“While ago.”
“How’d you find your way to Justice?”
Pete’s questions were innocuous and in no way intrusive, but Remy tightened up so fast he just knew something big was up. Seeing her reaction made him regret putting her in a position where she had to answer.
“Cameron Justice recruited me. Made an offer I’d be an idiot to refuse. End of story.”
He admired how she tried to take control of the conversation and shut down further pokes into her private life. Pokes he invited.
She came back with the perfect counterpunch. “Mind if I ask why you’re selling the bar? I mean, I haven’t been here long, but people talk about you and Whiskey Pete’s in legendary terms.”
“It’s time. I’m ready to go out and be an old fart like the rest of my baby boomer tribe. Guess I was just waiting for some sort of divine inspiration. Then these two chuckle-fucks started lobbying hard. My gut told me they’re the ones, so…”
“Old man, put up or shut up! Sign the damn papers,” Debbie teased for the tenth time.
“I think she’s right,” Pete said as he wiped his mouth and threw down the napkin. Reaching into a big duffel briefcase, he hauled out a folder and slapped it on the table. “Who’s got a pen,” he barked with glee.
Shelly started digging in her purse. She lugged around one of those huge floppy bags full of shit that was big enough to shoplift a turkey. No way was she finding anything in a hurry.
He and Barry looked at each other.
Remy made an exasperated grunt, grabbed her purse, and pulled out a pen within two seconds. “Bic,” she announced. “Blue ink. Fine point.”
Debbie laughed. “Very efficient, my dear. Hope you teach that Justice crew a thing or two about covering all the bases.”
At every Post-it pointer, Pete signed with a flourish. When he got to the last page, he looked at Debbie and said, “If you’re gonna change your mind, woman, better do it now.”
She gave him a jubilant smile. “No change of heart. Got a hankerin’ to hook my carriage on to your wagon train. Let these young’uns find out how much shit it takes to survive in Bendover.”
Hooking her carriage to his wagon train? Hmm. Was that a clever western euphemism for senior sex?
After one last signature, he pushed the packet to Barry. His new partner grabbed Shelly’s hand and held it tight while she kept her other hand on the stack of papers so they wouldn’t move as her boyfriend signed.
Then it was his turn. He looked at Remy. She leaned close and whispered, “Sure you know what you’re doing?”
He grinned at her, gave her a wink, and signed on all the necessary lines. When he was finished, Finn clicked the pen closed, handed it back to Remy, and pushed the papers to the center of the table. Then each of them stood up. He, Barry, and Pete shook hands as gentlemen did.
To his utter astonishment, Remy started applauding and called out happily, “I think this calls for champagne.”
They plowed through a bottle of Korbel without much difficulty. It was a fun hour of ribald jokes and champagne buzzed toasts. Even his date appeared to have a good time, but eventually, the evening drew to a close.
“So there ya have it,” Pete bellowed in his bigger-than-life voice as they walked together to the parking lot. “Good luck, boys. She’s all yours as soon as the lawyers get the paperwork.”
They shook hands and hugged. Shelly got all weepy when Pete drew her into a big bear hug. It was an end and a beginning, and Finn had never felt so right about anything else he’d ever done.
Coming to Arizona had changed his life in ways no one could possibly have predicted.
He was co-owner of a bar and what would soon be a restaurant!
Finn glanced at the woman by his side. They had chemistry—no doubt about it—but she was even more fucked up than he was, and that was saying a lot.
If nothing else, buying Whiskey Pete’s and laying down roots here gave him an excuse to see where things went with her.
If they went anywhere at all.
She was humming along to the song playing on the radio. It was a gorgeous night. Laying her head back, Remy watched through the open moonroof as a thousand twinkling stars helped light their way.
“Bought this model because of that.”
She swiveled her head and look at him.
“The sunroof,” he said with a tilt of his head to the open window. “Thinking it’s overkill when the sun is beating down, but I always did like the nighttime sky.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “Sometimes, flying at night in the desert with no city lights to pollute the sky felt like being in a cocoon hurtling through the stars.”
Oh. Did she say that out loud? Must be the champagne. Normally, she wasn’t so poetic.
“What made you stop? Flying? Was the reason a war thing? I understand how shit gets old.”
Having walked right into the question, she squirmed not knowing how to change the direction of the conversation.
“Did I overstep again?” he quickly asked.
“No.” Honesty was always the best strategy. “But I don’t want to talk about it.”
Would he push? The lines with Finn were blurring, and she didn’t know what to expect anymore. He was still a cocky bastard, but he directed less and less of his bad attitude at her. She hoped he’d let it go.
“Hey, did you hear that the newlyweds came home? You haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the big guy yet, huh?”
Relieved he wasn’t going to pursue the questions about her military service, she relaxed and slid effortlessly into the conversation.
“Keep missing him. There’s a crap ton of stuff going on. The first big session for the agency kicks off right after Labor Day, and we’re all scrambling. It’s a busy place there right now. Workers still coming and going. Dogs out the wazoo. We’ll connect when the time is right. Besides,” she added with a sigh, “I heard from Betty that something big was going down within the family. And you know how that goes, right? Family first.”
His terse grunt told Remy exactly what he thought about family first.
She didn’t want to talk about the military, and he didn’t want to discuss family. Somehow, their individual dysfunctions complemented the other.
“Thanks for being so cool about everything.”
“And thank you for checking the butt pirate routine at the door.”
“Excuse me,” he said with a deep chuckle. “Do you even know what that means?”
Did she? Actually, it wasn’t something she’d thought about. Being around guys when all they did was hurl insults at each other became nothing but background noise for her.
“No. I just like the word combination. Sounds like something that’d apply to you.”
He roared with laughter. “Is that so? Well, fuck my life, Remy. Here I thought we’d end our little date with some tonsil hockey at the front door. But since you’ve got me pegged as pillaging fudge packer, I should rethink a good night kiss, huh?”
Good grief. So much was in his statement that she didn’t know where to start.
Tonsil hockey?
Pillaging fudge packer?
Good night kiss?
A totally unexpected reaction bubbled up from somewhere deep inside. Unable to hold it back, she exploded with howls of laughter and ended up cracking her window so the air would hit her face and help Remy find some control.
“What part of that was so funny? The fudge packing or the kissing?”
“Both.” She snicker-snorted. “Guess the t-shirt I got you for Christmas that says Butt Pirate next to a swish looking pirate king needs to be returned.”
“You return the butt pirate, and I’ll return the coffee mug that says bitch.”
The way they were laughing, you’d think they just wrote the best joke of all time.
Fiddling with the satellite radio, she questioned his music tastes and started tapping boxes on the digital display until she had a bunch of stations pre-set.
“There ya go, Beantown. Classic Rock, Hair Nation, 80’s, Country, Howard Stern, of course, Tom Petty, Ozzy Nation, and whatever the fuck Lithium is.”
“90’s alternative. Station house favorite.”
“What? No reggae? No opera? No R&B? No snappy Broadway show tunes?”
“Questioning my tastes in music? Sacrilege! What’s the matter with you? Aren’t girls automatically supposed to let the Wookie win?”
She lost it. Really and truly lost it. God. She hoped he knew how funny that was. All except the girls part but still. All in all, funny as hell.
“Well,” she drawled, “if the Wookie gets to win, would a few compliments hurt your head? Us girls like some fuss, you know.”
“What?” he yowled. “I opened the fucking car door. What more do you want?”
They were driving slowly along the main drive to the house and would soon pull up to the building where she lived.
“Are you staying with your sister?”
Boy, talk about throwing ice water on a pleasant evening.
“Fuck, no. I’m in some miniature hacienda thing. They call it the casita. I’m looking for a place closer to town, away from the stench of the Justice mystique.”
“What the hell do you have against these people? Seriously, Beantown. What the fuck?”
“Bunch of pretentious assholes. All of ‘em.”
“Yeah, well, I beg to differ.”
“Semper fi.”
“Oh, fuck you. It’s not just because almost everyone around here is a veteran. Shit! Calder isn’t a vet, and neither is Parker. Or Mike. He isn’t military. So what’s the real deal? Having Mommy and Daddy put you in a three-thousand-mile timeout rip a hole in your boxers?”
They were at her place. He jammed the truck into park and turned on her.
“Oh, so what? You get to take shots at my personal life—something which, by the way, you know nothing about—but your past gets immunity?”
He was angry and all but hollering. It didn’t help that she asked for it, but there was no way she was admitting that to him.
She made a lame attempt to divert and deflect, but it was too late. “There’s nothing to say about my past. And I wasn’t taking any shots.”
“Do you hear yourself when you talk? Timeout wasn’t a shot? Plus, my parents are none of your fucking business. And for the record. Briefs. Boxers are for pretty boys like your personal lackey, Jon Clod.”
“Personal lackey? Why, you obnoxious douchebag. First of all, his name is Jean Claude. If you’d pull your head out of your ass and pay a little attention to what goes on around here, you’d know that he goes by Jace. And … FOR THE RECORD,” she screamed, “he’s my cousin, you dipshit. Got it? We’re related, dumbass.”
Angrily shoving open the passenger door, she scrambled down from the cab and whirled around to throw as much stink eye Finn O’Brien’s way as she could manage. “And I’ll pass on the tonsil hockey, Beantown. Ramming your disgusting tongue down my throat with the finesse of a lizard is hardly a turn-on.”
Slamming the truck door with all the strength she could muster, Remy glared at her nemesis, gave him a very deliberate finger with the added insult of a hasty tongue wag, turned on her heel, and fled to the quiet and safety of her apartment.
FINN WAS BEYOND furious and in an angry, foul mood when he brought the truck to a dusty halt outside the casita.
Slamming the car door, he stormed toward the front of the tiny house, ripping his tie off and stuffing it in his jacket pocket as he marched along.
Fucking women. Even when he made the effort to be a nice guy, it wasn’t enough.
Shoving open the door, he stepped into the house and slammed the door behind him. He’d taken maybe five steps when he saw her.
Shit.
“What are you doing here?” he snarled.
She looked startled by his less-than-friendly greeting.
“Um, excuse me,” she said in that snotty older sister tone he hated so much. “You are a guest here, and this ring says I can go wherever the fuck I want in my own home.”
Swinging her showcase bling in his face did nothing for his frame of mind. Bitch.
Tearing off the suit jacket, Finn tossed it over a chair, undid his cuffs, and starting forcefully rolling back the sleeve.
“Well, good news, sis. You can have your fancy Villa. I’m looking for a place in town where your ring can’t be used as a key.”
“In town?” she bit out. “What for? When are you going back to Boston?”
He crossed his arms and stared her down. “I’m not.”
“Not what?”
“Not going back to Boston.”
“I don’t understand.” Her voice dripped with condescension. “From everything I’ve heard, you hate this place. Hate the people. Hate the teamwork. And you haven’t been around enough to recognize Parker when you walked past him on the sidewalk outside his law office. So why the hell would you stay someplace you hate?”
“I have my reasons, and frankly, Meggie, what I do is none of your business.”
“Da disagrees.”
“Don’t you worry about our father. I’ll handle him. When I’m ready.”
“Finn,” she groused. Waving her arms, she came at him. “What the hell are you up to?”
He knew he was being a dick. Knew he came through the door in a vile mood. Taking it out on his sister wasn’t his proudest moment, but maybe if Remy hadn’t fucked with his head, he’d be acting more civil.
Used to women falling at his feet, he was more the, ‘Hey. You’re cute. Wanna suck my dick?’ type than the hearts-and-fucking-flowers type. Since neither of those approaches would get him anywhere with Remy, he was reacting like an angry bear whose mate just ran off with the grizzly next door. And he didn’t even really like her.
He’d feel sorry for Meghan because she stumbled into his anger bull’s-eye if he wasn’t also carrying a grudge, so he took out his bad mood on her and damn the consequences.
“Meghan, why don’t you get a life and leave mine alone. It’s always worked that way before. No reason to make a change now.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re my brother, but you’re acting like a stranger. Where is all this hostility coming from?”
“You’re joking, right? Meghan. Jesus. Come down out of your ivory tower and open your fucking eyes. Stop being Meggie the Perfect for five minutes. Newsflash, sis. Your shit stinks just like everyone else’s. And this little fantasy you have going on here can all end one day.”
She stomped her foot. Actually stomped her foot like a make-believe princess who didn’t get her way. Unbelievable.
“I demand you tell me what’s going on. Stop with all this bully nonsense. I’m your sister. Not some stranger.”
“Mrs. Marquez,” he sniped, “you couldn’t be more of a stranger if you tried.”
“That’s not true,” she cried. “We might not be close, Finn, but that doesn’t make us strangers.”
“Really? Okay. Here. Let me ask you this. Remember that trip we took to Toronto? The Hockey Hall of Fame.”
“Sure,” she assured him. “Your team won their divisional, and the finals were in Toronto.”
He was so used to it that when he saw the look on her face and heard the memory she shared, he couldn’t care less.
“Me and Dev took a picture with the Stanley Cup. Ma keeps it on the piano. Oh,” she said excitedly, “and we got a hockey stick signed by one of the Maple Leafs. Gosh. That was a great trip.”
“It was,” he agreed. “Remember anything else?”
Her brows bumped together, and he could see she was thinking. “Yeah. I remember Ma almost vapor-locking when we went to dinner. Korean food. Spiciest stuff on the menu.”
Her laugh grated on his nerves.
“Good memories?”
“The best,” she answered with a smile.
“That’s interesting, Meghan, because the whole purpose of the trip was my hockey game, but you never ment
ion it.”
Her expression instantly became guarded and tense.
“You know what I remember? I remember getting into a fight with Dev at the gift shop over a jersey we both wanted. Da intervened and Deval, the golden child, got the jersey.”
The light was starting to dawn for his sister.
“But I got something better. Do you remember? Did you even know?” He went to the refrigerator in the tiny kitchen and grabbed a soda. Cracking open the can, he watched her face and sipped the foaming bubble that rose from the opening. “I got a trophy. Had more saves that game than anyone in my division.”
“Oh, right. I remember. A trophy. Yeah.”
Sure, she remembered.
“Do you know why I was a goalie, Meghan? Because Deval was. When it was my turn on the team, I was told what position to play. Not asked. Told. I hated being the fucking goalie, but hey, Dev, you know?”
“C’mon, Finn.”
“Oh, did you think I was finished?” He laughed harshly. “Same thing happened when I played Little League. Wore number seven for the Pirates because Mike’s old uniform fit. Nothing was ever about me. It was always about fitting in between those two. Dev and Mike. The perfect sons. And you! Shit. Nothing like an Irish princess in the family. You were groomed to find the lucky leprechaun. Only it turned out that you won the lottery and then landed a Spanish Don. How nice for you.”
“Oh, my god. Is this about the money? You know damn well I don’t care about it. If you need something, Finn, all you have to do is ask. Is that what this is about? You think you got the short end of the stick? What do you need?”
“Have you listened at all, Meggie?”
He took her arm and dragged her to the door, flinging it open and pointing at the new truck.
“Ford F-150, Super Crew King Ranch model. All the bells and whistles. Paid cash.”
And then she said the one thing sure to incite a sibling riot.
“How the hell did you afford that? Wait. Oh, shit Finn. Did you sell Gran’s emeralds?”
“No, you fucking bitch, I did not sell my grandmother’s emerald jewelry. Although that shit is mine, not yours, Meggie, and what I do with my inheritance doesn’t concern you. This is what I’m talking about,” he growled loudly. “Whenever anything is about me, right away you guys go to the negative. Shows how stupid you are and how little you paid attention.”
Unchained Page 37