Smug Bastard: A Hero Club Novel

by Stacey Marie Brown

  “What?” Shock punched my chest, stepping me back.

  “I was devastated when I learned the truth… but was certain we could get through this. That my love would lead him to the right path again.” She sniffed, emotion flooding her eyes. “I’ve waited three years for him.”

  “Three years?”

  “Yes, my husband…” She paused. “Just got out of jail for embezzling and laundering money from his ex-best friend.”

  “What?” I croaked, my brain not wanting to accept her statement. “No. I don’t believe you.” He always made it sound like she was the one who betrayed him, that she was the dishonest one.

  “I thought you’d say that.” She opened her purse, drawing out what looked like folded newspaper clippings and what looked like an image, handing them to me. “And there’s more…”

  Chapter 19

  Smith

  Fuck. My. Life.

  My gaze scoured the grounds searching for the one girl I needed who wanted nothing to do with me.

  “Is it true?” Kasey nipped on my heels like a yipping puppy. “Are you married?” Where the fuck did Kinsley go? The girl vanished like mist. “Smith!” Kasey grabbed my arm, stopping me.

  “What?” I whirled around on her, causing her to shuffle back in fright, my anger palpable. Not that I would touch a hair on her head. Men who beat were weak and pathetic. I knew firsthand. I would not hesitate to destroy any man who abused a woman or child to make himself feel bigger or better.

  But it was in that instant the difference between Kasey and Kinsley shined like night and day. I knew Kins would stand her ground, tipping up her eyebrow, looking like she could bat me down like a fly. And she would.

  Kasey was all bark and no bite. And I liked women who sank their teeth into my skin, matched me every step. Challenged me.

  “Are you married?” Grief batted Kasey’s lashes. “And… and did you sleep with my little sister?” She balled up her hands.

  “Yes and yes.”

  Abhorrence and anger blazed across her face. “I can’t believe you. You are disgusting!”

  “Really?” I stepped up to her, watching how fast her false indignation flipped.

  Fear and excitement fluttered her lungs. “I thought we had something.”

  Leaning over, my teeth gritted together. “We’ve never had anything, Kasey. I told you back then, and I nicely tried to tell you again since we used to be friends and I deeply care for your family. But I’m not going to be so nice now. I don’t want you. I never have. The only girl I want right now won’t have anything to do with me because I shredded any chance to be with her and stomped all over it since I couldn’t be honest. So please, for once, stop thinking of yourself. Your sister does nothing but put you first, even when you have no right.”

  “She knew I wanted you,” she spat back. “But she slept with you anyway. Betrayed me.”

  “Betrayed you?” I snorted derisively. “Are you that fucking selfish?” I shook my head. “There was nothing to betray you with. I’m not sure where you got this notion in your head about us, but it’s just that… in your head. You haven’t seen me in nine years. We don’t even know each other anymore, if we ever did. But even back then I knew we would never work out.”

  “You never gave it a chance,” she whispered.

  “Kasey. Stop. I’m sorry if at any time I gave you the wrong impression. But there is nothing between us. And right now I’m just trying to figure my way out of the mess I made, trying to deal with a soon-to-be ex-wife and the woman I lo—” My sentence died, terror cutting off my voice like a microphone.

  A tsunami of panic and realization battered down on me. Oh, holy fuck.

  “What?” Her mouth dropped in surprise, understanding the word I was about to declare.

  “Nothing,” I grunted, swinging around, taking a few steps before I came to halt.

  Kinsley walked out onto the patio, our eyes locking together.

  It was the first time in my life a woman’s look made me want to cower. It wasn’t loathing or anger… It was void of anything. The calm resolve. Any chance I might have had was gone.

  “Kinsley?” Panic I had never heard before sounded in my voice, and I had spent three years of my life fighting for survival, against gangs of men wanting to make me their new plaything.

  My attention went to the figure who came from behind her, a malicious grin hinting on her face.

  Shit. Becca. No doubt she had told Kinsley of my past.

  “Kins…”

  Her gaze shifted, like I was no longer there. She veered the opposite way, her shoulders rolled back.

  Instinct had my feet moving for her, a desperation to make her understand. “Kinsley, listen to me.” I dove for her arm.

  She swung around, anger so violent and firm, I could feel it slam against me like a force.

  “I think it’s time you left,” she stated evenly.

  “What?” I glanced around, seeing Kay, the woman I almost considered my other mother, watching us. “What did Becca say to you?”

  “What you should have.” She raised her head to me, looking like a fierce queen. The moment I walked in, I felt her, tugging my attention toward her like a siren. Her beauty had almost knocked me over until I saw some guy touching her, and I wanted to knock him out. “Get out, Smith. This day is about Kyle and Amie, about being surrounded by friends and family. You are not that.”

  “I have been part of your family since I was sixteen,” I fumed, stepping closer to her. She didn’t budge, her head tipping back. “Whatever she told you, let me explain.”

  “You are too late for that.” Her palm pushed into my chest. “Now get out of here before I call security.”

  “Security? What the hell, Kinsley? This is me. The guy you spent over a week with. Who plucked nettles out of your ass and held your hair back when you puked?” I could hear my voice rising. “Give me five minutes. That’s all I ask. Please.”

  Her lashes batted, her head twisting to the side, agony engulfing her expression, cracking her barrier.

  “Please,” I said to only her.

  She swallowed, moisture dampening the corner of her eyes.

  I touched her arm, jolting her body, snapping her head to me.

  “Goodbye, Smith,” she said coldly. “Go back to your wife, finish building that dream house for your family.” She spun around, heading for her parents, leaving me gaping after her, feeling she had gutted my chest like a fish, my guts trailing behind her.

  Kay took her daughter’s hand, her gaze snapping back to me, screaming with accusation and disappointment, cutting me at the knees.

  “Smith?” Becca’s voice clawed at my ears like nails. “Sweetheart?”

  I whipped around, stomping past her, doing the thing I should have done since the beginning.

  I walked away from Kinsley Maxwell.

  Chapter 20

  Kinsley

  Two weeks later

  “When are you taking off?” Mom stepped into my old bedroom, placing a stack of clean laundry on my bed.

  “Early tomorrow.” I picked up the items, stuffing them into my bag and walking to the dresser to get more things.

  Instead of leaving, my mom plopped down on the mattress, stroking the white furball curled on my bed. I continued to move around, but I could feel her speech coming, the air crammed with unsolicited motherly advice.

  “Just say it.” I sighed, tucking my socks and underwear in my backpack.

  “Say what?” She continued to pet Goat.

  “Whatever mother’s wisdom you are dying to say.” I motioned to her. “I know you, Mom. All the looks and sighs have been building up since the wedding. Get it out.”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

  I snorted.

  “I was just going to mention that Kasey is stopping by.”

  I smirked, my head shaking with annoyance.

  “You two haven’t spoken since the wedding.”

  “What she said to
me that night was enough.” After I kicked Smith out and we no longer had to play perfect bridesmaids, Kasey and I had a huge fight.

  In short, I was a backstabbing bitch, who was always jealous of what she had, so I took Smith to hurt her.

  “You know Kasey didn’t really mean it.” Mom absently played with Goat’s ears, pain kneading her eyebrows. “She loves you, Kinsley. She was hurt and lashing out.”

  “Why am I not surprised you are defending her?”

  “I’m not,” she claimed, lifting Goat’s head up, his ears twitching. “Believe me, I have had choice words with her too. She had no right to put a claim on Smith… but it doesn’t change how she feels.”

  “What about how I feel?”

  “How do you feel?” Mom asked. “You never talked about what happened that night. Even when you were a kid, you kept everything inside. Not for one moment did I ever have to guess what Kyle and Kasey were thinking, good or bad. With you? It was like prying open a vault, and still, you let very little out. I always felt you kept me at arm’s length.”

  “Mom.” My shoulders slumped, mother guilt hammering into my heart.

  “I know you are different from them. I don’t want you to be the same, but sometimes it’s okay to let people in. And instead of being so concerned about your sister’s feelings, be honest. Stand up to her. Your feelings are just as important as hers. And if you love him, don’t let her or anyone stand in the way.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I gulped down the lie, shoving more items in my bag.

  “Kinsley…” She exhaled. “First, don’t lie to your mother and second, I may be old, but I have eyes. Hell, even your father picked up on it.”

  “What?”

  “Sweetheart, the chemistry between you and Smith was palpable. And by what I saw, he feels the same about you.”

  “No.” I shook my head. “You’re wrong. Anyway, he’s taken.”

  “Yeah, Kasey said something about the other woman being his wife.” She clicked her tongue. “I would never in a million years want you going after a married man, but I saw nothing between them except resentment and strain. He didn’t once look at her, touch her, or smile at her like he did when he was near you.”

  “Mom.” There was more she didn’t know.

  “I’m just saying.” She held up her hands. “Maybe you should hear him out. Let him explain. Again, I don’t know the full story or what is going on between him and that woman. I know what I saw.” She scratched Goat’s head before rising off the bed. “And what I saw was a man in love, and not with the woman he came with.”

  Emotion burned my esophagus; pain I tried to keep boxed up sprang open, my teeth crunching together. It didn’t matter anymore.

  “Please talk to your sister before you leave. At the end of the day, you love each other. Don’t let your relationship be ruined by a guy.” She kissed my temple, muttering under breath, “You’d think I would have been done with these conversations in high school.”

  Mothers had a talent for gutting and guilting you in the same breath.

  “Mom?” She paused at the door, looking back at me. “Thank you.”

  She smiled warmly. “I love you, Kinsley. And if I haven’t told you recently, I’m proud of you. Whatever you want to do or want to be, both your father and I support you.”

  The past two weeks I’d spent with my family, I did a lot of soul-searching. Smith was right about one thing: Life didn’t have clear paths or some magical aha moment that gave you the answers. All I knew was I didn’t want to work in finance. It would kill my soul.

  I had been doodling a lot more, fun logos and tag lines for my sister’s shop. Though the one burning in the back of my brain cut a hole in my heart. It was meant for him.

  No, Kinsley. He’s a liar and a convict.

  My brain still couldn’t wrap around what Becca shared with me; the broken pieces of my heart and trust felt like glass shards in my chest.

  “Mom?” The heartbreaking evidence of what Becca confessed to me that day sat on my tongue, the revelations thumping painfully behind my ribs, needing out.

  She popped back into the doorway, staring at me with love and naivety.

  “Nothing.” I shook my head, forcing a smile on my face. “Never mind.” I couldn’t do it; I just couldn’t.

  She blew me a kiss before exiting my room.

  I was done with lying men. I was moving on.

  “Just you and me, lil’ dude.” I reached over, rubbing Goat’s head. Tomorrow we were back on the road, heading for San Francisco. I had told Sadie everything, and she begged me to head to the city by the bay. She was in love with it and thought it would be a great place for me to start fresh.

  “You have to come. This city is amazing. And full of hotties.”

  “I’m sure Nathan loves that.”

  “I’m in a relationship, not dead.” She laughed. “Come, Kins. You can stay on our sofa for a few days. Yes, I actually fit in a sofa. See if you like it. And it has a ton of opportunities in marketing,” she taunted.

  “Yeah, okay.” I nodded my head. “But no sex while I’m there. I heard you enough through our apartment wall.”

  “Hey, Nathan’s always thought you were cute.” She tried her sexy voice.

  “Stop.” I laughed, cringing at the thought. “Nathan is like my brother.”

  “Seriously, how are you doing though?”

  My emotions came at me like a slap, sinking me onto my bed.

  “That bad, huh?”

  Tears burned my eyes as I peered up at the ceiling.

  “Did you tell your mom or Kasey?”

  “Tell my mom the guy she thinks as another son not only screwed her youngest daughter while still married, but just got out of jail for embezzling money from his best friend, and turned his back on his father, who is now dead? He’s a liar and con artist.” My throat clotted; my chest ached.

  “And what about the other part?” she asked softly.

  “You mean the fact he’s going to be a father?” I croaked, saying it out loud felt like I took a chainsaw to my soul. A tear slid down my face, recalling the sonogram Becca showed me. About six to eight weeks along.

  It was why she had tracked him down, so she could tell him he was going to be a father. They were going to be a family.

  If the newspaper clippings weren’t enough to dissuade me, Becca having his child was.

  “I don’t want to talk about him anymore. He’s with Becca now. Having a baby. He’s in the past. A mistake.”

  “Okay, okay,” Sadie responded, flipping the topic and vibe like a switch. “See you in a few days then?”

  “Yeah, gonna drive pretty much straight through this time.”

  “Yay. I’m so excited. I’ve missed you so much. And that mutt. Crap, I’ve really missed him.”

  “I’ve missed you too. And Goat will be so happy to be with his other mommy again.”

  “You don’t know how well our family fits in with SF.” She snorted.

  The sound of a car door slamming yanked me from my thoughts back to the present, moving me to my window, seeing Kasey get out of her SUV. Mom was right, I needed to talk to her before I left. I hated we were fighting over something neither of us had.

  “Put it in your old room.” I heard my mom’s voice downstairs, the sound of footsteps clicking up the wood steps and down the hallway.

  Kasey’s head turned as she passed my door, her lips pinching together, going into the room next door.

  “Kasey?” I trailed after her. Her room still in homage to the teenage Kasey who loved purple, as if Mom hoped we’d all magically go back in time. Filled with cheerleading banners and pompoms, trophies, and ribbons from every sport or club she was part of, and pictures of her and her friends covered every surface.

  She set down the box filled with items for mom. The rooms were the same, but all our closets were now crammed with Mom’s crap.

  “Hey.” I shuffled awkwardly at the door.

 
She continued messing with the box like I wasn’t there.

  “Kasey, come on. At least look at me.”

  Puffing out her nose, her head snapped over her shoulder. “Rather not look at the person who backstabbed me, thanks.”

  “Fuck sake, Kasey.” I stomped into her room. “I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you from the moment things changed between Smith and me, but you didn’t make it easy.”

  “How about… ? ‘Hey, Kasey, I’m fucking the guy you really like’?” She whirled around, anger lashing her tone. “My bad.”

  “Don’t turn this around on me. I take full responsibility for not standing up to you and telling you right away, but he wasn’t yours. You didn’t even know him… and believe me… I didn’t either.” I left out telling her everything, keeping what Becca told me to myself. “It’s not fair to be so angry at me over this. I’m sorry I hurt you. But you can’t hate me, Kasey. You and Smith weren’t together. Not even remotely.”

  Her lashes beat against her cheekbones, her arms folding.

  “I won’t lose my sister over this,” I said softly.

  “It hurts.”

  “I know.” Fuck, did I know.

  “You hurt me, Kins. You’re my sister. The person who should have my back.”

  “And you should have mine,” I countered. “Not just when it’s in your favor.”

  Her forehead wrinkled, but she didn’t say anything.

  “I’ve always had this strange sense of duty, the need to make you happy. To protect you.”

  “You’re my little sister.”

  I was, but I seemed to be the one always catering to her.

  There were some truths even I couldn’t say out loud. Kasey was too spoiled and pampered to ever see the harshness of the world. Even as a kid, I felt older than her. Kept her bubble world intact. Used to getting her way, Smith was the first time Kasey’s determination failed. Didn’t get what she set her mind to. And she didn’t know how to handle it.