Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (68 page)

Now she was
really
confused. What would Mr. Walters being in jail have to do with anything? After Travis left, she decided to check the video feed logs to see if she could find someone moving a body around in the timeframe they gave. Sure enough, there was a guy dumping something large into a trench, but the guy wasn’t Tony Walters. It was someone else entirely, someone smaller and, based on what she could tell from the camera angle, someone bald. But Autumn didn’t tell Travis that; she didn’t tell anyone. If she told anyone and Travis found out, he’d kill her.

Tony sat, trying to understand how he’d gone from Nikki’s arms to a jail cell, and then it hit him: The thing he feared most was upon him, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He lay down on his cot and pressed his face into the pillow, crying silent tears into it until it was soaked. When he had cried all he could, he flipped it over and fell into a restless, troubled sleep.

“Clayton, I need to ask; have we had any more damage at any of the sites?” It had just occurred to Nikki that if anything had happened, no one had told her.

Clayton shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of. It’s been really quiet.”

“Your dad thought his being in jail would make it stop, and it looks like he’s right. It is personal. But who? And why?” Nikki sat at Tony’s desk, working on some figures for a new project, and it looked promising; that was, if her calculations were correct. Tony would know just by looking at them – if he were there, which he wasn’t.

“I don’t get it.” Clayton shook his head. “I don’t get any of it.”

“Me neither.”

“Hello?” Nobody ever called her after ten o’clock at night, and the number was unfamiliar. Nikki was sure it would be a wrong number.

“Hi, baby!”

“Tony! Oh my god! How did you . . .”

“Money talks, babe – literally, in this case. One of the deputy jailers has a burner phone he carries. For five bucks, he’ll let me use it for thirty minutes. Guy’s making a fortune – he’s quite the entrepreneur. Good for me that Steve gave me some cash to hide away, so I’ll probably get to call several times a week, especially if I offer him more. Anyway, that’s what we’ve got – thirty minutes. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“God, yours sounds good to me too. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, guess so. Food’s terrible, but I’m okay. How are you holding up?”

She signed. “I guess I’m all right. I’ve been working on the calculations for the Lindon Brothers warehouse. I hope I’m getting everything right.”

“I’m sure you’re doing fine. Hey, tell me something: Are you in bed?” he asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“What are you wearing?”

Uh-huh, I know where this is going!,
she thought. She looked down at the plain nightgown she had on, then decided to charge him up a bit. “Um, this is embarrassing, but I’m not wearing anything.”

“Really? Why is that?”

“Well,” she purred, reaching into the nightstand, “I was getting ready to get chummy with my vibrator.”

“Oh, is that right? So if I were there, what would you want me to do?”

She pulled her gown up to her waist and ran her finger down her slit. “I’d want you to touch me, stroke my clit.” She began to do exactly that, and her breathing quickened.

She heard him chuckle, a low, overheated sound. “And how would you want me to do that?”

“Around and around it, over and over, slowly,” she told him, doing the same herself and gasping for breath.

“Uh-huh. So tell me what would happen.”

“My clit would start to swell until it got rock-hard and my nipples would be so hard they’d hurt.” Hers already were. “Then, if you were here, what would you do to me?”

“Let’s see, I’d keep stroking around your clit until you could feel the tension building, slow and strong,” Tony whispered, hearing her moan slightly. “You’d try to get me to stop, but I wouldn’t – I’d make you go on until you almost couldn’t stand it, leave you hanging as long as I could.” She moaned louder. “Your back would arch, and your legs would go stiff, and your hips would start to buck, and you’d come and come hard, screaming out my name.”

“Oh, god, Tony! I’m coming, I’m coming . . .” she cried out, and her orgasm kicked in, making any other words impossible. “Ohhhhhh, ohhhhhh, ohhhhhh gawd . . .”

“Hmmmm – that sounded delicious. Was it as good as it sounded?” he asked, laughing.

It took her a second to pull herself together enough to talk. “Better. But not as good as what I’d do for you if you were here,” she answered, still breathless.

“Is that so?”

“Yes it is,” she sighed. “I’d probably start out tracing my finger up and down your shaft until you were stiff as a board. Then I’d run my finger around the rim of your head and straight up the middle across the slit.” Tony plunged his hand into his underwear to find his cock hard as stone, and he wrapped his hand around his shaft.

“What then?”
Geez,
he thought,
she’s really good at this.

“Well, I’d lie down between your legs and pop the head into my mouth like a lollipop, and then I’d slide my lips down until it hit the back of my throat. Then I’d swallow.” Tony groaned softly. “I’d suck you in and out of my throat and run my tongue up and down the underside of your cock as I went.” He was so hard that he hurt, and he dragged his hand up and down his length, imagining her lips on him.

“Then you’d wrap your hands in my hair and fuck my throat, and I’d use my tongue to tease you as you stroked in and out of me. And you’d drive into me hard and slow until your balls tightened, and I’d close down on you to make my mouth really, really tight, and you’d come in my mouth and I’d swallow it all down like the good little slut I am.” Tony was trying to be quiet, but he couldn’t help but moan as he came, wondering what the jail laundry service would make of his underwear. Hell, he couldn’t be the only guy there who was shooting a load into his boxers; they all probably were, except the gay guys, and they were shooting them into each other.

“Awww, baby, that was awesome. God, I miss you.” Tony wiped his hand on the sheet, then rolled to his side and relaxed. “I needed that. I need you,” he said, still a little breathless.

“I need you too, stud. I miss you like crazy. I’ll be glad when you get out of there.”

“Me too. Everybody doing okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Honey, what about you? How are you?”

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “Vic is taking good care of me. He’s like an old mother hen.”

“What about the kids? What about the funeral?” he asked, not really wanting to hear.

“Annabeth took care of it. I had to make her do it, but Clayton was so overloaded already, it was the least she could do. Cremation. And they don’t have to make a decision about where to put the ashes until they’re ready. So it’s done.” Nikki was glad he’d asked because she hadn’t been able to find a way to tell him.

Tony felt a flutter in his chest as it finally soaked in. “Oh my god. I’m free. I’m really, really free of her. I can’t believe I hadn’t realized that before. She’ll never bother us again!” He sounded almost gleeful.

“She can’t hurt you – us – anymore. She’s gone. I love you, you love me, that mess is over. We’ll get you out of there, and then things will be sweet and simple.”

“H
ey, buddy, how’s it going?” Nikki asked as she answered her phone. She was glad to see Marla’s number pop up, especially since they hadn’t talked in awhile. Nikki had been extremely busy trying to keep everything going, to see Tony when she could, and to keep everybody happy. And keeping everybody happy was becoming nearly impossible.

“Hi! I’ve been missing you!”

“I’ve been missing you too! And Carol. How’s she?”

“Actually, that’s why I was calling.” Marla’s cheerful tone turned serious. “I’ve got a big problem. And I know you’ve got problems of your own, but I was hoping you could help me. By the way, how’s that hunk of yours holding up?”

“He’s doing okay. We’re all suffering; him, me, the kids, his mom, the business. Everybody. It’s going to be okay, but it doesn’t feel like it right now.” Nikki had tired of trying to sound cheerful, but she was still hopeful.

“You’ll be fine. Tell him I asked about him, please? He’s such a good guy; he doesn’t deserve this. But back to why I was calling you: Carol fell and broke her leg.”

“Oh god! Is she okay?”

“She will be. She’s in a big cast. Had to have some pins put in.”

“So what does that have to do with me?” Nikki was almost afraid to hear the answer.

“I’m in a real bind. It’s almost Christmas and Carol can’t be on her feet at all, so she really can’t work. I’ve got the weekdays covered – no problem there – and a high school girl coming in during the afternoons to watch the place so I can make deliveries. But I’m exhausted, and then there’s Saturday. I hate to ask, but it’s just a half day – can you come in on Saturdays through the Christmas season so I can at least have a day off when everything is open? I’m having trouble getting my hair cut and colored because I’m tied up all the time.”

Nikki thought for a minute, then said, “Sure! Why not? I love the shop – I’ve missed it. I don’t work on Saturdays here, and all I do is rattle around in the empty house or go bug the kids so I don’t miss him so much. It’ll be fun. Want me to start this week?”

“Oh, would you? That would be fabulous! You still have your key, right?”

“Yep. I’ll just come in on Saturday. Don’t give it another thought.” Nikki thought about all of the bright blooms and smiled.

Marla let out a squeal. “Oh, thank you! You have no idea how much I appreciate this!”

“Don’t mention it. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Steve, don’t start on me. I won’t be endangering anybody – I’ll be there alone. Besides, nothing has happened since Tony went to, well, you know.” Nikki was working hard at defending herself against the barrage of negativity Steve was throwing at her.

“You should at least check with me, don’t you think? After all, it’s Tony’s orders to keep you safe, and I’d think you’d honor that.” Not only was he being rude as hell, but he looked really pissed.

“Please don’t throw that up in my face. Look, it’s only a half day on Saturdays. Whoever’s on duty can watch me as easily there as they can here at home. And it’ll give me something to keep me busy. By the way, the next time you see my baby, give him some more money, please. He’s got to pay the piper.”