Laying a Foundation: Bonus volume: Includes series prequel, The Groundbreaking (The Love Under Construction Series) Read Online Free PDF

something where I rely only on myself, not teammates. No one’s ever had my back.
    Vic had never wrestled before, so he watched a couple of the other guys at the tryouts the next day. I can do this , he thought. It doesn’t look so hard . When it was his turn, they paired him with the biggest guy on the team. They’re trying to get rid of me , he thought as he faced the other young man. Something clicked inside him, and when the whistle blew, it took Vic a whole three seconds to solidly pin the guy to the mat. There were gasps and murmurs from the bench. They paired him with another big guy, with the same results. He went through almost every guy on the team, and quickly and efficiently laid them to waste, one by one.
    After the tryouts, Mr. Barnes came up to him and said, “Well done, Vic! Did you by any chance sign up for the weightlifting tryouts too?”
    “Yes, actually, I did.”
    “Good. Coach Murdock will love getting hold of you.”
    By the end of the day, Vittorio Vincenzo Cabrizzi was a starter for both the wrestling and weightlifting teams. He finally belonged somewhere.

    July 2009
    “Vittorio Cabrizzi?” The police officer stood on Vic’s doorstep, another officer standing behind him. They had to look up at the huge Italian; he dwarfed them with his six feet and eight inch frame.
    Vic felt sick to his stomach. “Yes, that’s me. Can I help you, officer?”
    “Yes sir. We got a call from the hospital about some injuries sustained by a Carrie Johnson? They said you were with her. Could we come in and ask you a few questions?”
    “Sure. Please come on in and have a seat.” Oh, great – I’m fucked , Vic thought as he led them into the living room.
    “So, Mr. Cabrizzi, the hospital told us that the patient said she’d sustained the injuries during, um, relations, is that right?” the officer asked, trying to be matter-of-fact but still blushing a little.
    “Yes sir, that’s right.”
    “And so this was an accident? Because the physician didn’t think it looked like an accident. They said it looked like an assault.”
    Uh-huh , Vic thought, one look at my height and these muscles and they just assume I beat up on women. This could be really, really bad . “It was an accident. We just got a little carried away, that’s all. Carrie talked to them about it and told them that we . . .”
    “Speaking of whom, is Miss Johnson here? Could we talk with her?” the officer asked.
    “Yeah. Let me get her.” Damn, this just keeps getting worse , Vic thought as he made his way to the bedroom.
    Carrie was standing by the bed, slowly packing boxes, and the sight broke his heart. Her face was flooded with tears when she turned to look at him. “What?” she asked.
    “The police are here. They want to talk to you.” Vic’s head dropped. “Carrie, you don’t have to say anything for my benefit. Tell them whatever you like.”
    She walked past him and headed to the living room without saying a word. Vic followed her, but the officer looked at him and simply said, “Alone,” so he went back to the bedroom and sat on the side of the bed. After about ten minutes, he heard a male voice say, “Well, thank you, miss, and if you need us, please call us.”
    In a few seconds, Carrie came back into the bedroom. She started packing again, then looked over at Vic, who sat with his head down. “Don’t worry. I told them the truth, the same thing I told the people at the hospital. I don’t think they’ll bother you again. It’s not like I want to get you into trouble, Vic.”
    Vic felt his eyes burning as the tears welled up. “You didn’t have to do that, but thanks.” He reached over and put his hand on her arm, but she pulled away. “Carrie, I’m so sorry. I just, I don’t know what to say because I really don’t know what happened. If I could’ve stopped, I would’ve, but I couldn’t. It was like something just clicked inside me and I lost control and I, I don’t know . . .” His