by Jess Bryant
By the time he was done cleaning up the bathroom, he heard the sound of a car engine outside and headed for the front door. He slid on a pair of boots and a jacket and stepped outside as the lights on the vehicle in his driveway cut out. He stared at the SUV that he didn’t recognize and wished for a moment that he’d thought to stay inside until he verified it was one of his cousins.
When the door opened, and Bentley stepped out of the passenger side he breathed a sigh of relief. His younger cousin looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, which he supposed wasn’t all that unlikely. Lincoln and Ford had been adamant about keeping their younger brothers out of things tonight if they could help it but apparently it could no longer be helped.
Bentley’s hair was mussed and sticking up on one side and his jaw was covered with stubble. His usual smile was gone and he looked downright tired. He flashed his teeth but his dimples didn’t appear when he stalked forward, his boots kicking up dust as he dragged his feet.
“Remy.”
“Bent.” He nodded his head towards the car, “Who you with?”
“Oh…” Bentley looked surprised by the question and then snorted, a real smile finally peeking out, “That’s just Royce.”
“Royce? Really?” Remy frowned as the car shifted into reverse and started to back away, “Guess he can’t be bothered to say hello?”
“What can I say, my twin ain’t as personable as me.” Bentley shrugged and pointed to the old car at his side, “Keys in this one?”
Remy frowned, disliking the change in subject from Royce. Everyone seemed to be doing that these days. He was the one cousin Remy hadn’t seen since he came home months ago. He’d been thrown back into things with Lincoln and Ford and Bentley but Royce was suspiciously MIA. Considering he’d even run across all of the Bible Bomars excluding the ones currently in lock-up, Remy found that odd. Now his cousin couldn’t even be bothered to get out of the car and say hello and he made a mental note to find out just what the hell was going on with Royce after this mess was handled.
“Yeah.”
“Good. I’ll get rid of it.” Bentley nodded.
“Be careful driving through town. I’d hate for you to get stopped in it. There’s blood on the wheel and God only knows where else.”
“Trebly’s on the take. He won’t give us any trouble.”
“Maybe Sherriff Trebly won’t but Deputy Trebly isn’t exactly our biggest fan.”
Bentley’s dimples were in full force when he winked, “Oh, I think I can handle the big, bad Law.”
Since Remy had no idea whether that was a joke or not, he remained silent. He hoped it wasn’t a joke. That if Bentley got stopped by the younger Trebly that he could talk himself out of trouble. God knew the kid could talk himself out of just about anything. But Lawson Trebly seemed to enjoy sticking it to the Bomars so he wasn’t so sure charm would be enough if Bentley ran into the officer.
“I’m not taking it back into town but Lawson’s not on duty tonight anyway.” Bentley shrugged, as if Remy shouldn’t even question how or why he knew the deputy’s schedule, “Link wants it burned so we’ll head inland on the Bomar property. Get rid of it out there where nobody can see the flames.”
“Oh, yeah, good idea.” Remy decided to drop the issue of Lawson Trebly completely and walked closer, “Here are mine and Rachel’s clothes from tonight. You can burn those too.”
“Sure thing.” Bentley took the bag and tossed them inside. “How is she?”
“Shaken up but she’ll be okay.”
“I’m glad she’s okay. Ford told me some of what happened and it sucks. She’s a good girl. I’m glad she’s okay.”
“Thanks.”
Remy appreciated that Bentley cared about Rachel. As much as he hadn’t wanted to get mixed up in the same old family bullshit when he came home, as much as he’d hoped to protect Rachel from this dangerous life, he couldn’t say that it didn’t warm his heart that his family seemed to love Rachel just as much as he did.
“What’s the word on the scene at the trailer?”
“You don’t know?” Bentley frowned again.
“I told Link to give us some time but you said you talked to Ford so…”
“Yeah, well, there’s going to be a freak fire over there too. You just can’t trust those old trailers. The wiring is always going out.”
Remy snorted, “So I hear.”
“I hope there wasn’t anything in that trailer that Rachel wanted because it’s probably up in flames by now.”
“Shit. I should have asked her.” He scrubbed his face.
Rachel’s entire life was going up in flames tonight. He’d killed her brother in front of her. After Craig had tried to kill her, but still. She’d lost the last of her blood family and now she was going to lose everything she owned. Damn it, he should have thought about what Ford meant about cleaning up the scene before they left and asked if there was anything she wanted to keep.
“She’ll be okay.”
“Yeah.” He nodded distractedly when Bentley tried to reassure him.
“Go on back inside and take care of your girl. We’ll take care of everything else.”
“Thanks Bent.”
“And if she needs anything, anything at all, you let me know and I’ll get it for her.” Bentley smiled, dimples flashing again as he gave a sheepish laugh, “Well, I mean, if she needs like feminine stuff, maybe call Jemma or Skylar but… you get what I mean.”
“Yeah, I get it.” Remy managed a smile for his cousin, “And I appreciate it.”
“No problem.” Bentley winked, “Better get going before big brother starts wondering what’s taking so long. Call if you need anything.”
Remy watched as Bentley climbed behind the wheel of the old junker and waved as he pulled away. Only once the taillights disappeared down the drive did he turn and go back inside. He didn’t know what he was wishing for when he finally pushed the door open to the bedroom. If Rachel was asleep, he could put off this conversation until tomorrow. If she was asleep, he wouldn’t be able to kiss her and touch her and remind himself that she was his.
It didn’t matter what else he wished for, all he wanted was her.
He leaned against the doorway and watched her for a long moment. Moonlight was coming in through the slats of the blinds, painting her in shadows. Her dark hair was spread over the pillow. The blankets were pulled up to her chin. She looked so young, so small and fragile. The bruises on her face were visible even from this distance and he fought the urge to rush to her and wrap her up in an effort to keep her safe.
She didn’t need to be coddled. She’d more than proven that today. Despite all the reasons he’d told her he didn’t want her to go to Lincoln, she’d still done it. Because she was strong and capable of making her own decisions. She knew what she wanted and she went for it. She loved with her whole heart. She saw the best in people. And she’d done everything she could to protect him and his family tonight, including putting herself in harm’s way.
He’d almost lost her. He hadn’t known Craig managed to sneak past them but he’d had a feeling. Some sick feeling in the pit of his stomach had told him something was wrong. The hair on the back of his neck had gone up and he’d all but told Colt to back the hell off and gotten out of the car to go and check on her. He’d only heard her screaming when he was ten steps from the door to the trailer and he’d known right then that everything had gone wrong.
The only reason he’d even had the gun was because Colt brought it to give back to him. It had been Rachel’s. The one she left in Skylar’s salon that his brother had taken from her for safekeeping. Colt had brought it with them for some reason and Remy had tucked it into his jeans. He’d had it but he hadn’t thought he would need it… until he did.
What would have happened if he hadn’t? If he hadn’t gotten that bad feeling and gone to check on her? If he hadn’t been close enough to hear her screaming? If he had hesitated for even a moment, she might be the one dead and he never wou
ld have recovered from it.
God, he loved her so damn much.
“Remy?”
He pushed back up to his full height as Rachel sat up in the bed. The blankets fell to her waist and as he moved closer he could see the outline of her breasts through the old white shirt he’d given her to wear. He pulled his gaze back up and focused on her bruised face, that was sure to kill his libido.
She was bruised because he hadn’t gotten to her fast enough.
“Hey, baby.”
“Everything okay?”
He sighed as he sat down beside her on the bed and cupped her unbruised cheek gently, “No.”
“What is it?”
“Rach, I almost lost you tonight.” He shook his head when she opened her mouth to say something, “No. I almost lost you. I came so close. If even one thing had gone differently, you wouldn’t be here with me and I can’t… I wouldn’t have known how to go on without you.”
“Don’t say that.” Rachel cupped his hand with her own, “Please don’t say that.”
“It’s true. I can’t imagine my life without you. I don’t want to.”
“You don’t have to. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Don’t ever put yourself in danger like that again, okay? I know I said I’d support you but…” He struggled past the knot in his throat, “I can’t lose you. Not when I just found you.”
“Oh, Remy…” Rachel wrapped her arms around him and managed to crawl into his lap, “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.” He stroked her hair and held her close.
“Craig’s gone. He can’t hurt me anymore. That’s because of you. Thank you.”
“Rach, baby, I killed your brother right in front of you. I shot him and he died… on top of you. He bled out while you watched. I never wanted that. I…”
“You saved me. You saved me, Remy.” She cut him off, “I may have nightmares about it but they’re not about you. He was going to kill me. I knew it the moment I saw his eyes. He was high and angry and out of his mind. He would’ve killed me if you hadn’t stopped him.”
“But still, he was your brother.”
“He wasn’t my brother. Not anymore. He was a monster.” She bit her lip and then winced again and he stroked his thumb over the cut she’d reopened, dabbing at the blood, “I can cling to my memories of him, of those good days when he saved me, but that isn’t who he was at the end.”
“Rach…”
“I’m okay with what happened tonight.” She sighed and shook her head, “Or, not okay, but I’ll deal with it. We’ll deal with it. Together. As long as I have you, I can deal with everything else.”
“You have me, love. You’ll always have me.” He sighed, “But there’s something else you need to know.”
“What?” She pulled back and studied his face.
“Ford had to set the trailer on fire to cover up the scene. I’m so sorry. I didn’t ask if there was anything you wanted out of there before we left and now it’s all gone. Everything. All of yours clothes and books and pictures… I’m so sorry.”
Rachel’s bottom lip quivered but she blinked back tears, “It’s okay. It’s just stuff. I don’t need any of it.”
“But it was yours.”
“You’re mine and I told you, you’re all I need.” Rachel gave a shaky nod.
“But if you want…”
“You know what I want?” She cut him off with a sniffle.
“What? Tell me. Tell me and I’ll do whatever I can to make it yours baby. Anything.”
“I want a clean slate.” A tear escaped the corner of her eye and he gently wiped it away as it streaked over the bruises there, “I want to start over. I don’t want to be that scared girl anymore because I don’t have to be. I just want to start all over and be me. I want to be yours. I want to be happy.”
His heart broke in his chest. It shattered. Because it was such a simple request but nobody else could have understood it quite like he did.
It was the same thing he’d wanted when he came home. He’d wanted to start over. Forget about the last ten years. Forget about the two even before he left. He’d wanted to just be Remy. Not a Bomar. Not the brother that ran away. Not the one that had been abused. He’d wanted to start over and just be himself and be there for the people he loved.
Being with Rachel, that was what had helped him accept that he was a better man than he’d been back then. She made him better. And if she wanted to start over, he’d do everything in his power to help her find the same happiness that he had found thanks to her.
“Clean slate.” He nodded, stroking her back reassuringly. “Done.”
“What about everything that happened tonight? What if the cops come knocking? They will, right? My home was torched. My brother is… missing.” She cringed at the word, “They’re going to ask questions.”
“Lincoln will handle what he can but yes, they’ll come asking questions.”
“What are we going to tell them?”
“Nothing.”
She rolled her eyes, “We can’t tell them nothing.”
“Yes, we can. The Bomars have been doing it for years. Trust me, Lincoln knows what he’s doing. There’s no way this will come back on you or on me.”
“But the bruises…”
“They can’t prove anything. At worst, they might imply that I did it.”
“Oh my god.” She looked horrified and he chuckled.
“It’s okay.”
“No! It’s not!”
“Rach, you and I know the truth. Colt, Sky, Cash, Jem, Lincoln and Ford and Bent and the other boys… everyone in the family will know the truth. That’s what matters. I don’t care what anyone else thinks about me just so long as you’re okay.”
“Remy, you can’t let them think you did this to me.”
He loved her so much for defending him, for refusing to allow that kind of assumption. He was a Bomar. His girlfriend had bruises. It wasn’t a stretch to think that everyone in this town would assume he was an abuser. But he didn’t care about what those people thought of him, not anymore.
As long as he had Rachel and his family, he would be fine.
“How about we deal with it tomorrow, baby? It’s been a long day. Tomorrow is bound to be another one. Tonight, I just want to hold you and remind myself that you’re here and you’re mine and I didn’t lose you.”
Rachel stroked his cheek and then leaned down and kissed him softly, “Okay.”
“Okay.” He smiled and kissed her back just as softly.
With a little maneuvering, he twisted them down onto the bed and pulled the blankets back up over them. Rachel scooted back, pressing her curves against him and he groaned and pulled her closer. Having her in his arms, she fit there so well because she was made for him, made his cock stir but he steadfastly ignored it and simply held her.
Rachel shimmied her hips a little, “Um… Remy.”
“Hush.” He chuckled against her hair. “Ignore it.”
“I could uh… help you with that.”
“Not tonight. We have plenty of time for that later.”
“Like, the rest of our lives?”
He smiled because he could hear the grin in her voice. He pulled her even tighter and kissed the top of her head. God, he loved this woman.
“Yeah love. We have the rest of our lives. Now, sleep.”
Chapter Twenty
Rachel stared at her reflection in the small bathroom mirror and told herself that she wasn’t going to cry. Not again. Not anymore. There was nothing left to cry about. It was over. Craig was gone. Remy had saved her. They were starting over and this time around she wasn’t going to be a scared crybaby that hid behind everyone else.
She tilted her chin up and blew out a rough breath.
Her bad night was written all over her face. Her busted lip had scabbed over but still ached whenever she moved her mouth. She dabbed at it with her tongue as she willed the tears that wanted to form back. Her left chee
k was one giant bruise. The blue and purple discoloration ran from her eye all the way to her chin. The colors were stark against her red and swollen eyes. It looked even worse than it felt and it didn’t exactly feel good.
She sniffled slightly as the memories came back and dropped her gaze to where her hands white-knuckled the sink. Deep breath in and then deep breath out. Count it out. Remy had taught her that last night in bed when she’d woken screaming from the bad dream that was actually a memory. He’d held her close and told her she was safe until the worst of the shivers stopped and then he’d told her how he dealt with his own bad memories. The memories of Chrissy and Decker and all the friends he’d lost overseas in combat. The memories of the men he’d killed. He’d said the memories never really went away but he’d learned to deal with them, to cope with them, and she could to. As long as they had each other to hold onto, they would make it through this.
Rachel got her breathing back under control and then focused on the only thing she could. The present. She couldn’t spend any more time looking backwards. Couldn’t wonder about the what ifs or the could have beens. Not anymore. Her old life was over and there was no going back. She didn’t want to go back. But she couldn’t focus on the future yet either. There were too many questions there too. Too many problems, too many unknowns, because she wasn’t naïve enough to think there wouldn’t be repercussions for what had happened last night.
Even if she didn’t question whatever lengths the Bomars had gone to in order to protect Remy, and her, she knew the cops would have questions.
They would be by and soon. It wasn’t exactly a secret in town that she’d been staying with Remy lately. They went everywhere together. The cops would figure out where she was and they would come out here to talk to her, and to Remy, about the fire at the trailer. He’d told her not to worry about it but she couldn’t help it.
