The Rebel’s Redemption: Mershano Empire Series

by Foss, Lexi C.

  The realtor’s eyes widened. “Yes, but where did you get that?”

  “It’s not important. I just needed confirmation. Oh, but I would like to know…” He bent to pull a photo from his bag, one I couldn’t see because he showed us the back and the realtor the front. “Is this the Avery Perry you know?”

  My lips parted as the realtor’s gaze flung my way. “That’s why you look familiar. You must be related to Avery.”

  My entire body went rigid. “What?”

  She grabbed the photo and showed me a picture of Jean. “Avery. You look so much like her.”

  “Doesn’t she?” Garrett’s lips curled. “So that’s who owns the condo upstairs, right?”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, my voice a choked whisper.

  “Yes. She’s lovely. But I don’t know if she’s wanting to sell.”

  “As I said, Miss Hanson, you might be surprised.” Garrett set the paperwork on the table, allowing me to see the deed to the condo showcasing my name. I snatched it off the table.

  “This… this…” I couldn’t finish, my eyes blurring as I read each damning line. “I didn’t know.” I finally looked at Wyatt, his expression unreadable. “I swear, I didn’t know.” But, of course, he wouldn’t believe me. My name was all over this deed. And the papers beneath it only further nailed my coffin closed.

  Financial documents.

  All with my signatures.

  And there was even a photocopy of my old license.

  They were talking around me, Emily asking questions, but I couldn’t hear any of them over the pounding in my head.

  This can’t be real.

  But it was.

  All of it.

  Right there in black and white, it stated I owned the condo upstairs. I had signed for it. I had purchased it from an account I knew nothing about. “This… I didn’t do this.” The whisper sounded loud to my ears. I threw the papers down, my vision drifting out of focus from the tears threatening to fall. I voiced an apology, or tried to, and excused myself to get some fresh air.

  Too much.

  This was all too much.

  Why would Jean do this to me? Steal my identity to live another life? “This can’t be real,” I breathed, talking to no one in particular. “She…” I shook my head, my feet carrying me into the parking lot, toward…

  I didn’t drive.

  Fuck!

  Not that I should leave in this state, but I couldn’t stay here.

  “She lied to me.” I pinched the bridge of my nose, the headache forming overwhelming everything around me.

  Jean led a completely secret life.

  I should have known.

  It’s why she never stayed the night. She had a place of her own. This place. A place in my name.

  My knees gave out beneath me, but a stern band around my abdomen caught me before I could fall. Wyatt was suddenly there, his chest providing a forbidden pillow for my face.

  “You knew,” I accused, my hands fisting against him. “You knew.” And he hadn’t told me. He’d fucked with me instead. Which, I supposed, he thought I deserved.

  Because he thought I had played him. Just like Jean.

  “I found out Friday night, yes,” he admitted, his lips at my ear. “I’m sorry, Avery.”

  “You’re sorry?” I wanted to laugh. To scream. To punch someone.

  No. I wanted to punch Jean.

  She had given me the most beautiful gift, and now her actions would rip that gift from my arms.

  “I didn’t know,” I told him. Not that I expected him to believe me. There was too much proof to the contrary. He had every right to hate me. To blame me. To assume I was cut from the same cloth as my sister. That was the purpose of all this, obviously. To give him final cause to take Jamie from my life in the cruelest way possible.

  He cupped my face between his hands, pulling me away from his shirt, forcing me to look into his dark eyes.

  Judgment, I realized. He wanted to deliver his final verdict. And I didn’t have it in me to hate him for it. None of this was his fault. It all lay at my sister’s feet.

  How could someone be so selfish? She never cared about me or Jamie. She only thought of herself.

  Cursing a dead woman felt wrong, but in this case, it was more than fucking warranted.

  “Garrett is here to help,” Wyatt said softly. “We’re going to sort this out. Do you want to see the condo? Because we have a key.”

  “Wh-what?” He wanted to go upstairs? To see where Jean had lived? “Actually, yes.” I did want to see it. To provide myself with some semblance of closure over all this insanity. All the lies. To see the world my sister had kept hidden away while leaving me to shoulder all her responsibilities. I wanted to know what life she chose over Jamie.

  Wyatt swept the tears from beneath my eyes, his lips lightly touching mine.

  A stroke of pity?

  No, thank you.

  I pushed him away, shaking my head. “Don’t.” Not after everything. This morning. The way I’d let him into my bed. “Don’t do that.” It would taint the brief affair between us, and I couldn’t stand for that. These were my final memories, the ending of the worst month I’d ever endured. And I refused for it to culminate on a note of pity.

  “Look, I didn’t tell you because Garrett needed to see for himself that this was all Jean,” Wyatt said. “But I’ve not doubted you for a second. I knew this wasn’t you, Avery. Your sister played us both. And frankly, I’m glad she’s dead. She deserves to burn in hell for eternity for all of this.”

  Wait, what? That wasn’t at all what I expected him to say. He thought I was mad that he didn’t warn me about all this before walking inside? I mean, yeah, that would have been appreciated. But why would he feel obligated to tell me anything? He didn’t owe me a damn thing. Apart from maybe some gratitude for raising his son. However, Jean was the culprit here.

  She deceived me.

  She lied to Wyatt.

  She stole my identity.

  She abandoned her son.

  “Your sister was a sick and twisted bitch of a woman,” a new voice said, joining us outside. I glanced around, realizing I’d not just walked into the parking lot but through it. Toward an adjoining park with swings.

  Jamie would enjoy that, I thought numbly. “Why didn’t she ever bring him here?” I wondered out loud, finally seeing the beauty of our location. Trees. A full playground. Walking paths. A richly elegant home, one Jamie would have adored. “Why did she hide all of this?”

  “As I said, your sister was a bitch,” Garrett replied dryly. “God rest her soul and all that fuckery.” He waved a hand. “Regardless, Avery, I apologize for doubting you. For what it’s worth, Wyatt never did. He adamantly told Kincaid that you were innocent, and I was the one who said otherwise. Which is why I intend to help eradicate you from this mess—free of charge. And Wyatt has agreed to let you keep the property and accounts as well.”

  “I… what?” I looked between them, flabbergasted by everything he’d just said. “Who is Kincaid? And what accounts? And why would I want to keep anything?” The only thing I cared about was Jamie. Always.

  “Kincaid is the investigator we hired to look into Jean’s activities prior to her death,” Garrett replied. “Specifically, her financial situation.”

  “I wanted to know where all of the money I’d sent for Jamie went,” Wyatt added. “And, as I believe in honesty, I also wanted to know if I could trust you.” His gaze bore into mine. “For the record, I already decided who you were before he delivered the report.”

  “Which is why he adamantly denied the allegations that you purchased the property in this building. But I don’t rely on the instincts of a man driven by his cock. Hence today’s meeting.” Garrett certainly had a way with words. He shifted his attention to Wyatt. “Miss Hanson is gone, by the way. I have her information should we require her for any of the estate resolution.”

  “Yeah, it’s clear that she had no idea,” Wyatt replied.
“Which was the other reason for today’s meeting, Avery. We wanted to see if Emily knowingly committed fraud with Jean.”

  I hadn’t even thought of that.

  How many people did Jean deceive throughout the years?

  “Miss Hanson didn’t have any knowledge of it. Now I just have a lot of paperwork to file.” Garrett checked his watch. “Right. Did you want to see the condo? Because I want to walk through it before I decide on how to proceed.”

  “I… Proceed?” My head was spinning. “I don’t…” I swallowed, trying to formulate my thoughts, to focus.

  “Do you want to see the condo?” Wyatt asked, his voice softer, his hand somehow finding my lower back again and offering a strength I didn’t know I needed. “Or do you want me to take you home?”

  “No.” To what? “I… I want to see the condo.” Closure.

  “All right.” Wyatt’s arm slid around me, his touch warming my chilled skin. “Then we’ll go upstairs and discuss more when we get there.”

  I nodded. “Yeah. Upstairs. Okay.” The words sounded foreign to my ears. Like someone else was speaking for me.

  How had this become my life?

  What else had Jean kept from me?

  I almost didn’t want to know.

  I just wanted to be done with it all. To move on. But something told me Jean would haunt me for years to come.

  Jamie deserves better.

  Wyatt brushed his lips against my temple, as if hearing my thoughts and confirming Jamie had a better option. His father. Someone who had been duped from the beginning, just like me. A man who could more than take care of his son and had proven himself to be tender and loving over the last few weeks.

  Could I do it?

  Could I give Jamie up to him? I wanted Jamie to experience the best in life.

  Wyatt could give him the world.

  A world away from Jean and the manipulations of her past.

  A world of love and happiness and success.

  A world without me.

  Maybe Jamie didn’t need me after all. Maybe all he needed was Wyatt.

  My heart broke at the thought.

  But I would always put Jamie’s needs first. Even if it meant living a life without him.

  21

  Wyatt

  Avery hadn’t said much since leaving Jean’s condominium. The residence had been dusty but mostly clean, apart from the abundance of alcohol and controlled substances inside. It was very clearly not Avery’s place, something Garrett noted several times while wandering through the two-bedroom condo.

  He kept asking Avery what she wanted to do, but she seemed incapable of answering. I told him to give her a few days to process everything, to decide on next steps.

  Now, she stood in the kitchen, cleaning up from dinner on autopilot. I offered to help twice, but she shrugged me off, telling me to play with Jamie.

  But he didn’t seem all that into our game of race cars. He kept looking toward Avery with a perplexed expression.

  “Auntie A is acting we-ord,” he confessed in that not-so-soft whisper of his.

  “I know,” I agreed. “I think she’s tired.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, she was screaming this morning. I think from a bad dream. That’s why you were there, right?”

  I bit my lip to keep from grinning. Now I understood why she’d wanted to be quiet. But his innocent mind had no idea what caused those noises. Thank God.

  “Yeah, I was helping her feel better.” Not a lie. I just chose not to elaborate on it.

  “I have bad dreams sometimes. ’Bout Momma Jean. Her angels talk to me.”

  Well, that was a dark statement. “What do they say?”

  Jamie shrugged. “I dunno. But my Auntie A cries lots. And I hate it.”

  “I don’t like when she cries, either,” I admitted. Last night, coupled with her reactions today, had left me more unnerved than ever before. She wasn’t the first woman to break down in my presence, but she was the first one I wanted to console. That I had been the one to cause her tears only made it worse.

  Well, perhaps not today.

  I blamed Jean for Avery’s emotions earlier, not myself.

  Yes, I could have warned her. Maybe I should have. However, it had seemed more prudent for her to see it on her own, not be told about it. Somehow, that made it all the more believable.

  Not to mention, Garrett required the test—one Avery passed with flying colors. The bastard actually felt bad about everything now, which I considered a win in and of itself.

  “Let’s make her happy,” Jamie said as if it were the easiest thing in the world. “Another gift?”

  I chuckled. “You’re in for a world of hurt when you start dating, buddy.”

  “Dating?” His nose scrunched. “What’s that?”

  “When you decide to like girls.”

  “And kiss them?” Jamie sounded positively affronted by the notion. “Gross!”

  “I’m going to enjoy replaying this conversation to you in about ten years.” I ruffled his hair. “What kind of gift do you want to get her?”

  Apparently, the necklace was the first gift he’d ever given Avery. I supposed that made sense with her always being the one to buy things. She didn’t strike me as someone who indulged herself often. Which was why I didn’t tell her where Jamie found that necklace or how much it was worth. She thought he’d picked up the fleur-de-lis key pendant in a tourist shop.

  Good thing I discarded that trademark blue box first.

  Or maybe she wouldn’t have even recognized the brand.

  Something told me Avery wasn’t very familiar with famous jewelry chains.

  “Pizza?” Jamie offered, his lips twisting to the side. “Pizza makes me happy.”

  That’d been his gift idea in New Orleans, too. I’d suggested a few more sustainable ideas, including a necklace or a bracelet. So, after my tux fitting, we’d wandered through a few stores and he’d selected the key. Now he wanted to give her food again.

  “Pizza is for Fridays,” I reminded him, grinning. “What else you got?”

  “I think pizza should be allllll the time. And ice cream!” His eyes went wide. “We should get her ice cream!”

  “Get who ice cream?” Avery asked, joining us in the living area.

  “Youuuuuuuu!” Jamie stood and started dancing around. “Ice cream, Auntie A. Ice cream.”

  “He has a one-track mind when it comes to food,” I commented, chuckling.

  “Yes. He does.” Her resulting smile didn’t reach her eyes. “It’s too late for ice cream, Jamie. It’s bedtime.”

  I glanced at the clock, surprised to see it nearing seven thirty already. We’d eaten later than normal tonight, with having spent the afternoon at Jean’s condo. Fortunately, Avery’s babysitter, Katrina, was able to pick up Jamie for us from preschool. “Uh-oh, Auntie A is right, little man. Time to brush your teeth.”

  “Ughhhhhhh.” Jamie threw his arms out to the sides. “But I’m not tired at allllll.”

  “Then Wyatt can read to you until you fall asleep,” Avery offered. “Maybe he’ll do all the voices for you that you like.” She gave another small smile. “I’m going upstairs, but I’ll drop in to say good night soon, ’kay?”

  Jamie frowned after her as she left. “But… I kinda wanted Auntie A to read to me tonight.” He looked up at me with pleading eyes. “Can Auntie A read tonight?”

  “Sure, little man. Why don’t you go pick out a book and start getting ready while I talk to your Avery.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, ’kay. Don’t make her cry.” That last part was spoken as an order before he flounced away.

  I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Avery. She’d been through enough. If anything, I wanted to take care of her—in the best ways.

  This whole notion of wanting to make someone else happy—apart from myself—was a welcome experience. For the first time in my life, I felt needed. And not just that, but wanted. Like I finally had a family of my own.

&
nbsp; That thought followed me all the way upstairs to Avery’s room, where I knocked softly on her door.

  “One minute,” she called, her voice sounding off. And not in a good way.

  “It’s me,” I said, cracking open her door. “Jamie wants you to read to him.”

  “What?” Avery cleared her throat. “Why?”

  “I think the novelty of rebel friend Wyatt has worn off,” I murmured, leaning against her door frame in the hallway. “And I think he missed you this weekend.” As did I, I wanted to admit but didn’t.

  “Oh. Okay. I’ll… I’ll be over in a few minutes.” There was that odd note in her tone again. It had me itching to push open the door to see her, but I didn’t want to intrude.

  “I’ll help him with the routine, and he’ll be waiting for you,” I said, deciding we could talk afterward. There were a lot of topics we needed to discuss, including what to do about Jean’s accounts and the condo. Avery seemed to be of the opinion that it wasn’t her decision. I disagreed.

  I pushed away from her door and met Jamie in the bathroom to help supervise his teeth-brushing skills. Then I helped him find suitable pajamas. He picked out a book and snuggled into his bed just as Avery walked in, her face freshly washed and her legs clad in a pair of sinful yoga pants. She also didn’t appear to be wearing a bra with that tank top.

  “You sure you want me to read to you?” she asked, her eyes on Jamie.

  “Yep,” he said, holding out a book—one I’d read four times last week. “This one.”

  “Okay, dude.” She snuggled in beside him.

  “Night, little man.” I ruffled his hair. We hadn’t really gotten to the kiss on the forehead bit. Mostly because I didn’t know if he’d like it. Or how to really cross the boundary of telling him I was his father, not just a friend.

  More things to discuss with Avery.

  After I divested her of those clothes.

  And licked every inch of her.

  I smiled as I entered my room across the hall to change into a pair of sweatpants. I was on my way to the hall bathroom when I overheard Jamie unsuccessfully whispering, “Can you come with us next time?”

  I leaned against the wall beside Jamie’s open door to eavesdrop on her reply. It’s not like I ever proclaimed to be a saint, and I sure as shit wasn’t going to act like one now.