Turning away from the mirror, she reached for the wrought-iron doorknob and realized that she had gone from tears to smiling. Opening the way out, she - Looked up into the grim face of Vincent diPietro.
He was leaning against the wall right across from the private bathroom, his arms crossed over his chest, his big body tensed up in spite of what should have been a relaxed pose. His expression was of a man who'd just had his gut slit open.
Chapter 21
The problem was, he had no reason and no right to feel sucker punched.
As Vin stared at Marie-Terese, taking note of the flush on her cheeks and the fact that she didn't have any lipstick left on her mouth, he shouldn't have felt a thing. Same deal when that guy had come out of the bathroom with a smile on his face and his shoulders set like he was so the man - there should have been nothing unusual going on in the center of Vin's chest.
This was not his woman. This was not his business.
"I need to go," he said, standing up from the wall and turning away. One look at the thick crowd and he headed for the back of the club, for the hallway that, thanks to last night, he knew had a door at the end of it.
All the way along, his father's drunken voice dogged him: You can never trust a woman. They're sluts, every one of them. Give them a chance and they'll f**k you every time - and not In a good way.
Marie-Terese caught up with him about a third of the way to the exit, her high-heeled shoes clipping over the tiled floor. Grabbing his arm, she tugged him to a halt. "Vin, why are you - "
"Behaving like this?" Damn it, he couldn't look at her. Just couldn't do it. "You know, I don't have an answer for that."
She seemed nonplussed. "No, I was asking...why did you come? Is there something wrong?"
God, where to start with that one. "Everything is fine and dandy. Just frickin' perfect."
As he started to walk off again, he heard her say loud and clear, "I wasn't with him. That man in there. I was not with him."
Vin glanced over his shoulder; then marched back up to her. "Yeah, right. You're with men for a living - or do you think I've forgotten what a prostitute does for money."
While he watched her pale, he felt like a total bastard. But before he could backpedal, she filled the silence.
Lifting her chin, she said, "It's the truth, and whether or not you choose to believe it is your problem. Not mine. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to change."
As she brought up her hand to push her hair over her shoulder, he saw that she had something gripped in her fist...a rumpled paper towel with smudges of red all over it.
"Wait." He stopped her and glanced at the thing. "You took off your lipstick."
"Of course I - Wait, I guess you assumed that man kissed it off me, right?" She pivoted around and beelined for the locker room door. "Good-bye, Vin."
Now it was his turn to drop a newsflash: "I broke up with Devina this afternoon. My girlfriend is now an 'ex. That's what I came to tell you."
Marie-Terese halted, but did not face him. "Why did you do that?"
He traced the back of her with his eyes, from her small shoulders to the proud set of her spine to the dark hair that fell below her shoulder blades. "Because when I looked at you across that table at the diner, no one else existed. And whether or not anything happens between you and me, it took meeting you to show me what I was missing."
She looked over her shoulder, her spectacular blue eyes astonished.
"It's the truth," he said. "The God's honest truth. And it's why I was so upset outside of that bathroom. I'm not saying you're mine...I just wish you were."
As the moody, depressive music from the club filled the air between them, he scrambled to put together the magic combination of words that would keep her from taking off on him.
Although not channeling his father was probably the first place to start, he thought.
She turned around and he felt the measure of her stare. "I'm going to go get changed and tell Trez I'm quitting. Will you wait for me?"
What...had he heard that right? "You're quitting?"
She held up the paper towel. "I've known for a while I couldn't keep doing this...I just didn't know tonight was the end. And it is."
Vin stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, holding her carefully so she could pull back if she wanted to. She didn't though. As their bodies met, she took a deep breath...and hugged him back.
"Yes...yes, I will wait for you," he whispered. "Even if it takes hours."
As if he knew precisely the right time to appear, Trez walked out of his office at the far end of the corridor and strode toward them.
He extended his hand to Vin. "So, you taking her out of here?"
Vin lifted his brows as they clapped palms. "If she'll let me."
Trez looked down at Marie-Terese, his brown eyes impossibly kind. "You should let him."
Marie-Terese blushed the color of a Valentine's Day card. "I...ah...listen, Trez I'm not going to come in anymore."
"I know. And I'll miss you, but I'm glad." When the man held out his huge arms, the two of them hugged briefly. "I'll tell the rest of the girls, and please don't feel like you have to keep in touch - sometimes a clean break is the best. Just remember, if you need something, anything - money, place to stay, shoulder to lean on - I am always here for you."
Okay, Vin liked this guy. A lot.
"I will." She glanced at Vin. "I won't be long."
After she ducked into the locker room, Vin dropped his voice, even though it was arguably unnecessary, as no one was in the hall with them. "Listen, she told me about how tight you're being with the police. I appreciate it, but if it costs you or her anything, you open right up, okay?"
The guy smiled a little, his self-confidence palpable. "You don't worry about the cops. You just take care of your girl and everything'll be cool."
"She's not my girl, really." Although if he had half a chance...
"Can I give you a piece of advice?"
"Yeah, sure."
As the guy stepped in close, it was unusual for Vin to have other men meet him square in the eyes given how tall he was, but Trez sure as shit didn't have a problem with that.
"Listen to me carefully," the man said. "There's going to come a time, maybe sooner rather than later, that you're going to have to trust her. You're going to have to have faith that she's who you know her to be and not what you fear. She did what she had to here, and maybe she'll tell you the whys. But this kind of shit, it doesn't get left behind in either of your minds for a long time...if ever. Let me assure you of what you already suspect, though. She's not like some of the other girls here. If life hadn't been what it was, she never would have been here, got it?"
Vin totally saw the guy's point - except he wondered just how much the club owner knew. Given how he was looking at Vin, it was as if he saw...everything. "Yeah, okay."
"Good. Because if you do a head job on her" - the guy put his mouth right next to Vin's ear - "I'm going to make a meal out of the meat on your bones."
As Trez straightened and flashed another one of his small smiles, Vin wasn't fooled in the slightest as visions of hot-dog rolls, hamburger buns, and BBQ sauce swirled in his head.
"You know," Vin murmured, "you're okay, big man, you really are."
Trez bowed a little. "Feel the same way about you."
When Marie-Terese came out about ten minutes later, her face was free of makeup, she had on jeans and another fleece, and her duffel bag was nowhere in sight. "I just threw out my stuff," she said to Trez.
"Good."
They all walked down to the exit, and when they got to the door, she hugged her boss again. "Trez, about the police - "
"If they show up here looking for you, I'll let you know. But I don't want you to worry about it, okay?"
She smiled up at him. "You take care of everything, don't you."
A dark shadow passed over the man's face. "Almost everything. Now run along, you two. And don't take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see you again."
"Bye, Trez," Marie-Terese whispered.
He reached out and brushed her cheek softly. "Goodbye, Marie-Terese." As the owner opened the back door, Vin put his arm around her waist and led her out into the night air.
"Can we go somewhere and talk?" he said as their footfalls echoed around in the stillness.