Fracture (F-BOMB: Curvy Vigilantes #8)

Chapter 20

20

Adam didn’t push Lorelei to talk. He let her be. He distracted her with stories about their coworkers and drove around for as long as she needed before she was ready to talk.

“Find a place to park,” she told him, knowing Adam would understand she wanted to talk.

He drove to Goat Island and found a spot close to the Visitor’s Center and the top of Niagara Falls. They got out of his SUV and made their way toward the scenic overlook.

Lorelei leaned her forearms on the large metal railings that separated sightseers from the deadly drop to the bottom of the Niagara Gorge. She stared at the water and let the breeze drift around her, cooling her skin as the sun warmed it.

“What’s going on?” Adam asked after a few minutes.

Lorelei turned to face him. “I remembered Mark this morning.”

Adam groaned. “Of all people.”

“I said something with Vinnie there.”

“Okay?”

Lorelei scrunched up her face. “I didn’t tell him why we broke up.”

“Because Mark was an insecure dick who thought you were a bitch because you didn’t need him?”

Lorelei snorted. “Pretty much. How am I supposed to tell Vinnie that? That the last relationship I was in was with a man who didn’t want me because I’m too independent.”

“You’re not the same person you were, Lore. You’ve changed. Even more in the last two months. I didn’t want you to go through all the shit you did, but I’m not disappointed you changed a few things about how you live your life.”

“Like not being so independent?” Lorelei asked.

Adam laughed. “Something like that.” He nudged her with his hip. “You’re strong and smart and capable. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Unless it means I’m alone my whole life.”

“If that was what made you happy, then no, there would be nothing wrong with that. But I don’t think it is, and I know you’re not alone. You have a lot of people who care about you.”

“I just don’t have that one who’d do anything for me.”

Adam turned and leaned his hip against the railing. “Did you miss the part about Vinnie risking his job to save you? About him skipping town and not telling anyone where he was going? Or him letting you live with him and taking a leave so he could be there with you? Or all the things he’s done since you disappeared?”

Lorelei fought a smile. “Okay, I guess he has proved a few things.”

“Listen, I love you. You’re an amazing partner and a great friend. I would do anything for you. But the way Vinnie is, the way he looks at you and how he cares for you, that’s how I feel about Raina.”

Lorelei nodded slowly. “Karli and the other girls were saying the same thing last night.”

“I think he’s in love with you. Don’t let something dumb like Mark ruin things with Vinnie.”

Lorelei snorted. “Yeah, you’re right. I…” She shook her head. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You were thinking you’re scared. Because you don’t know for sure that he’s in the same place as you. At some point, you have to ask him. You have to tell him how you feel or risk letting a stupid misunderstanding ruin what you could have. It’s not worth letting him walk away.”

Lorelei nodded. “Thanks, Adam. I appreciate it.”

“Any time. What are you doing to celebrate getting your cast off?”

She shrugged. “Vinnie’s working so I don’t have any plans.”

“Come back to our place. Raina was worried when you called. She knew if it was work she couldn’t be here, but she wants an update.”

“Let’s go see her. I’ll invade you guys for the day and go from there.”

“Sounds good.”

Vinnie was not in a hurry to leave work. After learning the shooter died on the way to the hospital, he had to answer questions about why he took the shot. He knew he was in the right, but it was policy to question everyone. It was a long fucking day.

But after the way he acted that morning with Lorelei, he wasn’t in a hurry to get it over with.

He was finally cleared for duty, and the higher-ups verified that he was within his rights to shoot the man who was pointing a gun at his partner, especially with civilians, including children, in close proximity. Vinnie didn’t like ending a life, but he knew it was part of the job. His least favorite part, but still a part of it.

Night had arrived by the time he made his way to his SUV, and he felt guilty leaving Lorelei for so long. They needed to talk. And if he was honest with himself, he wanted to see her. It was the longest time he’d spent away from her since the day he let himself into her apartment and found her.

He drove home, practicing his apology on the way. When he pulled into his complex, he knew words weren’t enough, but he didn’t want to turn around and go find something else.

He raced up the stairs to his floor, then let himself in without thinking about how dark the apartment was. Not a single light was on.

Vinnie set his bag down near the door and locked the door. He let his eyes adjust and scanned the room. Lorelei wasn’t on the couch or in the kitchen. He turned a light on to make sure nothing had been disturbed.

The apartment looked as though she’d just walked out.

He went through the rest of it, finding her things where they’d been that morning.

“Where is she?”

He pulled out his phone and debated texting or calling her and decided on a text.

Are you okay?

He tapped the side of his phone while he waited for her to reply. He started dinner, since he was hungry and it was late, and tried not to panic that she was gone.

Visiting with Adam and Raina. Karli, Cade, and Jessica came over. I’m going to stay here tonight. We’ve all been drinking.

Vinnie breathed an angry laugh. She went out drinking. With her friends. And didn’t even bother to tell him.

She was done. She didn’t need him. She didn’t even want him. She didn’t invite him to join her, or suggest he pick her up. She just left.

Vinnie finished cooking his dinner, then forced himself to eat it. He turned his phone off and fought against all the things he’d always told himself he was.

Not smart enough.

Not desirable enough.

Not interesting enough.

Unworthy.

He’d been telling himself for weeks she didn’t need him. He didn’t want her to need him. Not really. A relationship like that wouldn’t last. None of his others had. As soon as the women realized he wasn’t going to be there for every little thing, they left, thinking it would wake him up and send him chasing after them.

Been there, done that. And it only prolonged the pain. The anger. The frustration.

He wasn’t going to do it again.

Lorelei never needed him, but she said she wanted him. Marcus said the same. But it was all fuzzy. As soon as the cast was off, Lorelei was gone.

Vinnie couldn’t remember feeling the way he did. Stupid for how wrong he was. Angry for how he let himself fall for her. And yeah, sad because she wasn’t ever going to be his. Not the way he was hers.

He went to bed, hoping sleep would grace him and he could ignore all the shit rolling inside him. After three hours of tossing and turning, he decided he couldn’t just ignore it. He had to do something.

He threw the covers off the bed and got up. He stripped the sheets and carried all of it to the washing machine. He shoved everything in and started the machine, washing her scent off his sheets.

Then Vinnie went to the bathroom. He turned on the light and saw all her products. Skin care, hair care, medications. He gathered all of it onto the coffee table in the living room.

The bedroom was next. Clothes from the floor, drawers, and hamper. He put the dirty clothes in the washing machine when he moved the bed linens to the dryer, then grabbed her suitcases and bag.

One item at a time, he removed her from his apartment until all that was left were three pieces of luggage full of the possessions of the woman he loved and would never be worthy of.

He carried himself back to bed and fought for sleep until his alarm went off far too soon. He took a cold shower that did nothing, then made a pot of coffee.

Vinnie glared at the luggage by the door as he drank his fourth cup of coffee. He scribbled a note and left it on top, then grabbed his keys and hoped like hell she was gone by the time he got home.

Jessica offered to drive Lorelei home when they all got up. Being the two without a significant other in the room, Lorelei took her up on the offer.

“How is it not having the cast on?” Jessica asked as she drove away from Adam’s house.

“I think good. So far. I was a little sore yesterday after Adam and I went to the Falls, but it was okay after a little rest.”

“I’ve never broken anything, but I imagine you figure out in a hurry what you can do.”

Lorelei chuckled. “Yeah. Not my first broken bone, unfortunately.”

“Are you remembering more stuff?”

“Yeah. It’s weird what comes back and what doesn’t. I know there are big holes in my memory. Things that feel like they’re right there, but when I reach for them, they scatter.”

“Maybe you’re not ready to deal with those yet.”

“Probably, but the longer it is, the more worried I’m not going to remember. The attack… I don’t want to relive it, but I know it’s important. I know there’s something from the time I am missing that will make a huge difference.”

“Have you thought about hypnosis or something like that?”

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah, but trusting people is still hard.”

Jessica inhaled deep. “I know that feeling.”

“I still can’t believe this one case has affected so many people in the same group.”

“We know each other, so we have connections that were vulnerable. That were taken advantage of.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

Jessica pulled into the apartment lot and parked.

“Do you want to come up?”

Jessica shook her head. “No, but thanks. Braden should be getting home soon.”

Lorelei grinned. “I know you’re anxious to see him. Thanks for the ride. I know I’ll see you soon.”

Jessica hugged Lorelei. “I hope so.”

Lorelei said goodbye and got out, heading up to the apartment. Her ankle was sore by the time she made it upstairs, but she was happy to be home.

Vinnie’s home. But close enough. Lorelei decided after her talk with Adam the day before that she was going to tell Vinnie how she felt. That she was going to let him know all about Mark and why things ended and how she threw herself into work after that and tried to prove him wrong but only ended up getting herself kidnapped. How Vinnie was?—

Lorelei stopped at the door. Her bags were packed. Literally. Sitting just inside the front door and ready for her to go.

“No,” she said, closing the door and locking it before stomping through the apartment to find Vinnie.

He wasn’t there, of course. She knew he wasn’t there when she walked in.

She went back to the living room and stared at the luggage. A note was tucked into the handle of one of the suitcases.

Lorelei didn’t want to read the note. She didn’t want to see his dismissal of her. She wasn’t done with him. She couldn’t believe he was done with her.

Lorelei stared at the note like it was going to attack her and dug in her handbag for her phone. She glanced away from the note long enough to pull up Karli’s name and tap.

“Are you okay? I thought Jessica was taking you back to Vinnie’s,” Karli said as she answered the phone.

“She did. But Vinnie’s at work and all my stuff is packed.”

“What? He packed your things?”

Lorelei nodded. “Yeah. I came home, here, whatever, ready to tell him I’m in love with him, and he’s ready to push me out the door.”

“Don’t let him.”

“What do you mean? It’s his apartment.”

“Sure, but that doesn’t mean you have to make it easy. I’ll come get you and we’ll get together with everyone. Come up with a plan. Make sure he knows he can’t just end things without a conversation.”

“I don’t know.”

“Get your ass downstairs now. I’ll be there in ten.”

“Okay.”

Lorelei hung up the phone and sighed. Was she wrong? She thought Vinnie felt the same.

She shook her head and walked out, leaving her bags packed by the door, the note still on top. Whatever he had to say, he was going to say it to her face.

Karli was alone when she pulled into the lot, which Lorelei was grateful for. She liked Cade, but she needed her cousin for this one.

“Frannie said to come to Shelter in the Storm. We’re all going to meet there. It’s quiet today.”

Lorelei nodded, trying to make sense of her jumbled thoughts while Karli drove across town to the shelter. Karli parked on the street close by, and they walked two blocks. Frannie welcomed them in, guiding them to a living room at the front of the old house turned shelter.

Jessica, Raina, and Dawn were already there when Karli and Lorelei arrived. Mackenzie and Edie showed up as Stacey walked down the hallway from her office, then they all turned to Lorelei.

“He packed your things?” Edie asked.

Lorelei nodded. “I didn’t go through the apartment, but that’s what it looked like.”

“Are you sure he wasn’t packing to take you on a trip?” Mackenzie asked.

“With only my suitcases?” Lorelei replied.

“Yeah, probably not,” Raina said.

“What did you guys talk about the last time you saw him?” Stacey asked.

“My ex-boyfriend. I had a memory come back about him, and I mentioned him,” Lorelei admitted, picking at her nail beds.

“You didn’t tell me that,” Karli said.

Lorelei shrugged. She looked up at Raina. “I called Adam yesterday about it. He knew the guy. Told me I was better off without him. Mark wasn’t right for me. He was… too neat.”

“It’s bad to be neat?” Dawn asked.

Lorelei shook her head. “No, but it’s bad when his clothes had to be perfectly pressed and he didn’t like me doing my job.”

“Why would he not like your job? You’re a badass,” Karli said.

“Thanks, but it seemed he wanted to be the strong one. He wanted me to need him. I broke my arm and went right back to work when my cast came off. He dumped me because I didn’t need him anymore, and he liked me relying on him for everything.” Lorelei’s throat tingled with shame.

“He wasn’t worthy of you,” Frannie said. “But Vinnie isn’t like that. Do you know about his family?”

Lorelei nodded. “He told me his grandmother raised him.”

“Did he tell you how he met Marcus?”

Lorelei tried to remember the story but came up blank. She knew they had history, but Vinnie never shared the story.

“Vinnie is a good man. One of the best. But he’s never had anyone who wanted him in their life. He’s always done what you just said and thrown himself into work. When things get hard, he digs into his job. He’s smart, and he’s capable, and he has a bright future, but there’s a reason he’s single. And it’s not because he’s not a good man.”

“You can only push someone so far,” Stacey said to Frannie. “If he’s not willing to try to make a relationship work, it shouldn’t be up to Lorelei to do the work for both of them.”

Frannie shook her head. “No, it shouldn’t. I agree. But I also think Vinnie’s scared. I think he heard about an ex and assumed there was more there. That he immediately saw himself as not good enough. And he panicked. Especially since you didn’t go home last night.”

Lorelei’s eyes widened. “He thinks since I don’t need him that I don’t want him.”

Frannie shrugged. “That would be my guess. We’re always looking for signs around here, for warnings that a man is not going to treat you the way you deserve, but I’ve known Vinnie for a long time, and he’s the most loyal, dedicated, kind man I’ve ever known.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” Lorelei admitted.

“Then don’t let him get away. Fight for what you want. And if he’s done, you’ll let him go, but I don’t think that’s what going on here. It just stinks you have to be the one to push back.”

“She’s good at that, don’t worry,” Karli said with a wink at Lorelei.

“I better be, because I’m not ready for things to be over between us.”