Wicked Sinner

by Stacey Kennedy

  “You’re the best one to do that,” Boone called out.

  Asher glanced back, hearing the approval in Boone’s voice. Boone thought of Remy as a little sister. Asher had obviously won back Boone’s trust where it came to Remy. “Considering what I did to her, and the way her life fell apart, you’re being far too easy on me.”

  Boone gave a slow building smile. “The shiner I left you with in Washington would disagree that I took it easy on you.”

  Asher snorted a laugh.

  “You’re doing the right thing here,” Boone finally said. “That stands for something. I expected Remy to be far worse off than she is, and she’s doing good, not only because of her shop. Just making sure you know that.”

  Not having an answer to Boone’s loaded statement, Asher simply nodded, then turned away and headed back down the hallway. Part of him agreed with Boone, but the other part of him knew two weeks of being good for her was nowhere near long enough to fix the pain he’d brought into her life.

  When he drew closer, he found Remy sitting in his office. She looked as pretty as ever, wearing a flowered pattern dress with short brown boots. Asher noted the onion braid in her hand and knew the meaning of that braid. He’d seen her use that braid a few times back in high school. She felt like she needed protection. “Remy,” he called as he approached.

  She jerked, her gaze connecting with his. And holding. Her eyes were wild with worry.

  In two long strides, he was there, reaching for her until she was standing. “What happened?”

  “Nothing.” She tucked the braid back into her purse and gave a forced smile. “I changed my mind about dinner.”

  At that, he arched an eyebrow. “You want to have dinner with me?”

  “Yeah.” She averted her gaze and shrugged slightly. “Sounds nice, right?”

  “Sounds incredible,” he said, watching her carefully. “You know I want to spend time with you, but I want to know why the change of heart. You turned down dinner with me earlier.”

  “It’s just food, Asher, no big deal,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Are you in or are you out?”

  He couldn’t help himself, he grinned like a fool. “You know I’m definitely in.” Desperate to get the color back in her ashen face, he closed the distance and tucked his finger under her chin, staring into eyes that desperately tried to avoid him. “Remy, I know you,” he said gently. “I see that something has happened that’s made you very upset. Talk to me.”

  “It’s nothing.” She finally looked at him, fingering her necklace. “I…I just want to spend time with you. I changed my mind, all right? Is that a crime?”

  “Not, it’s not a crime,” he retorted, not letting her cop out. “But it’s also not something you do.” She listened to her cards and her dreams and never acted spontaneously. Never. Not once in her life. He pointed at her purse. “You made an onion braid, which you only use for protection.”

  She blinked. Twice. “I can’t believe you remember that.” Then she lifted her chin and firmed her voice. “Well, I went to the market and got bored.” When he continued to stare at her not believing a word she said, she shrugged. “Maybe it’s time for a new me.”

  “No, it isn’t.” He held his ground. “I happen to like the old you. The one who leaves fate to decide her path.”

  She held his stare for a long moment before something changed in her expression. Something that pulled him in sharply. Fear glistened in her gaze. “Remy,” he murmured, and closed the distance, not caring of the consequences, only knowing he needed to get closer. “Did something go wrong at that store?”

  She swallowed deeply, shaking her head. “Someone came by the shop after you left.” Asher’s back straightened at the tremble in her voice. “I’m sure it’s nothing, and I don’t want to cause a fuss—”

  Fear was a very real thing. So were instincts. Asher never overlooked either. “Do you know the person?” he asked.

  “No.” She rubbed her hands down the front of her dress. “And he didn’t give a name.”

  “Did he talk to you?”

  She nodded.

  “What did he want?”

  She hesitated. Then she said tightly, “I think to scare me.”

  Asher inhaled and exhaled sharply, feeling his muscles quiver beneath his flesh. “A friend of Damon?” he guessed.

  “I think so, he came by asking for him,” she said with a small shrug. “I’m sure he’s gone—”

  “We still need to check him out.” Asher helped her back into the client chair before shutting his door. He got looks from his fellow cops and Hank, the chief of police. Both Boone and Kinsley shared their father’s blue eyes. He was slightly shorter than Boone, but definitely held a strong presence and an air of authority, and also thought of Remy as a daughter. Most of his fellow cops knew about Asher and Remy’s past. Many of them would ask him questions later, no doubt, as would Hank.

  Asher moved behind his desk and told her, “A month ago or so, Boone installed cameras across the street to extend to Peyton’s store for security.” Kinsley’s bar had cameras on both the front and back doors. Some would call them paranoid. He called them smart.

  He logged into his computer and then into the security cameras that he helped Boone install. He played through the video from the time he left the store, and he saw the big guy in the fancy suit. He turned the screen. “This him?”

  She squinted at the monitor. “Yeah, that’s him.”

  Asher’s jaw clenched as he turned the screen back to face him and then fast-forwarded until the guy came back out of the shop and got into a black sports car. He wrote down the plate number on a sticky note, “You don’t need to worry about this guy. I’ll handle it.” He sidled back up to her and offered his hand. “Come on, we’ve got something to do.”

  Remy’s eyes widened at his outreached hand. “What’s that?”

  “You asked me to dinner,” he reminded her with a grin.

  “But—” She rose.

  Yeah, he knew a bad excuse when he saw one, but there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d let this one slide. “It’s just food, Remy,” he said, using her words back on her. “No big deal.”

  She burst out laughing. “Well played, Asher Sullivan, well played.” He chuckled and then felt the temperature in the room go up a few degrees as she took a step toward him and went on. “What’s the plan, then?”

  “You need food before we do anything further. You still probably haven’t eaten anything and your skin is ghost white.”

  She touched her cheek. “And then what’s the plan?”

  He lifted the sticky note. “Finding out who this guy is and what he wants from you.”

  * * *

  A half an hour later, sitting in the passenger seat of Asher’s car, Remy turned toward him next to her. “Just so you know, if this is your idea of dinner out, you’ve become really weird.”

  He snorted a laugh but didn’t comment.

  Which seemed to be his motto for the night. He’d spent most of the time after they’d left the police station driving around town. They’d grabbed burgers and fries—Remy’s favorites—from the burger stand on the side of Carriage Road. When they finally returned to Main Street, he stopped in front of Stoney Creek’s famous and historic B and B while they ate dinner. The Victorian house was the first summer cottage built in 1868 and had remained the most beloved place to stay in town. Remy had gone with the flow so far, but enough was enough. “If you’ve been expecting me to guess what we’re doing, I can tell you it ain’t gonna happen.”

  Asher bit into his burger and gestured out his front windshield. “See that black car over there?”

  Remy followed his gaze and found a fancy black sports car sitting right outside the B and B. “Yeah?”

  “That’s the car of the guy who came into your store today.”

  She stared at the car, reassessing. “How do you know that?”

  “Same make, same license plate,” was Asher’s muffled reply as he chewed his
burger.

  The first thing that went through her mind was that the guy was obviously rich. He had to be to own such an expensive ride. The second thing that went through her mind was wildly inappropriate. She lifted her fingers to her mouth, her breath suddenly quickening when she glanced Asher’s way. “Are we on a stakeout?” she asked, hearing the slight rasp of her voice.

  He swallowed his food and wiggled his eyebrows. “Exciting, isn’t it?”

  Her nerve endings stirred and tingled. “Maybe a little.”

  Staring into Asher’s eyes, seeing the softness there, her heart melted. She liked that he was including her in all this. The old Asher would never have done so. He’d controlled everything. Always did things by the book. Followed all the rules. She liked this new side of him, one where he thought of her as his equal, and didn’t make major decisions without her input. With a smile warming her from the inside out, she glanced out her window, lifting her burger off the paper on her lap and then taking a bite. The flavor of the chipotle mayonnaise and grease exploded in her mouth.

  Outside her window, the town was busy with tourists enjoying the shopping that Stoney Creek’s downtown had to offer. A quick peek out Asher’s window showed the Atlantic Ocean was choppy this evening, the fishing boats out on the water rocking above the crushing waves. Burnt-orange and cranberry-red leaves fluttered down from the mature trees that hugged the road. Fall was there, and as it was her favorite season, Remy couldn’t have been happier about that. She had a store she loved, and Asher…well, with Asher…things felt good. And that was something.

  “What are you hoping we learn from this stakeout?” she asked, turning back to him.

  “Just getting a read on this guy and seeing if we can learn why he’s in town.” Asher tossed the last bit of his burger into his mouth and then wiped his hands on his napkin. He reached for his phone, searching something on the web before putting it to his ear. “Hi, Mrs. Hathaway, this is Detective Asher Sullivan calling. Yes, ma’am, I’m doing fine, thank you. Listen, you’ve got a man staying there with you. He drives a black sports car…yup, that’s the one. I’d ask that you please keep this between us, but can I get his name?” Another pause as Mrs. Hathaway was obviously talking. “No, ma’am, nothing to worry about,” Asher said smoothly. “Just keeping an eye on who comes into our town…yes, we know you appreciate that.” He winked at Remy. “How about that name, please?” Another pause. “Yup. Great. Got it.” He grabbed a pen and notepad from his glovebox, then wrote: LARS VIOLI. “Thank you. Yes, take care too.” He ended the call, then texted someone before placing his phone back into the center console. “Rhett’s looking into Violi for me.”

  “Great.” Remy settled back in her seat and took another bite of her burger, feeling much more rejuvenated with food in her belly. “What do you think he’ll find out?”

  “Anything and everything that may or may not concern us.” Asher took a long drink of his soda and shrugged. “It’s very likely that this guy is just here looking around for Damon. Maybe he thinks something has happened to him.”

  “I told him that Damon’s in jail.”

  At that, Asher hesitated and arched an eyebrow. He finally returned his pop to the cup holder. “That’s good, but then it begs the question, why hasn’t he left?”

  “Hmmm…that is a good question,” she replied with a long sigh, not having considered that.

  Silence filled the car while Asher dug away at his french fries. When he neared the end, he asked, “When do you think you’ll stop doing your best to avoid being alone with me?”

  Damn him. Remy suffered an uncontrolled moment of heat and then gave a self-deprecating laugh. “I wasn’t…” She paused at his knowing look. “Okay, maybe I’ve been trying my best to make sure we’re always with others. It’s just safer that way.”

  Asher considered that, finishing off chewing the handful of fries he’d eaten, and then he chuckled, shaking his head. “I went four years without you even acknowledging I was back in town.” He side-eyed her. “But just because I can endure the distance doesn’t mean I like it. I thought we were giving being friends a chance?”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, shifting against her seat, feeling like a world-class asshole. “It’s just my go-to self-defensive move.”

  “Never used to be,” he countered, grabbing a napkin from the bag and wiping his face. Then he turned his head and stared at her intently. “You don’t need to run and hide. I’m not going to trap you and demand that you be mine.”

  Her heart tripped at the way he said mine. Her body shivered at the look in his eye.

  The side of his mouth curved. “I told you already, I’m here for you. That’s all that’s going on here. I think we both know that a real relationship isn’t in the cards for us. But friends with benefits…”

  Her muscles went weak and she gave a long exhale. “And you’re honestly okay with us just…friends with benefits?”

  He grinned. “I’m okay with whatever you feel comfortable with.” He leaned across the armrest, bringing his mouth close to hers. Suddenly, she was hyperaware of his every move, every little masculine thing about him. “I just want you, Remy, however I can have you.”

  God, he was sweet and hot. So damn hot….and those lips, they drew her forward without thought. Heat enveloped her, her nerve endings lighting up like Christmas morning, and right as she began leaning into him, his cell phone rang.

  “Never fails.” He snorted, reaching for his phone in the console.

  Remy grabbed her soda and took three big gulps. She had no willpower. None. She might consider it pathetic, if she didn’t really, really want to kiss him again. She wasn’t exactly sure what that said about her, but she discovered she didn’t care either. So much pain. So much heartbreak. They had their boundaries. They knew the rules. No hearts on the line. Wasn’t it time for her to take all the good she could get out of life, including having the best mindboggling sex?

  Asher answered on the second ring and put the phone on speaker. “You’re on speaker. Remy’s here,” he said, keeping those smoldering eyes on her. “What did you find out?”

  “This guy is bad news,” Rhett reported. “He’s from Los Angeles and is connected to some organized crime in Whitby Falls. He’s got a rap sheet a mile long.” Rhett hesitated, then clearly chose his words carefully. “He’s got violence in his past that concerns me.”

  Remy’s chest tightened. She was seriously debating running to hide back under her blanket.

  Asher’s warm, strong hand slid across her thigh. “It’s gonna be all right,” he said to her.

  She opened her eyes, not realizing she’d shut them, and nodded, wanting to believe him. Yet she felt tense, everything moving unbelievably fast.

  “Are there any ties to Fanning?” Asher asked.

  It suddenly occurred to Remy that unless Asher was talking with her, he didn’t call Damon…well, Damon…and she guessed that made sense since it wasn’t his name. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to call the guy that she’d almost married anything but the name she knew him by.

  “No ties that I can see after a quick look,” Rhett answered Asher’s question. “But it’s going to take some time and some phone calls. I need to look into this more.”

  “Can’t thank you enough,” Asher said.

  “It’s not a problem.” Rhett gave a long pause, then rare emotion filled his voice. “Are you all right, Remy?”

  Rhett wasn’t an emotional kind of guy, but every so often, he’d show his heart. No matter what, she could never forget how lucky she was to have the friends she did. “A little freaked out about it all, but I’m okay,” she told him.

  “Understandable,” Rhett said. “Hang in there. We’ll get this sorted out soon enough.” Static came through the phone line as Rhett was obviously shifting through papers or something. “Asher, how much do you want me to dig here?”

  Something changed in Asher’s expression then. His gaze became alert. “Dig as deep as you can. No mistakes
. No taking chances.”

  And in all that, she heard what he wasn’t saying. Protect Remy.

  “Listen, gotta go. Call if you learn more,” Asher said, hitting end on the call. He turned on his car, his back straightening, looking alert.

  “Well, that was rude,” Remy stated. “Do you always hang up on people like that?”

  Asher’s mouth twitched and he gestured out the window. “The man of the hour has arrived.”

  By the time she looked out the window, Asher was already inching his car onto the road, following behind Lars.

  Chapter 10

  Dusk had arrived and Asher drove a safe distance behind Lars to remain undetected. They’d driven along the coastline heading into Whitby Falls, the larger growing city where business was booming. Commercial office buildings lined the Main Street that was such a stunning contrast to the small village in Stoney Creek.

  Driving down First Street, Asher remained four cars back, and when Lars pulled into a parking spot in front of a restaurant, Asher pulled into the next spot he saw. He cut the ignition and he ground his teeth when Lars entered the restaurant beneath the Antonio’s sign. He’d never eaten at the restaurant himself, but the name registered as familiar.

  “What?” Remy asked.

  A slight chill ran up his spine. Not wanting to scare her before he understood the full situation, he shook his head at her and then reached for his cell phone in the cup holder. He hit call and the phone rang twice. “Hey, it’s Asher. Remy’s in the car with me.”

  “Hey to you both,” Boone said. “What’s up?”

  Asher knew the response he was going to get, and he spotted the widening of Remy’s eyes as he said, “That organized crime case you worked last year, where again was their meetup?”

  “Antonio’s in Whitby Falls,” Boone said.

  Shit. “All right,” Asher said beneath his breath, locking down his expression to show no emotion. “Thanks Boone. We gotta go.”