Author's note: Sooo here's the 2nd part of the chapter. I hope the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter kept you wondering about the outcome of their encounter with the police. Please enjoy and review :) Your interest in this story really keeps me going!
David's heart was racing at full speed as the policeman approached their car.
He was tall and very intimidating due to his muscular body and his light blue eyes already peering at them from a few feet away.
David immediately focused on the gun and handcuffs he was wearing at his belt and he could already picture himself being arrested by that man, who was probably only some years older than he was.
"Amanda, please don't say anything, okay? Everything will be fine." David told his scared daughter before the policeman knocked at the window observing the interior of the car.
"Same for you, Daniel." Victoria added.
Obediently, David let down the car window and took one last look back at his little girl, who he would probably not see for a very long time, if ever again. At least not outside of a prison.
"Hey, I'm Officer Vance." The man introduced himself with a deep voice. "Your license, please."
Was he seriously going through with all those formalities? Couldn't he just get to the point and arrest him?
Without thinking David wanted to pull his driver's license out of his pocket when Victoria's quick hands stopped him. He looked at her irritated. Didn't she understand that there was no way out of this confrontation?
"Bryan, don't even try to pretend that you have your license with you when it's so obvious that you forgot it at home. Just like your tie, by the way. I only bought it for that wedding and like always, you don't appreciate my effort." Victoria suddenly spoke with a high-pitched voice lightly squeezing David's wrist in the hope that he would play his part in that little act of hers.
He was more than confused by the words that came out of his lover's mouth though and wanted to protest, but then he noticed that from the moment she had leant over to the driver's seat, the officer only had eyes for Victoria. He obviously seemed to believe the story she was faking or simply didn't care as long as he could stare at her.
"Okay, I'm very busy and can make an exception in this case. Your IDs then, please." The dark-haired man reached his hand out to David but kept smiling at the woman in the passenger's seat.
"See, we're here for my sister's wedding." Victoria explained while searching her bag for their fake identity cards. "And we're already late because of the traffic. It's so exhausting" She handed the IDs to the policeman offering him one of her sweetest smiles.
While the officer was glancing at the cards, David almost died from insecurity clenching his sweaty hands to fists. What was all this about? That guy apparently enjoyed making fun of them in their hopeless position.
"So, she's your wife?" Officer Vance finally asked pulling David out of his thoughts.
"Umm, yes." He stammered quietly, looking back and forth between the policeman and Victoria. Was that some kind of test?
"Well, you're one lucky guy then, Mr Meyer." The man laughed and returned their IDs pointing to the back of their car. "And those are your kids?"
"Yes, they're very tired from the long journey." Victoria said motherly never taking her eyes off the officer's face.
"Well, they seem great. Really beautiful kids." The man leant closer to the open window. "But then again, that's no wonder with you as their mother."
They all tried to share a laugh, but Victoria and David felt very awkward with the policeman's direct way of complimenting her.
David would have loved to tell him to back off and focus on the job he was supposed to do, but it was clear that he was by no means in a position to do so.
"Thank you." Victoria managed to answer, although she felt the urge to slap that rude pervert of a man.
She knew far too many men just like Officer Vance, either from Conrad's business partners or her own experiences in bars or clubs.
In her early years as a woman she had made the mistake to let those men take advantage of her, to let them use her, or rather her body, in order to increase their self-esteem or to simply feel the pleasure of having the power over an attractive woman like Victoria.
But she had learned from the many painful and heartbreaking experiences she had had with being treated like she was a toy, a whore and not worth being loved.
At first, they had thrown her into a deep existential crisis even making her want to end her meaningless life, but after some time she had discovered that she was actually strong and smart enough to turn the game of those idiots around.
Victoria had grown to know how to push their buttons and how to use her beauty to get exactly what she wanted. At the same time, she had built a wall around her heart to protect herself from any kind of feelings getting in the way of her ambitious plans. And she was proud to say that her strategy had worked. After all, it had made her one of the wealthiest and powerful women in America.
It was strange to think now that she was throwing all she ever desired away and tear down the thick walls around her heart to let love rule her world and to give her unprotected, vulnerable heart into the hands of a man.
She had long struggled to tell David about her feelings and to allow him to see the real Victoria including all her flaws and her dark past.
Astonishingly, she had felt extremely relieved after she had finally opened up to him and whenever she spent time with David, she knew deep down that she, and everything that had made her, who she was today, was safe with him and that she didn't need to worry about her heart being broken again.
That was what it was really worth fighting for and therefore when Officer Vance ordered to open the trunk, it was Victoria who jumped out of the car whispering a confident "Trust me." into David's ear.
As soon as she turned her back to the policeman, she could feel his eyes wandering up her bare legs and up to the tight jeans shorts she was wearing.
It was nothing but disgusting, but still the easiest way to distract that guy and escape the fate of being arrested.
Thus Victoria suppressed an annoyed sigh, pulled down her neckline a bit and turned around to meet the devouring eyes of the officer again. It reminded her so much of her time with Conrad and the countless investors she had convinced to support Grayson Global by using her – how Conrad liked to call it – feminine charm.
She had enjoyed the attention she had received and how she could twist everyone around her little finger and make them believe all kinds of lies that came out of her beautiful mouth. All in all, it had been a fun game to her, mostly because she knew that at the end of the evening none of those men would get anywhere close to actually live the fantasies, they had anticipated with Victoria. She had secretly laughed at their dumbfounded expressions when she had turned down their advances explaining that it would be too dangerous with her husband around.
Yes, Victoria Grayson had always valued the power she had over men and found pleasure in attracting their attention and using them for her own benefit.
Right in that moment however she hated how Officer Vance smirked when his view rested on her cleavage where he obviously detected the black lace bra she was wearing.
The second he inched closer to her, Victoria stepped to the side letting him see the interior of the trunk.
"There's nothing in there but our luggage, I assure you." She forced herself to smile warmly as his arm brushed against her chest when he began checking the suitcases and bags for anything suspicious.
In the driver's seat, David was on the verge of going mad.
Not only was he unsure if that policeman would let them get away so easily, but he also wanted to smash that idiot's head against a wall for sexually harassing Victoria.
The last time he had looked back at them, Officer Vance had still been observing the trunk, but now he was standing close to Victoria obviously explaining something to her. She often patted his shoulder and David was not sure whether it was one of her flirting techniques or a desperate attempt to keep him at a distance. Probably, it was a mixture of both.
"Dad, why are the police interested in us?" Amanda suddenly whispered leaning forward to her father.
"I think they are confusing us with someone else. We did nothing wrong, Amanda. Sometimes even the police are mistaken." He assured his daughter calmly when finally Victoria returned to the passenger's seat. David could feel the tension of her body instantly and the way she uncomfortably moved on her seat.
"I checked everything. You are free to go now." Officer Vance appeared at David's window again. "We're actually looking for a sick bastard who shot three kids at an elementary school this morning and since your car is not from around here and the funny stunt you pulled at the highway, we needed to make sure that you're not one of his accomplices. But don't worry, as you've probably noticed we're shutting off most streets in the area to find that sicko."
"Good bye, then officer. We're in a hurry." David started the engine as the fear of being arrested fell off of him. Everything he wanted now was to get away from that man and that city full of people so they could finally make it to their hopefully safe harbor, his aunt's farm.
"It was really nice meeting you though. Really nice." The officer smiled at Victoria one last time unremarkably licking his lips before he stepped away from the car. "Bye, and have fun at the wedding."
David drove off as fast as he could, noticing Victoria's trembling lips and how she anxiously gripped the sides of her shirt.
He was thankful that she had managed to maneuver them out of that tricky situation, but he was also ashamed of himself, because he knew how much she hated going back to old patterns, which made it difficult for her to leave her previous life behind.
He should've handled that guy himself, but he had been paralyzed by the fear of being discovered and Victoria had acted so confidently. She was always so strong and he was very proud of that. Not only of her strength in general, but also proud of her will to fight for their future together.
After calming Amanda and Daniel eventually, David glanced at his lover, who had been silent ever since they had been on the road again.
She stared out on the street emotionlessly, but behind her brown eyes, David was sure to detect fear, embarrassment and very clearly memories of her past.
"Victoria, I…" He wanted to talk to her about the incident but she cut him off.
"Don't mention it." She stated without even looking at him.
"I really thought we were being caught but you were so brave and saved us." He offered her a smile.
"We're still free, David, that's all that counts. I don't want to talk about it."
David knew it was senseless to force her to talk, so he took her left hand and brushed his lips over her soft skin giving it a gentle kiss.
"Thank you." He felt her muscles relaxing at his touch and entwined his fingers with hers like before.
Victoria didn't say anything and simply appreciated his affection and care for her. It was what she needed to assure herself that someone she trusted had her back and that she was not alone in this world.
They drove off into the night and when sleep eventually came over the passengers of the car, David had to stay awake and found the time to thank his lucky stars hanging above him in the night sky.
First of all, he thanked them for bringing him together with the most fascinating woman he had ever met and he also thanked the Kansas state police for having enough trouble with crimes in their own state and not being up to date in terms of nationwide wanted criminals.
Luck had truly been on their side that day.
little-borgia and I obviously have the same vision of Victoria! ;)
I hope you're excited to meet Aunt Charlotte in the next chapter, since we've never actually seen her on the show! And prepare yourself for discovering more and more about David's past. :)
Until then xx