Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (38 page)

He speeded up his strokes, came quickly, and called Clayton back. Nikki groaned the groan of the disappointed – loudly. When Clayton answered, he yelled into the phone, “Dad! Oh god, where are you?”

“Nikki’s. Clayton, what’s wrong?” The panic in Clayton’s voice made Tony sit upright in bed. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, Dad, as good as I can be. But the Colufab project, not so much. It’s a total loss.”

Tony jumped from the bed, grabbing clothes. “Is anybody hurt?”

“No. Everybody’s fine. But, Dad, I don’t know what to do! I’ve never . . .”

At that point, Nikki was wide awake and trying to figure out what was going on. “Clayton, call the cops . . .” Tony started.

“I already have – they’re on their way. The fire department is already here.” The fire department? Again? Tony’s heartbeat jumped to double-time.

“Son, I’ll be there as fast as I can get there.” Tony hit END and started pulling on clothes.

“What the hell’s going on?” Nikki asked, her eyes still sleepy. “Is everybody okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Tony zipped his jeans and reached for his boots. “But one of my jobsites isn’t. Bastards hit us again.” The stress in his face scared Nikki. “I love you, baby, and I’ll call as soon as I can.” He kissed her on the cheek and ran out the door.

Nikki lay back down and threw an arm over her eyes. She wanted to do
something
to help, but she had no idea what.

The smoke was visible from a couple of miles away. Tony felt sick to his stomach, fearful of what he was about to find. But when he pulled up, he was unprepared for the catastrophe that lay before him.

Everything was destroyed. Every piece of equipment was smoldering, as well as the construction itself. Someone had taken one of the earth movers, probably the big dozer, and knocked down the whole structure before setting it on fire. Three months of work, gone. Tony’s mind went straight to the bottom line, and he realized their profit margin for the fiscal year was now shot all to hell unless an insurance settlement came through fast.

He found Clayton talking to Detective Ford. When he walked up and put his hand on his son’s shoulder, Clayton turned, and the look on his face told Tony everything. “Detective, would you please excuse my son and me? We need to talk.”

“Of course. I’ll look around, help the uniforms for a little while. You guys take your time.” As they turned away, Detective Ford winked at Tony out of Clayton’s field of vision, and Tony managed a tiny smile in return.

“Get in the truck,” Tony ordered, and Clayton obediently climbed into Tony’s big F-250. Once inside, Tony turned to the silent young man, who looked genuinely fearful.

“Son, it’s going to be okay.” He put his hand on Clayton’s shoulder. “
We’re
going to be okay.”

“But Dad, I’m so frustrated. I don’t know what to do.” Clayton turned to look out the window so his face was away from Tony.

“Look at me.” Clayton turned, eyes downcast. “Hey, son – look at me!” Clayton finally met Tony’s gaze, and Tony put both hands on his son’s shoulders. “There’s no script for a situation like this. I don’t know what to do either. But I know this: We’ve got employees to think about. They depend on us; their families depend on us. We’ve got customers; they depend on us. And we’ve got family; they depend on us. So it’s up to us. But we’ve got good people who want to help us, and we need to let them. And we’ve got our family, all of them. Trust me on this one – it’s going to be okay.”

Clayton nodded but didn’t speak. “Look, son, we’ve lived through some pretty bad things.” Dottie flashed through Tony’s mind. “But we’ve made it out the other side. You’re happy with Brit, Annabeth and Katie have each other, and I’ve got Nikki now;
we’ve
got Nikki now. No matter what happens to Walters Construction,
we’re
going to be okay. Got it?”

Clayton nodded again, and he looked like he was settling down. Problem was, Tony wished he could convince himself that everything was going to be all right because, at that moment, it sure didn’t feel that way.

Nikki came from the kitchen and answered Tony’s door to find a very tall, very blond Viking of a man standing there. “You must be Nikki!” he drawled.

“Yes. And you’re . . .”

He extended his hand. “Steve. Steve McCoy.”

“Ah, Tony’s attorney! Nice to finally meet you. Please, come in.” Nikki gripped his hand tightly and opened the door wider, then stood aside while Steve’s six foot four frame glided through the doorway. Nikki couldn’t help but think he was one tall, good-looking drink of water. “Tony’s not home yet. Want something? Beer? Tea? Wine?”

“Sure! I’ll take a beer. Wow – something smells wonderful!”

“My meatloaf. One of Tony’s favorites. Could you please stay and eat?” she asked, ever the gracious hostess.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t impose . . .”

“No imposition. There’s plenty. Please stay – he should be here just any time.” Almost as though she’d prompted it, they heard the back door open and Tony strode into the kitchen. He had a worn look to him, and Nikki realized he was still in the previous day’s clothes he’d slipped into at her house that morning. “Hey, baby!” she murmured in his ear as she hugged him. The smell of smoke draped over him like a cloak. After several calls from him during the day, she was painfully aware of everything that had happened and how irritated and dismayed, even discouraged, he was.

“Hey yourself,” he whispered back, giving her a light kiss, then turned and shook Steve’s hand. “Steve, man, glad you could come over.”

“I’ll do anything I can to help – you know that. Come talk to me.” Steve pointed toward the den.

Nikki interrupted, hands on her hips. “Not just yet.” She looked at Tony. “Dinner’s about fifteen minutes out. Honey, you really need to shower, put on some fresh clothes. Take a break. I’ll keep everything warm until you’re done. Steve will help me out in here, right, Steve?”

“Yeah, sure!” Steve grinned. “I get to spend time with the pretty girl instead of the grumpy old guy!” Tony glared at him and stalked out of the room, the smell of smoke following him like an angry viper.

“So what do you have in mind?” Steve and Tony had settled into the leather seating in the den. Steve had a beer; Tony had poured himself a bourbon. Nikki was cleaning up the leftovers of the delicious meal she’d served them. Steve couldn’t help but think what a lucky man Tony was, at least where Nikki was concerned.

“This whole thing feels like a personal attack to me. I think we need some protection. I want a security company to take over our sites, including the office. And I want my house, Nikki’s house, and Clayton and Brittany’s place all covered, too. Plus I want somebody specifically on Nikki, twenty-four seven.” His hand shook as he raised the glass to his lips; he was exhausted, and it showed, not to mention how frightened he was for her safety.

“Doable. I don’t have enough people to watch all of the sites, but we can mobilize your workforce for that. Find some people who are willing to do it and we’ll do a little training for them. And I guess you want the guys following her to be, um, invisible?” Steve asked, tipping his head toward the kitchen. She didn’t strike him as a woman who would want someone shadowing her.

“Absolutely. Matter of fact, I’m not planning to tell her.” Tony swirled the bourbon in his glass.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Steve asked. “I mean, invisible is one thing, but without her knowledge? Once she finds out, and she
will
find out, she’s going to be really,
really
pissed. Sure you want to deal with
that
?”

“No, but I’ll take my chances to keep her safe. If she knows about them, she’ll go into evasive mode. She’s all about being independent, taking care of herself.” Tony stopped for a second, then said, “And see what you can find out about this GoGreen bunch. The cops haven’t had any luck, but I know you have your ways . . .”

“Say no more, big guy. I’ll see what I can do.”

“In the meantime, I’m going to arm her, make sure she knows how to use a gun. And make sure Clayton is carrying his too. I already know Vic’s armed.”

“Good move,” Steve agreed, polishing off his beer. “And you realize that until this thing has played out, you’ve got to be careful when you’re out in public.”

“Yeah, I’d already thought about that.” Tony sighed. “I’m thinking more about where I go and what I do these days.”

“Good. See if you can instill that mindset in Nikki and Clayton. By the way, let me ask you this: Do you have any disgruntled employees? Or former employees?”

“I’ve thought about that,” Tony answered, “but no, no one. I’m really at a loss here.”

“What about Bart? Anybody bothering anything of his?”

Tony shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of, and I think he’d call and tell me if that was the case. So I don’t think it’s the family; I think it’s just me. I mean, I want somebody watching Clayton and Brit because of his ties to the company, but so far even he hasn’t seemed to be a target; he doesn’t have anything to do with the Lexington office. So I feel like it’s personal, just against me.”

“Angry, jealous woman?” Steve asked with a smirk.

“Only Dottie, and she’s always wanting money, so I don’t think she’d sabotage her only possible bank roll.”

“See her much?”

“Nope. Not unless she wants something.” Tony got a distant, wistful look. “Come to think of it, she’s been really quiet lately. Must be lying in wait to strike,” Tony said with his own smirk, the closest thing to a smile he’d come up with that evening.

“Like a big ol’ bear,” Steve growled. Tony nodded, looking down into his glass. “Or a big ol’ elephant. You know they never forget.” Steve’s sarcasm was a welcome comic relief, and it made Tony chuckled.
I should invite him over more often,
he thought with a smile.

After Steve left, making sure to thank Nikki for dinner, Tony and Nikki walked arm in arm to the bedroom. While Steve and Tony had talked, Nikki had turned down the bed, run Tony a tub of hot water, and lit a couple of scented candles. Tony smiled when he saw the trouble she’d gone to for him.

“Go soak. I’ll be here when you get out.” She picked up her book and settled in the bed. Tony shuffled into the bathroom, stripped off, and dropped into the tub. God, the hot water felt good, and he was so shot.