Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) (82 page)

Tony heard Vic say Nikki wasn’t in the house, and a chill ran through him; he called out, “Girls, keep the little ones close. Something’s wrong.” He ran to the foyer to find Clayton pointing at the peephole, obviously terrified. Tony looked through the peephole, and his heart froze. By the time Vic made it into the foyer and looked through the peephole, Tony had pulled his nine millimeter Ruger from the back of his jeans; Vic produced his Ruger forty-five, and Clayton had already drawn his three-eighty SIG Sauer. “Clayton, around from the back to the right; Vic, same to the left. When you’re in position, Vic, try to get her attention, let her know to drop. When she drops, I’ll yank open the door. Stay to the sides so I don’t wing you if I have to shoot him.”

“Got it,” Vic nodded, and he and Clayton took off.

Tony stood at the door, looking through the peephole. He could tell Nikki was stalling the guy, hoping someone would notice she was gone. In a matter of seconds, Tony saw Clayton to his right in the peephole, and Vic to the left. He saw Vic raise one hand, and do a quick three-two-one downward-point hand signal. Then Vic nodded, counted down, and Tony saw Nikki’s head disappear from the peephole.

He jerked the door open and leveled his weapon at the man’s head, and the guy looked genuinely surprised to see a gun pointed directly at him. In a steady voice, Tony told him, “There are three weapons trained on you right now. It would be in your best interest to drop your gun.” Never moving his gaze, he told Nikki, “Sweetheart, crawl past me and into the house, then close the door and call the cops.” For once, he got no argument out of her. Even though it was a struggle for her, she made it through the door in record time.

“What’s it going to be?” he asked the man, who was becoming visibly agitated. “I don’t want you to die, but if I have to shoot you and I don’t kill you, one of the other two guys will. So please, put the gun down. I really, really don’t want to shoot you. I’m just not that kind of guy.”

It seemed to take forever for the man to make up his mind, but he finally dropped the gun he was holding and put his hands on the back of his head. Clayton ran forward and grabbed his wrists, forced him to the ground, and placed a knee in the middle of his back. Within minutes, two cruisers pulled up.

Nikki was watching through the sidelights, and she came out the door when the cruisers pulled up. She told Tony, “It’s him – Hector. He admitted it; he killed Dottie.”

“Wonder where the car is?” Tony mused, looking down the driveway as far as he could see.

“What’s going on here?” the uniformed officer asked.

“Officer, this man held a gun on my wife,” Tony told the uniform. “If you’ll call Detective Bryson Hawkins of the Louisville Police Department, he’ll tell you all about it; this man is wanted in the murder of Dorothea Walters in Louisville. By the way, did you see a gray car with the side all dented in on your way in here?”

“Yes sir, the other side of the hill there, off the side of the drive. Is that significant?”

“Very. Please have it towed to Louisville as well. I’m sure they’ll want it for evidence. And please, get him out of here.” Tony looked at Vic and Clayton. “Everybody all right?”

“Yeah, we’re both okay.” Clayton turned to Nikki. “Mom, you okay?”

“Yes, honey, I’m fine. And thanks for finding me. I was afraid no one would know I was out here.”

“I heard something and that’s how I figured out something was wrong. Then we started looking for you and couldn’t find you. I was so scared.” Clayton hugged her tight. “I just got you forever; I sure don’t want to lose you.”

“Well, that was Bryson,” Tony told Nikki after he hung up the phone. “That guy is Hector Ramirez. He confessed to killing Dottie. So it’s all over.” The look of relief on his face was a blessing to her.

“So what’s next?”

“I have some press releases to send out in five days about the retirement issue, and then we step into our new life. And I’ve got some surprises for you, Mrs. Walters!”

“Oh, Mr. Walters, I can hardly wait!”

“S
o she’s released? Completely?” Tony asked Nikki’s doctor.

“Yes, completely. You can resume all normal activities,” Dr. Jessup told Nikki, then smiled at Tony. “
All
normal activities. But you might want to work up to
normal
. Just keep it within reason.”

Tony let out a belly laugh. “Gotcha. I’ll take it easy on her.”

“See that you do! She’s still got some healing to do. And good luck to both of you. Stay safe,” Dr. Jessup ordered as he walked with them to the door.

Once Tony had helped Nikki into the Yukon and was in the driver’s seat, he told her, “Well, that’s that! I guess we have something to celebrate, huh?”

“Yep! I can’t wait!”

“Me neither. I might just drag you into the back of this SUV . . .”

“Oh, no, buster! Not out here in the parking lot of the medical plaza! I’m too damn old for that,” she laughed.

“No you’re not. But I’ll humor you this time and wait until we get home.”

When they walked through the door, Tony scooped Nikki up and took her up the stairs two at a time. He practically threw her on the bed, stripped her down in a matter of seconds, shucked all of his clothes, and was on her and in her so fast she didn’t have time to catch her breath. He stroked in and out of her tenderly for a few minutes, then pulled out and took a minute to trail his lips down her neck, down her breast, and down to the scar on her ribcage. She wound her hands in his hair, and he kissed the scar over and over. Finally, he said, “You’re going to wear this for the rest of your life, and all because of me. Baby, I’m so, so sorry.”

She pulled his head up and the love he saw in those clear, turquoise-kissed eyes made his heart sing. “The only people who will ever see it are you and members of the medical profession. And if you don’t care about it, I don’t care what they think. So it doesn’t matter. It’s all over and we’re moving on. Now, make love to me and don’t stop until I’m screaming, okay?” she smiled.

“Oh, I can definitely do that,” he moaned, kissing back up to her mouth and burying his shaft in her warmth and wetness. He lay his full length on top of her, wrapped his arms around her, and put his hands on her ass, pumping into her with an edginess that made everything inside her flair until it all blazed. She moaned and kissed him, forcing herself into his mouth until their tongues met. They made love like that for hours, coming over and over until neither of them could move. Lying in each other’s arms, they dozed as the dinner hour got closer and closer.

When they woke, they were lying side by side in the dusk. “So, have you got the plans all drawn up?” Nikki asked him without opening her eyes.

“Yeah, and we’re not enlarging the present barn. You can have it; I know you want it.”

“Yay! I was so hoping you’d say that! I want to get us a couple of saddle horses. Please?”

“Sure! We’ll do that. As for everything else, it’s all coming together. I can’t wait until we can break ground, probably this summer.” Tony kissed the tip of her nose.

“Woo-hoooo!” You’re really excited about this, aren’t you?”

“Well, yeah! It’s going to be such a big leap from what I’m used to doing. But I’m going to love it – you will too.”

Nikki trailed a fingertip down his chest. “Shouldn’t we at least tell the family?”

“Naw. I don’t want to. I did tell Vic, though; I’m going to let the Lexington office do all of the work. It’ll get done fast and right, and I won’t have to look over everybody’s shoulders, just spend my time enjoying being with you.”

Nikki snuggled into him. “That, Mr. Walters, sounds like an excellent idea.”

“God, I love these wasabi almonds.” Vic took another handful. “Nik, did you make these?”

“Yeah, but the ones I get from Trader Joe’s are much better.”

“I don’t see how they could be any better.” While Vic kept at the almonds, Tony and John Henry were practically scuffling over the cheddar popcorn. Nikki hadn’t made that; she’d cheated and bought it.

“I love New Year’s so much.” Clayton stuck his hand in the bowl of m&m’s. “I love the bowl games. I love the parades. I think it’s the best holiday ever.”

“Daddy, can I has a cupcake?” Little T asked.

“Go ask your mommy,” Clayton told him, not really paying him much attention.

“She said ask you!” The little boy whined and stomped his foot in frustration.

“Then yes, you can have a cupcake. And bring me one,” Clayton told him.

“Me too, little man,” Tony seconded.

“Der won’t be none foe me if you eat dem aww,” Little T pouted.

“Then have mine.” Tony turned to him and gave Little T his full attention. “I love you, buddy. I want you to eat mine, okay?”

“Okay, Big T! I eat you cupcake!” He ran to the kitchen. Tony beamed, and Clayton chuckled, watching his dad get so mushy over the little guy.

“You let him get away with murder,” Clayton snarled. “You didn’t let us do that shit.”

Tony laughed. “Yeah, well, you were cute, but you weren’t that cute!” Clayton threw an m&m at him.

Nikki came into the great room with a huge platter of hot wings and a roll of paper towels under her arm. “Here, guys. Have at!”

When she set it down, Tony grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his lap. She squealed and kissed him. “You look like you’re feeling a lot better!” he grinned at her.

“I do. I feel really good. I think it’s that therapy I’m getting,” she said, nibbling on a pretzel.

“Therapy? What therapy?” Tony asked her, puzzled.

“The therapy! You know . . .” she repeated, her eyebrows raised.

“Oh,
that
therapy!” he laughed. “Yeah, it’s doing wonders for me too!” Vic groaned, and Clayton made a barfing sound. John Henry looked really, really confused.

“Okay, I’m going back to the kitchen with the girls now. You guys have fun and try to not make a huge mess, please?”

“As soon as you leave the room, we’re going to start throwing food,” Vic told her straight-up. “You should probably just get ready for it.”

“Thanks,” Nikki snarked, shooting him a look. He laughed and threw a marshmallow at her back as she walked out of the room.

Vic looked over at Tony. He’d never seen his cousin as happy as he was right then. “Hey, cuz, is life good for you?”

Tony turned and looked at Vic thoughtfully. “I didn’t think it was possible for a human being to be as happy as I am. Every day is like a huge gift. I don’t think it could get any better. I’m not just happy; I’m having fun. She’s such a joy.” Then he leaned in and whispered, “Plus she makes me feel like a
man
, something I’ve never had before.”

“Good, ’cause you’re one helluva man, the finest man I know. And she seems pretty damn happy with you! You’re both so lucky,” Vic told him and winked.

“No luck – fate. We were meant to be together. Now we’ve got to work on
your
life. I firmly believe that there’s someone for everyone, and there’s someone for you out there, Vic. You’ve just got to find her.” The doorbell rang, and Tony called out, “I’ll get it.”

When he looked through the peephole in the front door, he was surprised at the view. “Hey, stranger! I didn’t know you were coming!”

“Nikki invited me. I brought these.” Laura tried to hand him a container of something.

“Just take that on into the kitchen; all of the girls are in there. Here, let me take your coat.” She slipped it off while he held the container, then they swapped.

As she walked through the kitchen door, Nikki cried out, “Laura! You came! I’m so glad to see you! How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good. Still pretty sore, but pretty good. Thanks for inviting me.” She handed the container to Nikki. “I made these. I hope they’re good.”

Nikki opened the container – white chocolate macadamia nut cookies. All of the girls sampled them; they were past yummy.

“Hey guys! Have some cookies!” She took them into the den, and every one of the guys took one.

“Oh my god, these are delicious,” Vic mumbled, his mouth full, and he reached for another one. “Where’d you get these?”

“Laura made them.”

Vic’s head swiveled to the doorway where Laura stood. She gave all the guys a small wave. “Laura! Hey, how are you?” Vic called to her around the cookie in his mouth.