“I’m Justin Sterling.” He gestured at Vanessa’s Mercedes. “Here to pick it up.”
“Oh, you’re her husband.” The housekeeper’s smile gained warmth. “Is she all right? I heard glass breaking while she was in Mr. Pryce’s library.”
“What are you talking about?”
Lines deepened between her eyebrows. “I think he might have thrown something against the wall while yelling ‘Get out.’ An awful argument.”
“Are you sure?” Salazar knew Vanessa was pregnant. How could he throw things at her?
“I cleaned up the broken glass.”
Fury like an Arctic storm whipped through him. “Where is Salazar?”
“In his study. The second floor, fourth door to the right.”
Justin took the winding stairs two at a time to the upper level, where the ceiling was as high as a cathedral’s. The study had double doors, and he wrenched them open.
“Justin. What a surprise,” Salazar said from his desk. His rolled up sleeves revealed ropey arm muscles underneath age-thinned skin. He smelled faintly of shower gel, and moisture glistened in his hair.
“Is it true you threw a glass at my wife?”
“Why don’t you ask her?”
“She’ll try to protect you, so she won’t tell me the truth.”
“Why would she do that? She’s not even my child. Didn’t she tell you?”
Tension tightened Justin’s neck and shoulders. The nerve at the back of his head throbbed. He dragged in some air. “Even though you raised her as your daughter, thankfully she’s not like you. But I’m different. Don’t you ever raise your voice or use violence against my wife.”
Salazar’s eyebrow rose with an arrogance that could only have come from a lifetime of living impervious to harm. “Or what?”
“I’ll ruin you.”
“Ruin me? That’s a good one. You’re too much like Vanessa, always too soft-hearted for her own good. That’s why she married you, isn’t it?”
Justin gave him a cold smile. “I’m Barron Sterling’s heir. Not even her pleas would change my mind should I decide to destroy you. Surely you’ve heard why Barron’s wife never tried to know what he was up to.”
Everyone knew the story. Ethel Sterling hadn’t wanted to get involved in her husband’s dealings because her interference or suggestion for leniency would only egg him on to be harsher than he’d intended.
Justin continued, “Vanessa is my wife, not to mention pregnant with my child. You’ll show her the respect she deserves. Do you understand?”
Salazar glared at him, and Justin glared right back. Finally the older man sat back and waved negligently. “Fine.”
Justin breathed in with satisfaction and left the house in Vanessa’s car. Underneath the leather was the scent of her. It was good that he’d come and found out about Salazar’s unacceptable behavior toward Vanessa. But she should’ve told Justin from the beginning. He didn’t want to worry that she was hiding things from him, especially if they were things that hurt her. His parents had always been open with each other, and he had a sinking feeling that without that, their marriage was a house built on a crumbling foundation.
Chapter Twenty-One
Since Vanessa was forced into a long vacation, she decided she and Justin should go out of town. It wasn’t often she was given two weeks off—in fact, she couldn’t think of the last time—and she didn’t want to stay in town and risk running into Peggy again.
She didn’t seem dangerous, but now that Vanessa was calmer, she realized Justin and Dane had valid concerns about the woman’s true motives. Besides, the way Peggy had revealed herself only when she thought she could get something and the way she’d made the first contact under false pretense weighed on Vanessa’s mind. There was probably some desperate anxiety on Peggy’s part, but at the same time, Vanessa would’ve preferred honesty from the very beginning. Now she felt like she couldn’t trust Peggy entirely. She was like a witness behaving badly—withholding information here and there, only divulging more when she had no choice. Witnesses like that often changed their stories as well.
“You know, we should visit your mother,” Vanessa said in the dark, her voice low and mellow. Justin had taken her so tenderly earlier, and her body was still quivering from the liquid pleasure that lingered. She pressed her back closer to him. She liked the way he enveloped her at night entirely too much, but she couldn’t pull away. “I’m sure she’s heard about our wedding and wants to see us face-to-face.” She’d met Blanche Sterling socially years ago, but didn’t really know much about Justin’s mother.