by Laura Ann
“We’re all brothers,” another from the back shot out. He walked forward. “I’m Ridge, this is Sawyer,” he motioned to the one leaning on the desk, “this is Archer, and the big guy is Roman.” Ridge folded his arms over his chest. “See, the problem is, we’re family. And you...well, you made the stupid mistake of hurting our sister.”
Andrew’s eyebrows shot up. “So, you’re here to what? Beat me up? Teach me a lesson?”
Sawyer cocked his head. “As much as we’d like to do those things, we happen to be protectors, not attackers.” He snorted. “That seems to be your specialty.”
“Me?” Andrew slowly stood from his chair. “You think I’m an attacker?” He leaned in. “My grandmother was taken by a madman and you’re upset at me? I know I might have said some harsh things in the heat of the moment, but that has nothing to do with any of you.”
Sawyer curled his lip and growled, but Ridge put a hand on his shoulder. “I don’t think you quite understand the situation, Mr. Fancy Pants.” Ridge gave him a sarcastic grin. “It’s because our sister did her job that your grandmother is alive and well. The problem is that after she did just that, you opened your dumb mouth, broke her heart, and now she’s leaving.”
“She’s what?” Andrew fell into his seat. He hadn’t considered that Val would go to such drastic measures. He thought he’d have time to talk to her, convince her he made a mistake and then they’d pick up where they left off.The thought of Val being gone permanently struck him deep to the core, and he felt nausea begin to well up in his stomach.
“This is all my fault,” Grams moaned.
“It sounds to me like it’s Andrew’s fault,” Luke muttered with a crooked grin.
“You’re the victim here, Grams,” Andrew said off-handedly, ignoring Luke’s barb. “None of this is your fault.” His eyes darted wildly around the room. “I have to stop her. I thought I’d have time.” He groaned and put his head in his hands. “How do I get through to her? I’ve been trying all week to reach her.” He glared at the bodyguards. “But all of you have been keeping me from speaking to her. Were you tracking her phone as well?”
Sawyer had the decency to look sheepish, but only for a moment. “She hasn’t been ready to see you. She’s recovering from her injury and you would only make things worse!”
“How can I fix it if I can’t speak to her!” Andrew shouted.
“Oh...shut up!” Grams shouted.
All six men turned to look at her with matching shocked expressions.
Grams pointed her finger at Andrew. “I tried to tell you back when it all happened, but you were too caught up in your worry to listen.” She pulled a handkerchief out of her purse and began to dab her eyes. “This isn’t the first time that nasty man approached me.”
“What?” Andrew roared, leaping from his seat.
Sawyer practically leapt over the desk and shoved him back down. “Stay there or I’ll make you stay,” he snarled.
Andrew itched to reach out and slam Sawyer’s face into the desk, but he refrained. Obviously there was more to this story than he knew. He turned toward Grams. “Tell me everything.”
She sniffled and delicately wiped her nose. “Several weeks ago, I paid the ice cream vendor so that we could give away the ice cream from his cart.” She glared at Andrew. “You should know. It was the day you came to get a Fudgesicle.”
He nodded, impatient for her to continue.
“Ever since then, I’ve seen him around the park.”
“He works there,” Andrew started, but he snapped his mouth shut when Ridge turned and scowled.
“Not when he was working.” Grams dabbed her eyes again. “I love going to the park because it reminds me of you and Margarite.” She closed her eyes and sighed. “Whenever Valentina and I would be around, I’d spot him. He acted as if nothing was amiss, but more than once, I caught him watching me. His look was...not friendly.”
“And Val didn’t see him?” Sawyer asked incredulously. “That’s not like her at all.”
“She was distracted,” Grams said, her bottom lip trembling. “I was so anxious for her and Andrew to get together that I would urge her to answer a text or talk to him and it was always during those times that he made himself known.”
“When you lost the balloons at the park,” Andrew breathed in revelation. “Why didn’t you say something?”
Grams shrugged. “I was so happy for you two and didn’t want to ruin it.” She sniffed. “Besides, I didn’t believe he would actually do anything.” She splayed her hands to the side. “What could an ice cream vendor do to hurt me?”
“A lot apparently,” Andrew said. “Oh, Grams...”
“And then that day during the barbecue, I spotted him again.”
The room quieted.
“I...” Grams wrung her hands in her lap. “He was lurking around the edge of the trees and wouldn’t leave. I thought it would be all right if I just spoke to him, told him to leave me alone.”
“Are you kidding me?” Andrew’s jaw felt like it would hit the floor. “What in the world made you feel like that was a good idea?”
She straightened defensively. “I thought I would be all right with the skills Valentina taught me.”
Andrew groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Unbelievable,” Andrew murmured as the rest of the room grumbled under their breaths.
“Who knew ice cream was so dangerous?” Luke said with a shake of his head.
“So, you see? I kept important information back. If Val had known, she’d have never left my side.”
“Which is exactly what you wanted her to do,” Andrew pointed out. “You encouraged her to come see me.” He put his head in his hands. “And I left her behind.” Sawyer snorted again, but Andrew ignored him.
“Left her behind with a concussion and a bloody head,” Archer grumbled.
Self-loathing hit Andrew in the gut. “I know,” he rasped. “I was just so caught up in the thought of Grams being hurt or killed that it didn’t register. I saw it. I saw she was hurt, but it didn’t...” He shook his head. If he’d been feeling bad before, he was feeling far worse now. Lower than the dirt on Sawyer’s boots.
Ridge interrupted. “Now that you know the truth, what are you going to do about it?”
“That,” Luke said ominously, “is the question.”
CHAPTER 19
“Honestly?” Andrew said, slumping back in his chair, ignoring his urge to punch Luke. “I don’t know what to do about it.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “She must hate me. Especially after leaving her with an injury. It had to make her feel like I don’t care at all.”
“We know,” Archer said dryly. “You know we’ve been staying with her because of her concussion and truth be told, I don’t think the injury is what has been keeping her in bed all week.”
Andrew gulped, his heart wrenching at the thought of Val hurting because of him. This is even worse than I thought. “Is she doing okay now? Has she recovered from everything?”
“If crying buckets of tears and refusing to eat or get out of bed means okay, then yeah, she’s okay,” Ridge said sarcastically. He folded his arms over his chest. “Her head might be recovering, but her heart isn’t even close. We don’t exactly take kindly to people hurting our own that way. And now she’s got it in her head that she's going to leave. She plans to go back to the military.”
“I don’t understand why she would leave,” Andrew said softly. “Why leave Lockwood?”
“So she never has to see your face again,” Sawyer growled. “You broke her! She told me the things you said, the promises you made.” Sawyer’s breathing picked up. “You broke down every one of her defenses only to drop her like a hot brick at the first sign of trouble.” He shook his head. “You don’t deserve her.”
Andrew felt every part of him deflate. “You’re right. I don’t.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what you want from me. She’ll never forgive me.” He closed his eyes. “But if beating me to a pul
p will make you feel better, then go ahead.”
“I wish,” Roman muttered, speaking for the first time since they’d arrived.
Luke snickered.
“We came to see if you would man up enough to talk to her,” Archer said, coming up to stand by Ridge. “She loves you. You’re the one who broke her heart, and you’re the only one who can fix it.”
Andrew looked up and practically snarled, “If you recall, I’ve tried to do that all week, but you’ve been stopping me.”
“She wasn’t ready,” Sawyer snapped.
“And just who are you to decide that?” Andrew stood up, challenging Sawyer.
“Knock it off!” Ridge shouted, stepping up to the two strutting men. He turned to Andrew. “We know we’ve held you back, but now we need you. We want you to talk her into staying,” Ridge said softly.
“But how?” Andrew asked. “How can I do that? Much as I hate to admit it, Sawyer’s right. I don’t deserve to be forgiven.”
Ridge and Sawyer exchanged a look, then brought their matching blue eyes back to him.
“You definitely don’t deserve her, but unfortunately, her heart is set on you.” Ridge smirked. “If you’re up for a few bruises, we think we can get it to all work out.”
Andrew stood and offered his hand. “I’ll do anything.”
“I think we need to give her a few more days,” Sawyer said, then held up his hand when Andrew moved to interrupt. “Her head still isn’t quite right, which means she can’t go signing a contract yet. Let her head heal and then we’ll work on her heart.”
Andrew thought about it, then nodded firmly. He was ready to do anything if it meant getting back to Val. His world had lost all its color and he was ready to have it back.
Luke slapped his hands together and rubbed them in glee. “Oh, this is gonna be good.”
Ridge raised an eyebrow. “Is he always like this?”
Andrew rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”
“COME ON, VAL,” SAWYER urged her. “Give it a little more time.”
Val sighed and shifted the phone to her ear. “I’ve told you, I made up my mind, Sawyer.”
“Why don’t you come down to the office and we can have a go at the mats, huh? Maybe I’ll even think about letting you win this time. Your head should be ready to go by now.”
Val closed her eyes. I’m going to miss this. How do I walk away from my family? We’re not blood-related like Andrew and Lola, but they’re family all the same. “I don’t know. I haven’t really been up to sparring lately.”
“Exactly why you need to!” Sawyer exclaimed. “There’s no way they’ll take you back if you’re completely out of shape,” he egged her on.
“Val!” Ridge’s voice came through in the background. “You’ve gotta come fight him! His head is way too big for his body— oof!”
There was a scuffling sound that brought a small smile to Val’s face. She could just imagine the wrestling match going on on the other side of the phone.
“Just think about the bragging rights,” Ridge panted into the speaker again. “You beat him when you’re totally out of shape! It’ll set you for life! Hey!” Ridge’s voice got farther away and there was more shouting.
“Come on, sis. Come beat a brother up,” Sawyer was back on the line.
“I don’t really feel like it,” Val started.
“You can’t just sit in your apartment all day and mope, Val,” Sawyer said in a softer tone. “He doesn’t deserve your time. Don’t let him take away your spirit that we all love.”
Val closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Sawyer was right. Andrew might have broken her heart, but it was Val who had let it break her life. She still hurt. She was still aching. In fact, she knew the pain might never go away, but obviously staying cooped up in bed wasn’t going to make it any better. I ought to know. I’ve certainly been trying for long enough.
Two weeks of staying inside her apartment was starting to wear on her nerves anyway. “Okay,” she whispered. “I’ll come.”
“YES!” Ridge yelled in the background. “It’s about time you got that nincompoop out of your head!”
Val couldn’t help but chuckle at Ridge’s shout in the background and Sawyer’s subsequent scolding.
“Meet me at the office in an hour.” Sawyer chuckled. “We’ll see who walks away with those bragging rights.”
Val set down her phone and scrubbed her hands down her face. “What have I gotten myself into?” she questioned. She leaned over and sniffed her armpit. “Ugh. Guess I’m showering before I exercise so I can shower again.” She shook her head, but headed down the hall. Already, the thought of getting up and doing something was helping lift her spirits.
She went through her normal routine, grateful her body still knew how to move, and eventually drove to the firm. Val parked and looked up at the building, taking a deep breath. “Here we go.” She pushed her door open and walked inside.
“Valentina!” Cora jumped up from her spot at the front desk and hurried around, grabbing Val in a tight hug. “Oh, we missed you so much!” Cora pulled back, her misty eyes causing Val’s to do the same. “It’s just not the same without your feminine touch!”
Val barked a laugh and smiled. It felt slightly rusty, but she was so grateful for Cora’s warm welcome.
“These boys go completely to the dogs while you’re gone, Val,” Cora said in a mock whisper. Her eyes twinkled with mirth. “I’m just not as good as you are at keeping them in line.”
“Cora!” Harlan’s deep voice came from the entrance to the hall. He pointed at the now empty desk where a phone was ringing.
Cora turned to Val, rolled her eyes, then hurried back to her station.
Val met Harlan’s concerned gaze. “Good to see you back, Val,” he said softly. Then, with a nod, he disappeared down the hall.
Val took a deep breath and walked across the lobby toward the gym entrance. As she passed Cora’s desk, Cora was just putting the phone down. “Don’t you let him get away with treating you like that,” Val hissed.
Cora’s green eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open a little.
“If he’s going to push, you push right back, ya hear? You’ll never get Harlan’s attention by sitting back and doing nothing.”
Cora snapped her mouth shut and her cheeks turned a fiery red that matched her hair, but she nodded.
Val nodded in return, then continued on her way. Everyone in the office, except perhaps for Harlan, knew how Cora felt about the brooding boss of the company. She’d been friends with Harlan’s younger sister Goldie when they were all young and now she worked for the grown-up triplets. Val wanted nothing but good things for Cora and Harlan and hoped that by encouraging Cora, something might come of the attraction.
With her mind still back at the front desk, Val pushed open the gym door and walked inside. After a few steps, she froze. “A-Andrew?” A noise behind her had Val spinning in place. The door was just shutting and she immediately ran to it and tried to pull it open, but it wouldn’t budge. “No,” she breathed. “Sawyer Damien Lockwood! You let me out of this room!” she screamed.
“It’s no use,” Andrew said from behind her. “They told me they wouldn’t let you out until we’d sorted this thing between us.”
Val jerked around and allowed the betrayal she felt to turn into boiling hot anger. “This thing? What thing is that, Mr. McPherson? The thing where I gave you my heart and you ripped it to shreds?” She took a bold step forward when he winced. “Or how about the thing where I protected your grandmother only to have you leave me behind like last week’s garbage?”
He opened his mouth, but she plowed on.
“Or what about the thing where you told me I was important to you, then took it back? Or—”
“I get it!” Andrew shouted, holding up a hand. “I get it,” he said softer, now that he had her attention. “I screwed up. Royally.” He straightened his shoulders. “That’s why I’m here.”
“Seeking t
o ease your guilty conscience?” Val snarled. “No, thank you. I’m not interested.” She turned back and tugged on the door again.
“Val.” Andrew reached out and touched her shoulder, but Val was having none of it. Without thought, she grabbed his hand, spinning to grab his collar, and threw him to the ground.
“Don’t touch me,” she ground out, her chest heaving with emotion.
“Got it,” Andrew croaked, his hands in the air. After a moment, he sucked in a lungful of air and Val felt the tiniest prick of shame that she’d slammed him so hard.
Knowing the door was useless, she walked further into the room, heading straight for the punching bag. It took Andrew a few minutes to regain his breath enough to stand and follow her. Val ignored him and started hitting the bag. The sting in her knuckles was welcome as she danced around, although she knew she would probably regret not wearing gloves tomorrow.
“Val, we need to talk,” Andrew said from the other side of the bag.
“I think everything was already said,” she pushed out between breaths.
Andrew stepped back and held the bag for her. “No. It wasn't. There were things I didn’t understand, things Grams explained.”
Val paused, straightening her stance. “How wonderful that you have such close family to talk to,” she barked.
Andrew’s face fell. “I know you hate me, and believe me, I hate myself, but can’t you even begin to see things from my side?”
“What side? The jerky side? The liar side?”
“I was AFRAID!” Andrew finally bellowed.
Val dropped her arms. “What?”
ANDREW HAD EXPECTED this conversation to go badly, but this was a whole new level of purgatory. His back ached from where she had thrown him to the floor, and his head spun from all the tension and anger in the room. Not to mention his heart, which he’d thought would never work properly again, was pounding and pulsing with such a painful, erratic rhythm, he found it miraculous he was still standing.
“I was afraid, Val,” he said again. He turned and took a few steps, then turned back. “Grams is the only family that’s ever been there for me. I have people like Luke in my life, who are fantastic, but blood relatives?” He shook his head. “She’s it. I’m aware enough to see her growing older. I can see her getting more and more frail.” A smirk tugged on the edge of his mouth. “Or, it was until you convinced her she’s big enough to take on a giant. And her mind is still as sharp as a tack.”