He sucked in a hard breath at the thought that Melissa may’ve pushed Grace into the arms… the bed of another man. Any relief he’d gotten from his workout flew out the window in an instant. A roar snuck up from inside him again as he slammed his fist against the steering wheel. That was it. Proof or not if Vince didn’t have any answers for him today he’d be getting them for himself. He wasn’t waiting on anyone anymore. Fuck the casino guy—Grace was his damn it.
At that very moment reality beat down on him like a mallet. As much as he hated to admit it, he did think just like his brothers when it came to women. Still it wasn’t just women he argued with himself. This was love. Since he’d never been in love until now, he’d never understood his brothers’ crazed thinking when it came to their wives. It was as plain as the rage he tried to mollify now—he got it—no mistake about it. He completely understood now.
With the heated blood racing through his veins he stepped out of his car and walked to his parent’s front door with a purpose. Greeting his mother, who was more than happy to see him calmed him some but very little. He followed her, by request of course, to the kitchen. His mother was determined he’d never leave her house unfed.
His mom informed him Vince was in the garage and Sal promised he’d be back in a few to eat, walking out the back door toward the garage. Vince had the radio on and Sal turned it down when he walked in. Vince sat up on the weight bench when he saw Sal.
“You’re not supposed to be lifting without someone to spot you,” Sal said, but before Vince could respond he added, “did you find out anything else?”
He saw Vince take a deep breath and then frown, making Sal’s heart beat even harder.
“According to Rose she’s been telling me they’re just doing business together and since they’re business partners he’s going to be around a lot now but…”
Sal waited while Vince seemed to ponder on his next words. His normal patience was gone now. It’d been gone since Grace walked out. “But what, Vince?”
“I don’t know. I saw something today and even Rose couldn’t explain it.”
Sal gulped, waiting.
“I got there today just as the dude picked up Grace. They were both outside…”
She’d been with him all weekend? Sal could hardly stand it anymore. “I don’t have time for this shit, Vince. Just spit it out.”
“Well,” Vince scratched his head, unbelievably still stalling. “Rose started to say the guy wasn’t there for Grace. Grace was supposedly on her way out by herself and he was just visiting her parents but then…” He took another annoying deep breath and looked away from Sal’s glaring eyes. “It seemed they were about to kiss until Grace looked up and saw us watching. I drove away after that and Rose just shrugged, saying she didn’t know what that had been about. As far as she knew Grace wasn’t at all interested in him but we both knew what we saw.”
Sal was having a hard time getting any words out. His stomach had bottomed out at the very thought of Grace almost kissing someone else. “What do you mean it almost seemed? What did you see exactly?”
His young cousin frowned apparently uncomfortable about the question but Sal didn’t care. He needed to know. “I don’t know. I just saw what happens when someone is about to kiss. He put his arms around her and their faces came dangerously close until she looked up and saw us watching.”
The visual served only to further the anxiety and rage Sal was already feeling. “Did Rose say anything else? I don’t care how insignificant.”
Vince shook his head. “No. She changed the subject after that, but later when we were at the beach I brought it up casually, asking if she knew where they were moving to. She said she was pretty sure they were staying in Chula Vista. Then I asked if the dude was moving in with them and she said she didn’t think so.”
This was ridiculous. “How can she not know?”
“Well she’d seemed pretty sure about everything between Grace and that guy but after today… I did notice she was quiet for a while there after we drove away. Like it had surprised her, too. So maybe Grace is keeping something from her.” Vincent’s face soured suddenly. “Maybe Grace suspects you might be making me pump Rose for info. Damn, I hope she doesn’t figure it out.”
“She won’t.” Sal began to walk away then turned back. “So that’s it? Nothing else?”
Vincent shook his head. With that, Sal was off on a mission. Grace may think he slept with someone else but the fact remained he hadn’t. Whether or not he could prove that now, didn’t matter anymore. All that mattered now is that he stop this… thing she had going with the casino guy. He had to do something now. Alex’s words slammed into him. Make a move now before this guy does. Maybe he already had. Fuck! He hurried into the kitchen where his mom was just serving something on a plate. “Whatever it is, mom, make it to go.”
“What? You’re leaving already?”
“I gotta go. There’s something I need to do.”
His mother looked so disappointed he felt guilty but the urgency he felt now was unrelenting. “I’m sorry, mom. This can’t wait.”
He thought about calling Romero when he got in his car then decided not to. He was done waiting on everyone else. It was time to take matters into his own hands. Just as he put the phone down in the cup holder it rang—Jason. Not exactly the person Sal wanted to speak at that particular moment but he hadn’t talked to him since the day he called to tell him he wouldn’t be at the wedding.