That was, ‘Why don’t you do a load of laundry?’”
“Oh, my god, Mr. Walters, you can even make laundry sound sexy!”
“Well, it is if you’re doing it. Especially if you’re doing it naked!”
“I don’t know about doing the laundry naked, but there’s something else I’d like to do naked.”
“Don’t you mean, do again naked?”
“No, I mean do over and over naked.”
“Well, then I guess we’d better get started, huh, future Mrs. Walters?”
“I’m just waiting on you, Mr. Walters.”
“Well, I dunno – think we need to wait?”
“Nope. Feels to me like we don’t need to wait; feels like you’re locked and loaded.”
“Ready to fire, baby.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
“Honey, I’m sorry.” Tony cringed as Nikki slammed a cabinet drawer, then stomped out of the office toward the front door.
“I’m sick of this shit,” she growled, not caring that Cheryl was staring and hearing every word. “This is bullshit.”
Tony caught her by the arm before she got out the door and wheeled her around. “Nikki, I know. I’m sick of it too. But Steve’s only trying to keep us safe.”
“Well, if I went to some big ol’ damn church here in town instead of dancing around an open fire, would he tell me I couldn’t go there?” she yelled. She’d told him that she wanted to attend the local Samhain festival on Halloween, but Steve and his crew had nixed that idea immediately.
“Yes, I think he might.” Tony looked her in the eye. “But this is even riskier, because it’s outdoors and it would be almost impossible to secure. I don’t want another vehicle going up in flames just to find out you were in it, you hear me? So calm down. They’re working on it, but we’ve got to focus on being safe.”
She slumped into a chair in the main office area, and Cheryl made herself scarce. “I know. I mean, intellectually I know, but I still don’t like it.”
“We don’t have to like it;
we just have to do it. You with me here?” Tony knelt down in front of her and looked up into her big blue-green eyes. “I’ll do anything to keep you safe, including inconveniencing you and pissing you off.” He tried to keep from laughing and failed miserably.
She couldn’t help it – she started laughing too. “We haven’t been laughing enough lately, you know?”
“I agree. We should work on that. In the meantime, can you do your own little celebration at home?”
“Of course. It won’t be as much fun, but I can do it.”
“Good. Get whatever you need to do that. And I’ll give you some privacy. I want to go with Clayton and Brit to take Stringer trick-or-treating.”
“Oh, I wanna go too!”
“Whatever you want, beautiful girl.”
“Oh my god.” Tony stood staring at Nikki with his mouth hanging open.
“What?”
“You are absolutely the most enchanting witch I’ve ever seen.” His eyes watered, and so did his mouth. “God, is that what you wear when you’re doing witch stuff?”
Nikki gave a loud huff. “No! This is just a costume! God! Don’t be a smart ass.”
He shrugged and looked a little hurt. “I’m not! I don’t know what kind of things you wear when you do whatever it is that you do,” he mumbled.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Does it look okay?”
“Look okay? Geez, babe, if you wore that to bed, I’d keep you up all night. Hey, maybe . . .”
“Not a chance, bub – they’re expecting us. Where’s your costume?”
“Stringer told me he didn’t want me to wear one. He said he wanted his to be the best, and I’d mess him up. I’m afraid he’s going to be really mad at you,” Tony laughed.
“Wow! That was fun – look at all the candy I got!” Nikki was laughing when they walked into the house. She skipped down the hall to the bedroom with her pillowcase of goodies.
“Yeah,” Tony grumbled, disgusted. “I thought I was going to have to beat up that old guy who put the candy bar in your cleavage.”
“Oh, god, honey, he was old enough to be my grandpa! I thought it was cute!” She smiled. “I thought he was cute. I was actually thinking about going back later and asking him if he would run away with me . . .”
Tony grabbed her and threw her across the bed, pretending to be mad. “You’d better not leave this grandpa for another old grandpa. I’ll hunt you down and snatch you back!”
“Not a chance! Speaking of grandpas, you seem pretty crazy about Stringer. I’m glad you guys have really hit it off. Has Clayton said what’s going on with all of that?” Nikki asked, drawing him down on top of her.
“No. I guess I should ask. I hope it’s going okay. I’d hate to see them lose that little boy. They’re crazy about him.” Tony rolled to his back and stared at the ceiling. “Maybe you could do a little spell or whatever it is that you do . . .”
“Already done, sweetie. Now, are you going to enjoy this costume?” she asked, winking at him.
“I absolutely am, starting right now!” he laughed and rolled back on top of her.
“Mr. Walters? Antonio Walters?” Two state police troopers stood in the doorway to Tony’s office the next afternoon.
“Yes, officers? What can I do for you?”
“Do you own a red Volvo SUV?” one of them asked.
“Yes. Well, it’s my fiancée’s vehicle.” He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. “What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Walters, do you know where your girlfriend is?”
A buzzing started in Tony’s head, and his stomach lurched. “She’s somewhere between here and Lexington. She went to the Lexington office this morning. Hang on a minute.” He pulled out his phone and called Nikki.
After two rings, she answered, “Hey, baby! What’s up?”
“Oh, god, Nikki, where are you?” he whispered into the phone, his throat so tight that he almost couldn’t speak.
“I’m in a thrift store in Lawrenceburg, Second Best. Why? Is everything okay?”
“Who’s with you today?”
“Laura. She’s right here.” At that, he heard Laura say something in the background.
“Hang on a second, hon.” He turned to the officers. “She’s at a store in Lawrenceburg. What’s up with the SUV?”
“It was involved in a hit-and-run accident on the Bluegrass Parkway just outside Lawrenceburg, and it was found burning a few miles from the accident scene. Responders are on scene, but it doesn’t appear there’s anyone in the vehicle.”
“Nik, did you hear that?” Tony asked.
“Uh, yeah. Hey, Laura,” she called out, “go look out the door and check on my Volvo, would you please? Tony, it’s here, I’m sure.”
“How long have you been in the store?” he asked.
“Maybe an hour? Wait.” He heard her say loudly, “What? What do you mean, it’s not there?” There was a voice in the background, and she relayed, “Tony, it’s gone. What the hell is going on?”
“Somebody took it, drove it like they stole it, and wrecked it. Stay there, tell Laura what’s happened, and I’ll call Vic, get him to come get the two of you and bring you here. Wait there for him, you hear me? Stay in the store.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll stay here and wait for him. I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. Do whatever Laura and Vic tell you and stay safe. I’ve got to go and talk to the officers.” Tony hit END and turned to them. “Well, she’s safe with her bodyguard in a store in Lawrenceburg. Looks like they stole her SUV from the parking lot.” Damn – that meant they’d followed her. “Please call Detective Ford. He’s been handling all of this crap. He’ll need to add this to the file, I’m sure.”
“Care to fill us in?” one of the officers asked. Tony launched into the story and, three minutes in, the officer stopped him.
“Thanks, Mr. Walters. We get the picture. This might not be related, but it most probably is. We’ll coordinate with Detective Ford and get back to you. Might want to call your insurance company. Where do you want us to have the vehicle sent?” Tony gave them the name of his insurance agent and told them to send what was left of the brand-new Volvo to the shop at the construction company.
“We’re going to run out of cars. I’d just gotten used to that one. What do you want me to drive now?” Nikki asked, looking at the key organizer near the back door.
“Take the Yukon or the Mercedes. Your choice.” Tony shook his head. “I’d been thinking about selling some of the cars, the ones we don’t drive much, but at this rate we’re going to wind up needing every one of them.”
“What in the hell are we going to do, honey? This is ridiculous.” Nikki took the key for the Yukon. That thing was like a tank, and that’s exactly what it appeared she’d need for the time being.
“I’ve got an idea. I’ve got to talk to everybody, family included, and then I’m going for broke. I hope you’ll be on board too.”
“I’m with you. Whatever you decide, I’ll back you one hundred percent,” Nikki assured him and gave him a peck on the cheek.
“God, Autumn, what the hell?” Travis looked her over in the front seat of the stolen, beat-up Toyota he’d followed her from Lexington in. “Shit, you smell like smoke.”
“I was so scared.” She was crying, her face slick with tears. “I couldn’t drive that great big thing. It was awful. Then I hit that other car – I don’t know what I did wrong, something with the traction control, I think – and then I lost control of it by that exit. I think I hurt my shoulder,” she whined. She pulled down the neck of her tee-shirt and looked at her shoulder – there was a huge red mark across it. “That’s going to leave a bruise.”
“Nothing’s broken,” he snapped without even looking at her. “I’d hoped to part that Volvo out at a chop shop, but the damn thing is gone, destroyed like they’ll be. That’s all that matters.” Travis pulled out into traffic from the shoulder of the overpass where he’d picked Autumn up after she’d fled the burning vehicle. He�
��d seen all he needed to see.
“That’s all that matters? I could’ve been killed! Doesn’t that matter?” she screamed at him.
“Oh, shut up, stupid. You’re fine. It’s no big deal.” He lit a cigarette and kept driving. Autumn sat there, shaking and afraid – afraid because of what had just happened, and what might happen to her at his hands.
Tony spent hours on the phone until he’d talked to everyone in the family and made sure they were okay with what he was about to do. When he was finished, he sat down and sent an email out to all Walters management people stating that he expected all employees to be in attendance at the next day’s meeting, with the exception of those who were sick or on vacation. Then he called Steve, told him to have extra security on hand, and also asked him to call all of the news outlets. After explaining to the kids what was going on, he called Detective Ford and asked him to talk to the police chief.
Annabeth and Brittany helped Nikki pick out something to wear for both purposes, something attractive but also businesslike. Katie wanted her to wear a suit, but that’s what Katie wanted everybody to wear because that’s all Katie wore, all the time. They talked about how she should wear her hair but, in the end, she pulled it into a ponytail and it was good enough.
The next morning, Tony stood on a flatbed trailer in the materials yard, Nikki on one side and Clayton on the other, Vic behind him, and Steve and his crew dispersed around the area, watching intently. Several hundred Walters Construction employees stood expectantly, wondering what was going on. They’d heard rumors, but nothing concrete. Tony laid out what was happening to them at the hands of the ecoterrorism group and asked them to keep their eyes and ears open and to be especially careful. When he was finished, they headed downtown to the police station.
Nikki was flabbergasted when they got there. TV and radio stations and reporters from newspapers were everywhere – from as far east as Ashland to the other end of the state in Paducah, even a Nashville station, and Cincinnati and all of northern Kentucky, not to mention from across the river in Indiana. There were microphones and cameras stacked on top of each other.