Wicked Sinner

by Stacey Kennedy

  Remy swallowed. Hard.

  “After that night, nothing felt right in Washington,” he eventually said into the silence. Remy tried to find words to give back to him, but they didn’t come. He went on when she kept quiet. “I regret not being here when Nana passed away. It kills me that she knew how much I hurt you before she died, and she didn’t get to see me try to fix it.”

  Remy swallowed again, forcing her heart back into her chest. “She didn’t know the real reason you left,” she managed. “I was stubborn. I downplayed it all and pretended I wasn’t hurt. She thought the break-up was mutual.”

  He glanced down at their held hands. “She didn’t know I’d hurt you?”

  “No, she didn’t know.” Tears filled Remy’s eyes at the deep pain etched into Asher’s features. She’d always only considered her pain. She’d never considered Asher’s, not truly.

  He finally looked her way. “I still should have been there when she passed away.”

  Instead of finding the impossible words to let him rid his guilt, Remy hugged his arm and dropped her head on his shoulder. She shut her eyes, feeling the tension in the air fade away when he dropped his lips onto the top of her head. And she didn’t make a peep about her no kissing rule.

  Chapter 13

  The next morning, Remy arrived to work still feeling emotional from last night. With Salem tucked under her arm, she was still pinching herself that this was her life now. The thickness in her throat about spending Damon’s money was slowly fading. Life had kicked her enough, and finally, she began believing that happiness was possible again. Slowly, even with Asher, she felt like last night was a big step forward, and yet clouded things too. She didn’t want to get emotionally involved—and she knew Asher had his hang-ups about relationships too—but she couldn’t help but see things for what they were. Asher was in deep pain. Pain he didn’t deserve.

  He’d grown up surrounded by abuse. His mother killed herself. His father, the coward, ran away. When they were together, Remy didn’t think about Asher’s home life very much because he’d always been put together and solid. But maybe he had to be? Maybe all of it had been a front, and when he left it was because he simply couldn’t be strong anymore.

  Most of all, maybe he left because he thought he’d hurt her if he stayed. Her heart twisted at the thought. Had he punished himself to protect her from the darkness in his life? It most definitely was the wrong thing to do, but for the first time, she began to understand what drove Asher to leave.

  Remy didn’t have it all figured out, but she felt like the pieces of her past were slowly coming together.

  With Asher firmly on her mind, she spent the morning attending to new customers and helping a middle-aged lady with eczema pick out cream that would help her irritated skin. Nana’s cream with colloidal oatmeal, evening primrose oil, witch hazel, and sunflower oil were sure to clear things up. Remy had seen that cream work wonders on every type of skin condition out there. Cinnamon incense infused the air throughout the shop. Remy figured an extra punch of protection and personal power wouldn’t hurt, especially if Lars came back into the store today.

  The rest of the morning was steady, the tourists flooding in to check out the new store. And just before eleven o’clock, during a lull in business, Remy grabbed her tablet off the counter beside a sleeping Salem and dialed her mother on FaceTime.

  Mom answered on the fifth ring. “Remy.” Joni Brennan gave a warm smile that lit up her green eyes, the same light color as Remy’s. But that’s where their likeness stopped. Her mother had a body that, at forty-five years old, looked better than Remy’s. She had the boobs, the curves in all the right places, and knew how to dress to extenuate everything she had. Her mom was also a natural redhead with gorgeous long curls and freckles dusting her nose, where Remy took after the father she never met, being a blonde, and she only got freckles in the summer with her tan. “I’m so happy you called,” Mom added. “I meant to call on the grand opening, but you know…life.” She shrugged.

  Yeah, Remy had heard every single excuse in the book. She used to have a hard time accepting her mother’s way of life. She tended to take the sting of rejection personally, but in her twenties, she finally realized Mom was just Mom, forever a selfish wild child. “I wasn’t sure if you’d be awake yet,” Remy said.

  “The band got the night off last night,” Mom said, taking a seat on a black leather couch and holding her phone up, showing her face, with a dingy-looking hotel room behind her. “Show’s tonight.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I don’t even know anymore,” Mom said with a laugh, glancing back behind her. “Ah, Atlanta.” She peered into the phone again. “Now enough about me. Show me the shop. Let me see what you’ve done.”

  “Okay…I hope you like it.” Remy flipped her tablet around and scanned the area before slowly walking around the shop, showing her mother every nook and cranny. “We’ve got the creams here, then the bath salts and candles.”

  “Very nice.” Mom’s voice came from the speaker. “I just love it, Remy.”

  “It’s all really come together.” Remy did a final sweep, then turned the tablet back onto herself. “The whole gang pitched in to help me get up and running. I’m so proud of what we’ve done.”

  “As you should be,” her mother said, pride twinkling in her eyes. “I’m so proud of you. Nana would have been proud too. It’s so nice of Kinsley to lend you the money for the down payment.”

  Remy swallowed back the remorse for lying to her mother about how she’d financed the shop. “Thanks, Mom.” She smiled, imaging Nana standing in this store, just bursting with excitement that her gifts could actually help people too. And really that’s all that mattered, because Nana gave Remy this life.

  The front door suddenly chimed open, then Kinsley and Peyton entered. “The girls are here, Mom, I gotta go,” Remy said, glancing back at her tablet.

  “Hi, girls!” Mom called.

  Remy angled the tablet to face them, and Peyton waved. “Hi, Joni.”

  “Send us tickets for the next show that’s close,” Kinsley called. “We love those festivals you do.”

  “You know I’m good for it,” Mom replied.

  Remy turned the iPad back to herself. “Have a good show tonight.”

  Mom smiled. “Always do, babe. Love ya.”

  “Love you too. Bye.” Remy ended the FaceTime chat and then looked up to see the girls smiling at her.

  “Your mom would be so cool if she were…well, a better mom to you,” said Peyton, moving toward the table with the creams.

  Salem woke up, yawned, then promptly fell asleep again. “Honestly, I’d rather a boring mother who’s home, than one who’s cool and always gone.” Nana had been simple but she’d been the most important person in Remy’s life, and she missed her terribly.

  Peyton’s eyes saddened.

  Remy waved her off. “Don’t feel bad for me. I had an amazing life with my nana. My mom always felt more like…I don’t know…a sister, I guess. She’s not really nurturing or anything like how my grandma was.”

  Kinsley hopped onto the counter next to Salem. He peeked open an eye but stayed put. “I wish you could have met Nana,” she said to Peyton. “She was a really special lady.”

  Warm memories filled Remy. Nana had taken Kinsley under her wing too, since Kinsley’s mom had taken off to California to start a life with a new family when Kinsley was young. Remy supposed that’s what happened when anyone lived in a small town. Sometimes people just needed out.

  “All right,” Kinsley said. “Now that we’ve got you alone, tell us about the guy who came into your shop yesterday.”

  Remy grabbed a box off the floor and set it on the table. “The scary-looking guy that made Asher all broody?”

  “Yeah.” Kinsley nodded. “That guy.”

  “To be honest, I don’t really know exactly who he is,” Remy explained, taking out some purification bath salts she’d made last week. So far the healing bat
h salts were a best seller, but Remy found the purification baths much more relaxing. “He came into the shop the other day asking about Damon. Kind of freaked me out.”

  Peyton reached for another tester cream. “I see why. He had that totally creepy vibe going on.”

  “Totally creepy,” Remy agreed. Which was exactly why Remy had pulled out her biggest protection spells ever and drenched the store in all of Nana’s knowledge. The space felt so full of light every time Remy walked in. All she could do was smile. “After he came into the shop the first time, I told Asher about him and we followed the guy the other night.”

  Kinsley blinked. “You. Followed. Him?”

  Remy nodded. “Into Whitby Falls.” She placed two of the small thin bottles of bath salts on the bookshelf, then turned back to the girls, who started at her intently. “Asher’s concerned. The guy met up with some other guys that Boone arrested last year—something to do with organized crime.”

  “That sounds bad,” Peyton commented.

  Remy shrugged. “Well, it’s certainly not great, especially because I have no idea why he’s sticking around here.”

  Kinsley examined Remy, her eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “If Asher’s on it, then I’ve got no doubt he’ll get this guy out of town soon enough.” She jumped off the counter and moved a little closer. “And speaking of Asher, you two looked very cozy on that rock last night.”

  Remy shrugged. “Things are good, and I’m letting it be whatever it is.”

  Peyton moved on to the tester candle and took a deep sniff. “Are you two going to get back together?”

  “God, no!” Remy exclaimed before reining it back in and sighing heavily. “I just like spending time with Asher again. And with all that’s happened…”

  “Having amazing orgasms is just a good thing.” Kinsley grinned.

  Remy bit her lip.

  “Ha!” Kinsley said, pointing at Remy with a smile. “I knew it. You two are totally getting all hot and heavy!”

  Heat swept through Remy’s cheeks. She quickly turned away and organized some jars on the bookshelf. “Don’t get all worked up about it. We’re just…like I said, whatever, and we’re trying to figure out how to be friends again without all the painful memories.”

  Kinsley moved even closer. “Well, ‘whatever’ looks good on you. If you’re happy, I’m happy.” She threw her arms around Remy.

  Remy hugged her back, getting a good whiff of Kinsley’s honey and oats shampoo. Which Remy recommended she used because most days Kinsley was high-strung. It seemed to relax her some. Though she told Kinsley the shampoo was for dry skin. “You know,” Remy said, leaning away, “as crazy as it all is, I actually feel happy. I always thought I needed a plan, but where did that get me? I’m just doing what feels good and not putting too much thought into that.”

  “I don’t think that’s crazy one bit.” Peyton hugged her next, squeezing tight. “You deserve to be happy, Remy.”

  “Thanks.” Remy smiled as Peyton leaned away.

  “I’ve got to scram to get ready for tonight,” Kinsley said, moving toward the door. “The bar’s going to be jampacked.” When she opened the door, she turned back to Remy. “Drinks after work?”

  “I’m in.” Remy grinned.

  “Me too,” Peyton said.

  “Girls’ night,” Kinsley yelled with a hand in the air as she left the shop with a laughing Peyton following behind her.

  Remy chuckled, loving the hell out of those girls. She put her mind back on stocking her shelves.

  By the time the end of the workday came, Remy felt ready for her couch and her slippers, but she’d promised Kinsley and Peyton she’d be at the bar tonight. She locked the front door and flipped the closed sign before scooping up Salem on her way out the back door. After giving Salem dinner, and freshening up her makeup a little, she headed back down the stairs, then headed through the alleyway toward Kinsley’s bar, when something—or more importantly, someone—caught her attention. Across the street from the shop, sitting on the bench along the sidewalk, was Lars, his gaze set on hers, that scary crooked smile on his face.

  “Hi, Remy!” Hannah, who worked at the post office, said, causing Remy’s attention to jerk to her. “Cute shop. I heard the grand opening was a huge success and that your heal-all cream is amazing.”

  Remy forced a smile. “Thanks. I’m glad people are loving the cream.”

  Hannah smiled and lifted the big box in her hands. “Gotta run, but I’ll be back soon to grab that cream.” She hurried off, then headed into the hardware store a couple stores down.

  Remy turned, half expecting Lars to have vanished. He didn’t. He sat in the same place, one arm draped over the back of the bench, his ankle crossed over his knee. Most people might think he was there relaxing, taking in the day. Remy knew better. Those cold, dead eyes were narrowed on her.

  She contemplated turning away and going into Kinsley’s bar, but then something came over her. She looked both ways before crossing the street. “Why are you following me?” she demanded when she reached Lars.

  He cocked his head. “Who says I’m following you?”

  “Well, something is up,” she said with a huff, putting her hands on her hips. “Listen, I don’t know what you want with Damon, but I have zero contact with him. I confronted him because he was an asshole who tried to scam me, and then saw him once more for closure, but I haven’t seen him since. If you want answers from him, you’re going to have to go and talk to him.”

  “That might be a little hard,” Lars said.

  Remy crossed her arms, trying desperately to portray annoyed, not scared. “And why is that?”

  “He’s dead.”

  A sudden coldness struck her core and she took a step back, nearly falling off the curb. Her mind shattered, desperate to stay strong, but everything spun away from her. One part of her heart broke, instantly reminding her that she was not nearly as healed as she’d led herself to believe. Dead? Sure, maybe she’d never loved him like she’d loved Asher, but she had decided to make a life with him. She cared for him. “He’s dead?” she breathed.

  Lars nodded. “Found in the jail’s hallway about an hour ago.”

  Remy stared at him, incredulous, trying to understand. The ground was rocking beneath her. “Did he kill himself?”

  Lars smiled. Honest to God smiled. “Nah, he’d never get off that easy. Looks like a stabbing.”

  Remy hugged herself tighter. If Damon was killed, Remy had no doubt that Asher would know that before anyone else. Either Asher was protecting her for another hit of pain, or Lars knew about the death because he’d ordered it. Remy glanced around, suddenly very aware of how alone she was with this hardened criminal, even though people strode Main Street around her. When she turned back, he hadn’t taken his cold gaze off her. “How do you even know that information?” she asked.

  “I’ve got friends of friends in the Whitby Falls jail. Word gets around quick.”

  “Okay,” she said, not believing that for one second. She took a deep breath, picking her heart up off the ground, and put on a brave face. “I’m not sure if you’re expecting a reaction here from me. Right now, my feelings are at level fucked up. I don’t know how to feel about Damon’s death or even what to say.”

  Lars cocked his head and watched her intently for a long moment, then he finally gestured next to him. “Take a seat.”

  “No, thanks,” she said adamantly.

  He hesitated, and without moving, but seeming way larger and way scarier, he stated, “That wasn’t a choice.” Again, he gestured next to him.

  Wanting to keep this talk friendly, she slowly moved, sitting as far away as she could.

  At that, he grinned. “I won’t bite unless you ask me to.”

  “What do you want, or are just here to play games?” she said firmly, forcing her voice out without a tremble.

  He snorted a laugh, then glanced ahead at her shop. “Damon was married to my baby sister, Christine.”

  He
r thoughts froze until she managed, “You’re Damon’s brother-in-law?”

  “Was Damon’s brother-in-law—or Andrew’s brother-in-law, I should say, since that’s how we knew him,” Lars corrected. “He left my sister two years ago, and it’s taken me that long to find him.”

  Remy drew another deep breath and blew it out slowly, trying to get a grasp on this new development. “I’m sorry that he did that to her.” And she was sorry. So damn sorry. Even more sorry that she was wrapped up in all this. “But if you know that Damon is gone, why are you sitting outside my shop?”

  “Ah,” Lars said, projecting a sense of calm and ease. “I’m curious about his life here.” His gaze darkened. “About you.”

  A sudden sense to flee washed over her. She rose, not liking the scary intensity in his gaze. “Believe me, I’m not that interesting.”

  Lars smirked. “Somehow I doubt that. I think you’ve got lots of secrets to tell.”

  Her heartbeat raced, nearly exploding at his dark smile. Last time, she ran, scared shitless. Not this time. “I want you to stop following me,” she told him firmly. “Stay away from me.”

  His grin only darkened further. “I find it cute that you think you make the rules here.”

  “I do make the rules,” she said, proud her voice didn’t quiver. “And I have no qualms about getting a restraining order against you.”

  He barked a laugh now, stretching his arm out against the back of the bench. A laugh that made her jerk and her blood run cold. “Go get that restraining order, sweetheart. I dare you.”

  She wanted to hit him with an epic comeback. That’s not what happened. Her feet were moving her across the street, as far away as she could get from his lifeless eyes.

  Chapter 14

  The day had passed by slowly as Asher sat behind his desk, glancing down at the evidence of a recent burglary at the pharmacy. No matter how much he tried to focus his thoughts, his mind kept drifting back to Remy and their talk last night. He finally felt like he was getting things right. He wasn’t moving too fast with her, but he wouldn’t stop moving forward until she trusted him again, fully and completely. For the first time in years, there was a bright spot in the darkness, and that happiness was having Remy back in his life. He glanced up at the photograph on the wall of the night they’d gone camping. He’d taken her virginity under the stars, and somehow fallen even deeper in love with her.