by Laura Ann
“HOLD STILL,” ANDREW growled through clenched teeth as Grams once again tried to squirm away from him. “You need to go with the paramedics to get checked out.”
“I’m fine!” she huffed. “I might have a bruise or two, but Val—”
“Stop.” Andrew squeezed his eyes shut and took in a long breath through his nose. “We need to get you checked out first. Then we’ll worry about her.”
Grams gave him an incredulous look. “What is wrong with you?” she asked, stepping back. “She—”
“What is wrong with me is the fact that you were attacked,” Andrew snarled.
Gram’s eyes widened and she stepped back even further. “You don’t understand,” she said, her voice trembling.
“I understand perfectly. You were put in jeopardy,” Andrew said, straightening his body. He motioned to one of the emergency responders, who came trotting over. “My grandmother was the woman attacked and she needs to be looked at.”
The man nodded and began to escort Grams away.
Grams planted her feet and turned back, her elbow still in the hand of the paramedic. “Don’t do anything rash, Andrew. You don’t understand what happened.” With that parting shot, she allowed herself to be taken away.
Andrew pinched the bridge of his nose and took in another long breath. His heart was beating wilder than it ever had before and his mind was screaming in agony. He could have lost Grams today. He had hired Val to keep her safe, and yet she was dragged into the woods by a madman. A war was raging within himself and he didn’t know who to side with. He was angry that the situation had ever happened, he was ashamed that he had encouraged Val to step away from his grandmother, and he was terrified that he could have lost the only relative he actually loved.
“Andrew?” Val’s voice was soft and tentative, but rather than soften Andrew’s feelings, it flared his temper.
Spinning, he looked at Val, but his eyes couldn’t seem to focus. His mind had left with Grams and he found himself itching to go check on her. “What?” he snapped, rubbing his forehead in agitation.
Val’s eyes widened and her lips began to tremble, but Andrew’s emotions were already too overloaded to pay attention to her distress. “I’m sorry, I—”
Andrew was in no mood to hear anything she had to say. He could see the blood dripping down her forehead, but even the knowledge that she was hurt wasn’t penetrating at the moment. “I nearly lost the one person I care most about in this world, Val. I’m a little busy.” He started to turn to go after the paramedic, desperate to check in.
Val flinched at his words, which were in direct opposition to the sweet things he had spoken earlier.
“I understand—”
Again, Andrew cut her off. He slashed a hand through the air. “You don’t have any close family, so you couldn’t possibly understand what I’m going through.”
Andrew barely registered that Val’s eyes were slowly filling with tears. She blinked a couple of times and a visible shield came over her. Her body stiffened and all traces of emotion disappeared from her face.
Andrew shook his head, his mind so full of fear and despair, he couldn’t think straight. “Sorry. Look, I just need to—”
“I think you need to leave.” The deep voice drew Andrew from the dark place he was drowning in, and he turned to see one of the other bodyguards coming over to where he and Val were conversing.
Andrew nodded hurriedly. “You’re right. Grams needs me.” He glanced at Val, who now had an emergency worker at her side. “You’ll be fine.” Without a proper goodbye or staying to see if she was all right, Andrew turned and made a frantic dash across the park. He headed to the ambulance where Grams was sitting on the back step, chatting with the paramedic. She had a blanket around her shoulders, and other than looking dirty and mussed, she looked to be in good spirits.
Her eyes lit up as Andrew approached, then fell as she glanced behind him. “Where’s Valentina?”
“She doesn’t need me,” Andrew rushed to say. He put his hands on Grams’s shoulders and looked her over. Some of his fear began to dissipate as he saw she was doing all right.
Grams’s gaze narrowed. “What do you mean, she doesn’t need you?”
“She’s with her friends. She’s fine,” Andrew said with more force. “Forget about her for a minute, will you?” He turned to the emergency worker. “Is she really all right?”
“Shaken, but fine,” the man said. He glanced at Grams. “She doesn’t need to go in unless she wants to.”
Grams stood and slammed the blanket into the paramedic’s chest. He scrambled to grab it before it hit the ground. Once she was free, Grams stormed to Andrew and poked him in the chest. “What. Did. You. Do?”
Andrew gently took her finger and moved it. “What?”
“If you hurt that girl, so help me—”
“I didn’t hurt anyone!” Andrew shouted, then paused and sighed. “Look, Grams. Val isn’t the important one here. If you’d been hurt—”
“You block-headed Neanderthal! When are you going to stop talking and listen?”
Andrew drew back. “I’m sorry. Should I not stand up for your safety? Would you rather I sat back and watched as that man mugged and possibly killed you?”
“Argh!” Lola threw up her hands and walked away, stomping loudly with each step.
Andrew hurried over to grab her elbow, but she ripped it out of his grip. “I’m going home,” she stated firmly.
“Let’s walk back to the office and we’ll grab the car.”
“Not with you.” Grams put her nose in the air. “I’ve had all I can handle of you at the moment.”
Andrew pinched his lips together. I’m not the bad guy here! Instead of speaking his thoughts out loud, he blew a long breath out his mouth and tried again. “It will be much more comfortable to ride with me than in a taxi.”
“No, thank you,” Grams said primly.
Andrew closed his eyes and prayed for strength. He was about to lose it. He couldn’t concentrate. Heck, he couldn’t even think straight at the moment. Everything was happening so fast and all he knew was that he needed to get Grams home. “I won’t be able to rest until I know you’re safe, Grams.”
Grams paused, turned to him, and gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry to cause you such trouble, but I’m not the one you should be worried about.”
Andrew frowned. If I’m not worried about my family, then who should I be worried about?
“But I’m taking a cab home, and as a grown, independent woman, you have no right to stop me.” With that, she stepped toward the street and hailed the closest cab, quickly climbing in and speeding away.
Andrew stood dumbfounded, watching her go. He slowly shook his head. “How? Why?” He absentmindedly rubbed at his heart where an ache had started to form. Grams had just left him. The woman he cared about more than anyone had almost been killed, then had left him high and dry. A sharp feeling of abandonment tore through his chest, and Andrew had to force himself to keep breathing.
He glanced back at the woods, wondering if he should go back and check on Val, but an ambulance was just leaving and the woods looked quiet.
His energy completely gone, Andrew managed to drag his feet toward the office, deciding then and there that he would take the rest of the day off and go home. I’ll talk to Grams in the morning, and hopefully we’ll get this all worked out. After Grams is settled, then I can go check on Val. Still feeling completely out of sorts, Andrew slowly wandered back home.
CHAPTER 18
“Hey, sleepyhead,” Sawyer said with a smirk as Val padded out of her bedroom.
“Hey, yourself,” she croaked. She put a hand to her head and squeezed her eyes shut.
“You still have a headache?”
Val nodded, then regretted it.
“Hang on. I’ll grab the prescription.”
She heard Sawyer stand up and walk over to the kitchen sink where they had left the bottle of pain pills from the doctor at the
hospital. Val had suffered a concussion, which was no surprise to anyone, from her hit on the head during the scuffle with the ice cream man. It was proving to be a difficult ailment to get rid of, as her head continued to ache even a week later. However, Val was certain the pills wouldn’t really help. Her head was not the only thing that ached. In fact, her entire body felt like it had been put through the meat grinder. Apparently that’s what happens when the man you give your heart to rips it in half.
“Here.” Sawyer’s hand came into her vision with two pills and a glass of water. “Take these,. They’ll help.”
Val almost teased Sawyer about playing nursemaid, but she was struggling to find it within her to banter with him. In fact, she had found it a struggle to do anything during the last seven days. Anything except cry and lay in bed anyway. She hadn’t watched television, read a book, or even checked her phone since she’d been home. Truth was, she wasn’t sure where her phone was. I probably lost it during the fight. It’s most likely stolen by now.
“You ready to tell me the full story?” Sawyer asked, squatting down in front of her.
One of the Lockwood Industries employees had been staying with her ever since the concussion, so Val hadn’t been alone all week, which had led to everyone knowing she was more than just hurt on her head. In her tiny apartment, there was no way to hide the gut-wrenching sobs that visited her several times a day, or the large trash bags of tissues she kept setting next to the garbage can.
The one thing in her favor was the fact that no one had overheard her conversation with Andrew. Archer had seen Val’s reaction to Andrew’s angry tirade and had stepped in, but he hadn’t heard exactly what had been said. Add to that the fact that nobody knew how far her relationship with Andrew had progressed, and the whole team was at a loss.
“Val...” Sawyer reached out and put his hand on her knee. “Come on, sis. You can tell me. You’re breaking everyone’s heart.”
Val’s lower lip trembled again and she began to sniff.
Sawyer took the medication and glass and set it on the coffee table. With a sigh, he sank down beside her on the couch. “I know I’m a poor substitute, but come here.” He wrapped his bulky arms around her and Val collapsed into his chest, the crying coming on strong, as if it would never stop.
Sawyer rubbed her back and hummed as she once again purged herself of the overwhelming heartbreak she was going through. When the episode finally slowed down, Sawyer grabbed a close box of tissues and handed them to her. “How long have you been in love with him?” he asked softly.
Val sat up and scrubbed at her face. “What are you talking about?” she hedged.
Sawyer gave her a look. “I’ve watched Ridge and Roman enough to see what’s going on, Val. Just because I have no plans to settle down doesn’t mean I’m blind or an idiot.”
She shoved his shoulder and tried to laugh, but it was too shaky to be believable. “I think I started falling for him the day I couldn’t pin him to the ground,” she finally murmured.
Sawyer whistled low under his breath. “Caught your attention, huh?” He made an exaggerated frown. “Funny. Me beating you never did that.”
Val rolled her eyes, then winced and pressed a hand to her forehead. “Not funny,” she said through her clenched teeth.
“Sorry.” But Sawyer’s smirk was anything but. “Go on.”
She sighed and slumped back, resting her head along the back of the cushion. “I thought he would be everything I didn’t like. I mean, he’s gorgeous and he’s rich.” She turned her head. “That had to mean he’d be an egotistical jerk just like all the other rich guys, right?”
“Can’t answer that!” Sawyer put his hands in the air. “I have quite a few rich people in the family and I kinda like them.”
Val waved her hand in a perfect imitation of Lola. “The Gruffmans don’t count. They’re a completely different breed.”
Sawyer snorted, but didn’t speak.
“Anyway, working with Lola, I started to realize he wasn’t what I thought.” Val’s eyes dropped to her lap where she was nervously shredding a tissue. “Lola herself was eccentric, but warm and loving. She raised Andrew to be the same way.”
“He’s eccentric?” Sawyer’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t get that from him at all.”
A small smile graced her face. “No. He’s warm. He’s kind. He’s...” She sighed. “He was perfect,” she whispered thickly.
Sawyer put his arm around her. “He had to be to catch your eye. If things were going so well, what happened?”
“I failed.” Val hung her head.
“At what?”
“At keeping Lola safe!” Val exclaimed, ignoring the shooting pain in her head.
“That’s the stupidest piece of—”
“Don’t you dare cuss,” Val scolded.
“Then stop saying stupid stuff.” Sawyer scooted back so he could see her better. “Tell me what that piece of garbage said to you.”
Val gulped. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s over.”
“Oh, yes it does,” Sawyer argued. “I want to hear exactly what Mr. High and Mighty said that would turn my favorite sister into a shell of her former self.”
Val sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her sleeve. “Don’t let Goldie hear you say that. And it doesn’t matter, Sawyer. He’s gone. Lola’s gone. I’ll never see them again.”
“I wish he were gone,” Sawyer grumbled. “I’ll probably have to see his ugly mug when we do those security gigs for parties and stuff.”
Val stiffened. Oh, no! I hadn’t thought of that. Her mind whirled and her heart panicked at the idea of seeing Andrew again. He hated her. He might not have spoken the words, but he said enough, and the wild look in his eyes was more than she could handle. I can’t go through that again. I can’t. I just can’t.
“I’ve made a decision,” Val announced suddenly, putting her chin in the air.
Sawyer stopped his complaining and frowned. “What’s that?”
“I’m going to go back into the military.”
“What?” Sawyer jumped up from the couch, looking like he had been electrocuted. “You’re leaving us?”
“It’s for the best,” Val said, keeping her gaze down. She couldn’t bear to meet his gaze. He would know she didn’t want to do it. She wanted to stay with her brothers at Lockwood Industries and keep helping people like Lola, but the idea of Andrew still being close by was too much. She wouldn’t be able to survive another encounter with him. She could hear Sawyer’s breathing pick up speed and out of her periphery could see his fists clench and unclench.
“Best for whom?” he asked hoarsely. “I thought we were in this together. Supporting Harlan, using our skills. And now you’re going to go and let some bonehead ruin it all?”
“I can’t do it, Sawyer!” Val jumped to her feet, then closed her eyes as the room swayed a little. “I can’t do it,” she whispered in a desperate voice, letting herself drop back to the couch. She leaned forward and put her head in her hands. “I can’t do it.”
ANDREW SQUEEZED HIS stress ball until he thought it would break. Seven days. It had been seven long days since he’d seen or spoken to Val, and he’d been utterly miserable.
It hadn’t taken long after arriving home to realize he’d reacted badly. In his fear, he’d said things he didn’t mean and had pushed Val away rather than thanking her for saving his grandmother’s life and making sure that Val was all right. She’d been bleeding and Andrew hadn’t even checked on her. Heaven knew that during the barbecue he hadn’t seen a thing and it was only because Val was so invested in her job that she had bothered to notice that Lola was missing.
“But did you say that to her? Nope. Instead you told her she didn’t matter and then ran away while she was hurt.” He huffed derisively. “What a boyfriend you make.” If I still am her boyfriend. I’m not sure if she’ll ever forgive me for this.
He scratched at the stubble on his face. He hated facial hair, but his grooming habit
s during the last week had gone severely downhill. There were dark circles under his eyes and his hair was uncombed. His dress shirt needed to be ironed and he wasn’t even sure that his socks matched. At least I brushed my teeth and put on deodorant, he mused. “Better than nothing.”
Andrew had tried to stop by Val’s apartment several times during the week, but he was always turned away by a growling bodyguard, who insisted she wasn’t up for visitors. Texts and calls to her phone had never been answered. He was growing more and more frustrated and more and more worried. How can I apologize if I can’t ever talk to her?
His door banged open and Andrew jerked upright.
“There he is. The idiot grandson,” Lola said dryly, waltzing into the room with Luke and four very large men behind her.
“Mrs. McPherson!” Margene, the secretary hissed. “You can’t just go in there!” She looked up at the broad men, who all wore matching scowls, and scurried backward. “I’ll just let you handle this,” she whimpered, hurrying back to her desk.
Andrew held in the desire to roll his eyes and motioned toward the couch. “Have a seat, gentlemen.”
No one moved except Luke. “Don’t mind if I do,” he said snarkily and waltzed over to the seating area.
Andrew sighed and leaned back. “You might as well come all the way in or we won’t be able to have a decent conversation.”
The bulky men moved further into the room, closing the door behind them. Grams walked over primly and sat herself in one of the chairs. Andrew studied the slight bruising on her arms, feeling his temper flare once more about what happened to her last week.
A thump brought his attention back to the men, one of whom had dropped his fists onto Andrew’s desk and was looming forward. “You’ve made a grave mistake,” he said.
Andrew narrowed his gaze. “You’re one of the Lockwood brothers. Which one are you?” He ignored the threat. The problem between him and Val was just that...between him and Val. Andrew wasn’t impressed that the crew had come over to threaten him.