Vic listened without reacting until she finished speaking.
“First I’d like to say something. We agreed if I talked about that time in my life, I could make a statement to my family. They won’t have anything to do with me,” Vic said, causing Vivi to wince. “Hey, Mom,” he said coldly.
Her mother cried softly on the phone. “I gave him so many chances. I tried to help him.”
“I know, Mom.” Vivi’s heart broke for her mother.
“Okay, Mr. Clark. Say what you’d like to say,” Connie told him.
Vic looked straight at the camera, the small smile now a full-on smirk. “Hey, Vivi.”
Her stomach cramped. Oh, no. No, no, no. He was going to destroy her life. She just knew it.
“Honey, hang on tight,” her mother whispered.
And Vic glanced at the interviewer. “Vivi’s my sister,” he explained, then looked back at the camera again, as if he were staring through her. “I heard you’re an up-and-coming star at Club TEN29. Nice catch, baby sis.”
Apparently the publicity train even reached behind bars, Vivi realized in horror. Too bad she hadn’t thought about the ramifications of her performing at the guys’ club when it came to her imprisoned brother’s reaction. She’d considered him a nonissue. Oh, how wrong she’d been, and her stomach lurched at the prospect of what was to come.
“Look at you, playing in my backyard.”
Vic’s grin, she realized, was really a self-satisfied smirk. He’d always resented her. Hated how much her father adored her in comparison to how badly he’d treated Vic. And he’d never hesitated to punish her for it—when they were younger, hiding her toys, when they were older, planting demeaning rumors and whispers at school so the other kids would steer clear of her.
“You three, hiring my sister. I couldn’t have planned it better myself, boys,” he said as if he were speaking directly to Tanner, Jason … and Landon. Clearly satisfied he’d done his damage, Vic leaned back in his chair and met the interviewer’s gaze. “Now what did you want to talk about?” he asked nonchalantly.
Not wanting to hear any more, she turned off the television. “I hate him,” she said to her mother, her throat full.
“I’m coming over.” Her mom would drop everything to make sure Vivi was okay.
“No. I’ll be fine. I have things I need to do today,” she said, though Vic had just taken away her means of gently breaking the news to Landon. If he or his partners hadn’t seen this broadcast, someone was bound to tell them about it.
Vivi knew how her brother thought. He might not know for a fact whether she’d informed the guys about her relationship to him, but it was a smart assumption that they wouldn’t hire her if they’d known. But Vic could be certain this bombshell would destroy her life, and that had always been his goal.
Mission accomplished, she thought, all her hopes and dreams gone. She had no choice now but to face Landon and admit she’d omitted one very important fact without the ability to cushion the truth and explain her reasons.
They were going to be furious. They’d hate her by association. And they’d have every right to treat her badly. She was going to have to walk away from the opportunity of a lifetime, like she’d tried to do from the moment she’d made the connection between Vic and Landon. She only wished she’d tried harder. Then she wouldn’t be in his predicament, and she wouldn’t be falling for the club owner who probably couldn’t stand the sight of her because she reminded him of losing his twin.
* * *
Landon had a long night. Once he’d gotten home from the club, he’d crashed hard, his dreams coming in alternate snippets, from hands and body all over Vivi to random appearances by his brother. Dreams of Levi weren’t new. He was often there, not speaking, lurking around but not a part of Landon’s life in the dream. He would always wake up, pulse pounding, the pain in his heart a hole that would never be filled.
With a groan, he rose and took a long, hot shower and, when he came out, flipped on the television, made and poured himself a cup of coffee, and settled in to watch. He’d woken early, and he couldn’t show up on Vivi’s doorstep at the ass crack of dawn to talk about why she was running from him. So he needed to kill time.
He took a sip of his morning caffeine just as the announcer of the morning news show began to speak. “As you know, hazing has been in the news lately, as many college campuses are forced to reevaluate their policies regarding the issue of underage drinking on campus and in fraternities.”
The subject caught his attention, and he grabbed the remote to raise the volume. She continued, naming the current universities who had had problems and sentences some of the kids involved had received. Stomach churning, he was about to change the channel when a familiar face came on the screen.