“I wouldn’t say it was a plan,” Kinsley said, moving to Remy and taking a seat next to her. “I’d say it was more of a situation that fell into Remy’s lap and we kind of rolled with it.”
“Not the time to be a smart-ass, Kinsley,” Boone bit off.
“I’m not being a smart-ass,” Kinsley said with a glare. “It’s the truth. We didn’t plan for all this, but fate led us here.”
Asher felt the elevation of his pulse as he moved to the window, staring out into the dark night. He breathed deeply, trying to control the simmering rage boiling beneath his skin. His father always lashed out in rage. Asher promised he’d never be like him. He shut his eyes a moment, getting control of the beast inside. When he felt calm enough, he went on. “Whether it was a plan or not, how could you all be so fucking stupid?”
“Actually, it wasn’t stupid at all,” Kinsley said with a snippy voice, turning Asher around to face her glare. “We were careful, making sure that Damon didn’t ever come back for the money. From the way I saw it, all of Damon’s other victims were going to be paid back. You told me that, Boone,” she said to her brother, and then glared again at Asher. “They were all going to be okay, but what was Remy going to be? Heartbroken, forever, with nothing?”
“Kinsley, you will do well not to defend this,” Boone warned, voice tight. “What you’ve all done is wrong.”
“Oh, yeah—why?” Kinsley shot back, her arms folded across her chest. She always could go up against them. A force to be reckoned with, for sure.
Only Asher didn’t appreciate that now. “Why is it wrong? Are you fucking kidding me?” He felt his nostrils flare, sensed his control slipping. “It’s wrong because now you’ve got the attention of Joaquin King. A criminal known to kill people who owe him money. What do you think he’ll do to Remy? Take her apology? That will never happen. This money that Damon owed King got Damon killed because he couldn’t pay up. That’s what is hanging over Remy now. That is what spending that money has done. Her life is now in danger, and the fault lies with each one of you for not stopping this fucking plan.”
Asher blinked out of the rage. His hands fisted at his sides. But he knew deep down, this was all his fault. He’d done this to Remy. He’d set her life on this path.
Peyton’s head hung, her shoulders shaking. Boone moved to her, tugging her into his arms, obviously not nearly as angry as Asher. But Peyton wasn’t the target of King’s attention. Remy was.
“Stop it,” Remy cried, finally looking at Asher, tears streaming down her face. “I’m sorry, okay? I should have stopped this. I should have known better. I just…” Her voice broke. “I just wanted to be happy.”
Asher’s gut clenched at the fear, regret, and everything in between he saw in her expression. The blame fell on his shoulders, and yet, his blood was red-hot, his anger simmering, and his control nowhere to be found.
“You have no reason to feel bad, so put those tears away,” Kinsley said firmly to Remy, and then scowled at Asher. “How could we have known who the money belonged to? I mean, come on, you know that anything in that bag would have gone to the Treasury Department. It would have sat there for years and then been destroyed. The money was in Remy’s house. That’s her property. She didn’t commit a crime.”
“She didn’t commit a crime?” Asher sucked in a deep breath and then spoke in a very controlled voice. “She could be charged with larceny or theft. Fine, you found the money, you should have contacted an attorney for advice on how to proceed going forward if you didn’t want to go to the cops.”
“Oh, please, that’s a stupid idea,” Kinsley said with a snort. “Then the money would have been destroyed and Remy wouldn’t have gotten any of it. At the time, with what we knew, this made sense.”
Boone scoffed. “You do remember that you’re the chief of police’s daughter, right?”
“I know exactly who I am, thank you very much,” Kinsley said, glaring at her older brother. “So I don’t live by the letter of the law that you all do, but it was the right thing to do in that circumstance. I don’t feel bad about it one bit. We weren’t hurting anyone. All the victims were getting their money back. Remy was taking a tiny cut to see her dreams come true. You all know she deserved that, so you can all cool your jets.”
Heavy silence descended, making the air feel thick and impossible to inhale. Until Rhett said, “She’s not wrong.”
Asher slowly turned his head toward his friend and stared, incredulous. “You cannot be fucking serious.”
Rhett examined Kinsley for a long moment and then shrugged at Asher. “Does this fall in the cracks between the law? For sure. But I can’t think of a single district attorney in any county who would bring up charges against Remy for this. The money was in her loft. It’s her property.”
“That is not the fucking point,” Asher spat, feeling his skin prickle with heat. His gut burned. His fists clenched. The danger…the blame…Heat rushed rapidly through his veins. “The money is dirty. Remy should be nowhere near that, and now King knows her fucking name. He’s seen her face. There is nothing I can do to change that. Do you have any idea of how bad that is for her? How much danger she is in? King had Damon killed. He’s going to come after her too.”
Boone suddenly moved, catching Asher’s attention. He gestured at Remy and shook his head. Her head was buried in her hands and she sobbed uncontrollably.
Fucking great. Now he was terrifying her.
He drew in a long, deep breath, regretting everything he’d just unleashed. He’d seen this view before. Many times. Only in place of Remy was his mother who’d been on the receiving end of his father’s wrath. With a final look at her hard cries, he turned away and left the house before he made everything worse.
Again.
* * *
Once Remy opened the floodgates, she couldn’t stop, apparently needing to cry more than she thought she did. She had no idea how long had passed while Kinsley and Peyton held her tight, letting her get out the fear and sadness…and whatever else was lingering in Remy’s heart. By the time she didn’t have any tears left, Rhett had moved into the kitchen, and Peyton and Boone had gone upstairs to talk. When they came back down, Boone and Rhett, looking utterly miserable, grabbed some beers from the fridge and headed out to the porch. Kinsley grabbed three more beers, then returned to her spot on the couch, offering each Peyton and Remy one.
“Thanks for coming to my rescue,” Remy said, cracking the beer open and dropping the cap onto the coffee table. “You didn’t have to do that, but I appreciate it.” She took the biggest gulp of beer of her life.
“God, don’t thank us,” Peyton said. “We were so scared for you. Boone has told me all about Joaquin King. That guy sounds scary.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Remy said. “Here I thought Lars was bad news, but Joaquin was scarier…calmer…cooler…I don’t know, just not a guy I want to ever know.” Remy placed the chilled bottle against her sore eyes. “I still can’t believe any of this. It’s all so fucked up, and I’ve landed myself right in the middle of it.”
“This isn’t all on you,” Kinsley said, then shrugged. “The truth is, you wouldn’t have spent the money without my pushing you, so I’m as much at fault in all this as you.” She drew in a deep breath before continuing. “Besides, I came here the second Peyton told me about what happened because you’re way too nice. You never would have said what needed to be said. You did nothing wrong. Damon did the bad thing here—and that fact can’t be forgotten. We couldn’t have known it would come down to this. Now we just have to find a way out of it, is all. And once the guys calm down, they will see that too.”
“Yeah, finding a solution is the problem, though, isn’t it?” Remy’s throat felt raw and sore like a hundred knives had gone through it. “If I had listened to Damon when he asked me for a favor and paid off his debt, maybe he wouldn’t be dead.”
Kinsley’s whole demeanor softened. “You’re not responsible. You didn’t owe Damon any favo
rs. And if you had, you would have placed yourself squarely in King’s vision anyway. Who’s to say he wouldn’t have actually thought you had been working with Damon, which might have only firmed up Lars’s suspicions.”
From her spot at the window, staring out at the guys on the porch, Peyton said, “Kinsley’s right. Damon’s death is not your fault. He brought the trouble onto himself.”
Remy’s heart reached for Peyton. Both her friends were trying to make her feel better, and they’d outed themselves coming to her defense. “Is Boone mad at you?”
“Mad?” Peyton turned away from the window and then she sank into Asher’s leather recliner. “I think he’s more disappointed. I’m sure he never thought I’d keep something like this from him. But, of course, he understands why I did. I was protecting you. He gets that.”
“I’m sorry,” Remy choked out, grabbing the blanket off the back of the couch to wrap around her, yanking it over her head. “I’ve made a mess out of everything. Now Boone’s unhappy with you. Asher’s furious. And everyone is danger.”
“Oh, stop it,” Kinsley said, pulling away the blanket until it settled on Remy’s shoulders. “You had no idea that the money belonged to Joaquin King. None of us did. If we had, we obviously never would have spent it.” She threw her arm around Remy, and Remy rested her head on her shoulder as Kinsley went on. “The guys are worried. That’s all this is. They’re not really mad.” She paused, then she laughed softly. “I take that back. Asher’s mad, but I can’t really figure out why he’s mad since this totally wasn’t on purpose, so I’m thinking he doesn’t even know why he’s mad.”
“Actually, I know why he’s mad,” Remy said. “I told him I got the money for my shop from my mother.”
Kinsley winced. “Okay, yeah, lying is bad. But I’m sorry, you’ve thought enough about men and how to keep them happy. How about you in all this? Asher will either get over this or he won’t. But I still say a thousand times over, you deserved your shop, Remy. That money was fate giving you a little help when you most needed it.”
“Which is kind of beside the point now,” Remy stated. “I’m going to have to sell the store to get the money back.”
Peyton’s shoulders curled. “As much as I hate that idea, I think that’s probably the best thing. You need to give this guy the money and get him to go away quickly and neatly.”
“You don’t have to tell me that.” Remy recalled the coldness in Joaquin’s gaze, the firmness that still shook her right down to her bones. “He was really, really scary.”
Peyton’s expression softened. She came over to the couch and sat on the coffee table where Asher had been. She took Remy’s hand. “Everyone loves you, most of all Asher. No one is going to let anything happen to you. Boone, Rhett, even Hank, they’re all going to help you figure out this situation.” She drew in a long, deep breath, firmed up her expression, and then added, “No matter what, the truth remains, you were only trying to find a little happiness in a very dark moment. Kinsley’s right—you didn’t know that was Joaquin’s money. You’re a very good, kind person who is always making all of us feel better with your cool witchy stuff and positivity. No one is perfect, and you’ve kind of been perfect ever since I met you. So, you made one mistake…it happens.”
“A mistake?” Remy snorted. “Isn’t that putting it a tad lightly?”
Peyton laughed softly, squeezing Remy’s hands tight. “Okay, it’s like a huge mistake that’s landed you in a lot of danger, but that’s like one little blip in a whole life of good deeds. When Kinsley told you to take that money, it was done out of love, for you, because you deserve good things and life has been a total asshole to you. Yet since I’ve known you, that never seemed to get you down. You always get up and try again. You’re the first one to go light a candle and say positive word to make everyone feel better.”
Tears blurred Remy’s vision again. “Are you trying to make me sob again?”
“No, of course not.” Peyton pulled Remy into a warm hug. “I just want you to understand all this clearly. Yes, the guys are mad, but it’s because they love you. This situation with Joaquin King is scary.” She leaned away, held on to Remy’s arms, and said fiercely, “But don’t think for a second that you deserved anything that happened to you. This is all going to work out, one way or the other. Do you know how I know that?”
Remy took her hand away to clear her tears. “How?”
“Because good things happen to good people.” She smiled. “And you’re good people, Remy.”
Remy’s heart turned to mush. “I love you both. Thank you for being here.”
Arms suddenly surrounded her in a group hug. After they both leaned back, Kinsley said, “All right, so now we’ve got to come up a plan to get you out of this mess.”
“First, I’m going to sell my shop and get the money back,” Remy said. “And second, considering we put me into this mess, I don’t think we’re the ones to get me out of it.”
Kinsley jumped up, hands on her hips, a huge frown on her face. “Now you listen to me, Remy Brennan, we are not the just sit here and do nothing women. You haven’t gone through all the shit you’ve gone through to hide away when faced with trouble. Sure, this has taken on a new unexpected ‘holy shit’ twist, but we can deal with this. Do you hear me?”
Remy nodded. “Yeah, I hear you just fine. I also don’t have two hundred thousand dollars just lying around to pay Joaquin off.”
Kinsley arched a single eyebrow, giving a sly smile. “Don’t you?”
“No—” Remy paused at Peyton’s wide eyes and open mouth. Then she got her answer. My inheritance. “Kinsley,” Remy said in all seriousness. “I actually think your ideas might be the very thing that do me in.”
Kinsley barked a laugh. “Never. My ideas are brilliant, and as soon as everyone realizes that, life will be a lot better.”
* * *
Out on his porch, Asher sat on the stairs staring out into the dark night. All he’d wanted was to protect Remy. To save her from the con man who wanted to take her for all she was worth. To somehow in all this make her life better again. And yet, he’d done what he always did, fucked things up. Instead of being the supportive friend she needed, he’d let his temper get the best of him. He took control of her life, arresting Damon, and now she was worse off than if she’d married Damon and lost all her money. At least she would have been safe.
All Asher had done was interfere in her life and make it worse. Ten-fold.
Boone and Rhett joined him outside ten minutes ago. Rhett offered him a beer, and Asher silently accepted. He cracked the beer open and chugged half of it back. No one spoke for a while, and Asher was glad for it, reeling in his wild emotions. No matter how hard he tried, his father was a part of him. He’d learned to control his anger years ago, but tonight it had spilled out and made Remy cry. Shame nearly suffocated him, and yet that weakness only fueled the rage burning in his gut.
When he finally sighed and glanced up, acknowledging the men around him, Boone trotted down the steps first, while Rhett followed, placing a foot on the last step. Both men appeared as torn up as Asher felt. “Is Remy okay?” Asher asked.
Rhett nodded. “Better now.” He took a sip of his beer, then said, “This situation is a fucking mess.”
Again, just like ten years ago, everyone else comforted her when it should have been him. Fucking pathetic. Asher glanced down at his boots, wanting to fade into the background until he found a solution. He didn’t like any of it. Not Lars. And certainly not the rest of it. “Joaquin has her on his radar.”
“Is that what angers you most?” Boone asked.
“All of it makes me furious,” Asher said through clenched teeth. “I’m angry that all of this fucking shit has happened to her. That Fanning did this. That he is still fucking hurting her.”
“And look at that, now you’re hurting her too,” Rhett stated. Asher let the dig roll off him knowing he deserved it. Rhett went on. “Losing your shit with Remy isn’t going to
make this any better.”
“I’ve got to agree with Rhett on this one,” Boone interjected, leaning a shoulder against the side of the house. “As much as Kinsley can drive me insane, they could never have anticipated this.”
Asher restrained the fury sitting on his tongue and then drank back more beer, trying desperately to get control of himself. “And for that, I hear you, but it doesn’t change the fact that Remy now owes money to a man I wouldn’t want her a hundred feet near.”
Boone nodded. “It’s a problem that we need to find a solution to.”
Asher agreed. “I want King nowhere near Remy. I want him to forget her name. And if we get involved, he’ll always remember that she was the one who brought heat to him.”
Rhett dropped his chin, tapping his foot against the wooden stair. “I’m always one for a hard game against a bad guy, but I agree: We need to make King go away as smoothly as possible for Remy’s sake.”
“And how about Lars?” Boone asked.
“Lars is the reason Remy’s in all this in the first place,” Asher said, hearing the venom in his own voice. “I blame Lars as much as I blame Fanning”—and most of all, himself—“for getting Remy wrapped up in all this shit. He needs to pay for what he’s done to her.”
“All right,” Boone said, brow furrowed in thought. “We need a way for Remy to get the money to pay King to make him go away. But we also need to have enough evidence to get Lars into custody, and also keep Remy safe.”
“Not impossible,” Rhett said.
Asher rubbed at his throbbing temple. “How untouchable is King?”
Boone snorted a laugh. “Five counties all working together to take him down and we haven’t even got a hint of evidence against him. The men who work for King are loyal.” Boone hesitated and then shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. “To be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely convinced he’s dirty.”
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