“You aren’t looking at Remy as she is now, Chase old buddy, you’re looking at her through those same rose tinted glasses you wore as a young boy. Take that shit off and give her a chance. I fucking guarantee that when you do, you will see a woman more than pure and strong enough to be your equal.”
He turns and strides out of my door before I can even venture to answer that bollocks. I left contemplate his words well into the rest of the day, my thoughts not on business or the hundred other trivialities that I’ve been using to bring myself to heel and stay away.
Can it be true? Have I been painting my wee lass with that same distorted brush I used so many years ago? For sure I’d adored her, but even then I’d been distrustful of her every move and intention. I spent a lot of the time brushing off her attempts to engage me with the notion that she was using me as a means to an end.
She’d broken things off with Carson at one stage and I’d been over the moon, but still, I hadn’t trusted that she was strong enough to stay the course.
So maybe Remy is right. I am the problem here. I’ve gone and lumped her into a category that is frankly not very complimentary. I’ve stereotyped her, sabotaged her before she even had a decent chance.
“Fuck.”
“Good to see your head’s finally coming out of your ass.”
I jolt and look up to see Brick leaning nonchalantly against the far wall of the office, his gaze trained on the view over my shoulder, looking for all the world as comfortable as all get out.
“Christ! Where the fuck did you come from?” I bark, righting the pile of papers I scattered. “I didn’t hear Betty buzz you in.”
Brick smiles and shrugs lightly. His prowling gait as he stalks forward and falls into a seat with a sigh is grating on my nerves as much as his casual pose and the smile flirting at the edges of his mouth.
He stretches lazily and brings up a foot to rest on the corner of my desk, not seeming to care that the bloody thing cost more than he makes and used to sit in a British PM’s office in the late nineteenth century.
“She didn’t. I slipped in with Gabe,” he drawls, making my skin prickle.
“You’ve been standing there for hours then.”
“Yup.”
“Have you any idea how fucking creepy that is, Brick?” I ask with a grimace, wrenching a drawer open to retrieve two glasses and the bottle I have hidden there.
I pour and slide the glass at him with a flick, almost smiling when he catches it before it can sail over the edge and into his lap.
“Oh, I dunno. I enjoy watching you stew in your own stupidity man, always entertaining to see the mighty fall and all that. So, you’re getting the picture?”
Bloody pompous, sanctimonious prick.
“Shut it you wanker. Fine, I’ll have a talk with her.”
I may have to get goggle-eyed blitzed to do it without tearing our home apart, but hey, what’s a few drinks when my actions could fix things with my girl.
“Strange to see you drinking though, man.” He points out.
“I do sometimes. Not much though.”
Can’t go back to that. Never.
“Okay,” he says, blowing out a breath. “So, you’re gonna do it. Might make things easier if you know your girl isn’t as pure and angelic as you think, though.”
That catches my interest and I lower my glass to stare at him, cocking a brow.
He laughs, a little darkly, and I see that he’s enjoying whatever the hell it is he knows. Wanker.
“So, I didn’t have to snatch and torture Carson for the truth—it turns out your Remy told Hen and Dec. No, let me finish, man. She told them because it seems she’s enlisting their sleuthing services to tag some info on your targets.”
I come out of my chair in a rush and start pacing. I know that whatever he’s gearing up to tell me will not be good. Bloody fucking hell. I don’t want Remy involved in any aspect of the ugliness I’m embroiled in.
“Tell me.”
Brick sighs and scrubs a hand over his stubbled chin, his actions making my muscles clench with worry. Brick never allows anyone to see emotions unless he wants them to, and not even really then, so whatever he knows is not good and I know it bodes ill for my continued sanity.
“Won’t tell ya what all she told them because that would be a gross violation of her trust, but believe me, man, the reason behind her current plans is a good one. Your girl’s looking to get revenge on those assholes and I’m buying a front row ticket right now. Hen and Dec both said they pity those bastards after seeing her face and, man, that girl is all kinda pissed if her recent movements are anything to go by.”
God in heaven, she must know they’re responsible for those photos. I can’t imagine what she must be feeling. Those pics are explicit and raw and leave nothing to the imagination.
“The photos are only a part of it,” he says, reading my mind in that eerie way he has about him.
“Brick.”
“Nah, man. You want the whole story, it’s time for you to pay the piper. Ask her. She wants to tell you.”
“Fuck. You better be close by.”
“Aren’t I always, buddy?”
Chapter 33
Remy
Something is most definitely up with Chase tonight. I’m not just saying that because he strode into the house earlier than his usual midnight return.
Nope, he walked right in, grabbed me and kissed the living shit out of me before slapping my ass and ordering dinner for after he gets out of the shower.
Weird behavior, since he’s been no better than those cold Wight Walkers all week.
But I can roll with the punches. Hell, I stopped myself from choking on my food when he started telling me a really dirty joke out of the blue. Suffice it to say, I laughed as much about the relief and warmth I got from this thaw than I did about Paddy O’Brien’s dick joke.
Seems the Irish are famous for more than Shamrocks and the Blarney stone.
Now we’re on the sofa, pretending to watch Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze fondle a lump of clay.
I’m just grimacing over the whole dirty hands meet face part when I hear Chase sigh, and then the TV clicks off.
“Hey.”
“I need to talk to you, Rem,” he says, ignoring my protests and turning to face me, one knee bent and resting on the sofa near my own curled up legs.
I nod and turn closer, gulping when he stretches an arm out behind me and starts fiddling with my hair, his eyes following his movements for long minutes before turning and focusing on me.
“I’ve been a right prick these last few weeks. I want to apologize for that. I heard you insulting me after the fight—”
“That’s not—”
“Shh, let me finish,” he murmurs, laying one finger over my lips to quiet me.
That finger rubs little circles into my flesh and dips in briefly to meet my teeth before he pulls away and blows out a harsh breath.
“I was high off the fight, off the release I always get from the challenge and I, in my arrogance, expected you to coo and crawl all over me for my manly display. I was annoyed with your reaction because I wanted to impress you—”
“You did Chase! God, you were phenomenal in that cage. I just…I freaked out a little because it reminded me of something. I took my own baggage and issues out on you. I know now it was wrong.”
Wrong and unfair, but hell, I’ve tried to make it right, haven’t I?
“I know, babe. You tried to tell me and I shut you down because I didn’t want to hear it. I was so certain that what you were going to tell me was bad and I…you need to know that I started in the cage as a way to relieve some of the anger I carry around after I was bullied and beaten half to death by school mates.”
That is such a shock that I gasp and rear back, searching his eyes for—I don’t know what—but needing that connection as bile rises in my throat. Oh hell no, I do not like the thought of a bunch of assholes hurting my Chase.
Maybe I can find them
and—
He laughs and strokes my chin, the action soothing me enough that I don’t feel the immediate need to hunt those fools down and put a cap in their asses. Lord, now I’m gonna have to call Doc to steady myself.
“Don’t fret, babe. I made them all pay dearly for it.”
“Good. I hope you beat them fucking bloody.”
My words make him freeze before he throws his head back and starts laughing so hard he doubles over with mirth. It takes him a while to calm down. He's still wiping tears from his eyes as he straightens and shakes his head, looking at me in a soft way that sends shivers down my spine.
“God, and to think I thought you soft and weak.”
“Hey!”
“No, babe. I know now that I was wrong. So, I think it’s time we get everything out on the table. I-I was cornered one day behind the school building by the football team and…well, let’s just say that by the time they got done, I was half dead and praying for it besides. It took the doctors three very intensive surgeries to put my face back together, but it will never be the same.”
I gasp again at the pain he must have suffered and lean in to stroke his cheek, loving this face but feeling sad for the one he lost. It must be terrible to look in the mirror every day and see how much he’s changed, how irreversibly those assholes changed the course of his life.
“You’re still gorgeous.”
“Thank you. But that’s not the point. I was in a lot of pain for a long time and my dad was beyond furious. He tried to get justice for me, but the boys in question are from good families and money and, well, they weren’t brought to justice at all. That’s when dad decided that I had to leave. He packed me up and sent me to my mum in England to finish off my schooling and college. He died in a car accident my last year at university.”
“Oh, Chase.” He blows out a rough breath and starts playing with my hair again as if the action soothes him.
“Yeah. I hated them for a long time. They took my face, my time with my dad, and then worst of all—and the reason I became this man—they took away the love that could have been. At that time…I loved a girl.”
His words make my heart squeeze in my chest because I know this feeling, this regret for what could have been. I loved too and I lost it because I wasn’t good enough.
He though, he could have had his true love if not for the actions of the boys who stole part of him. I feel sad, and truth told, a little jealous of that girl. To be loved by Chase must have been a gift beyond any and it galls me to have to face the fact that he probably still pines for her and that I’m not even close to having that part of him.
“She must have been very special,” I choke out.
“Yes, she truly was. She was so bright and happy just to be most of the time, though how that was possible with her family is beyond me,” he murmurs, his eyes going distant as if he’s reliving a past I can never be a part of.
“Did you ever come back to see her? Did you try?”
Shit Rem, don’t cry.
“Yes. But she was already married and belonged to another.”
“So…”
“I’d built my business up and made sure that I was so rich and powerful that nothing could touch me.”
I smile and shake off my melancholy because it tickles me to think that should those men meet my Chase now, they wouldn’t walk away from the meeting alive.
And how damaged am I to relish the thought of my guy beating them half to death before spitting on their worthless carcasses. Damn, but those phone sessions with Doc are going to have to be intensive if this Remy that has reared her ugly head is staying for the foreseeable future.
“You succeeded, baby,” I murmur, smiling with glee.
His own mouth tips in a smile and I feel it all the way to the soles of my feet. Gosh, what a difference this is to the distance we’ve shared for weeks. The more he speaks, the more I want to know. I find myself not dreading my own story quite as much, not that I know that he’ll understand.
It’s not the same thing, but with his pain, I feel a lot better about my own stupid weakness all those years ago.
“I did.”
“Is that why…”
I trail off because I don’t want him getting angry and distant again. I definitely do not want him pissed at Liv for her snooping. He’d be on the phone with Gabe and chewing the poor guy’s ass for it if I know him.
But, if he’s sharing now and I want to further this trend, I can’t hold anything back, not even to spare myself the repercussions. Honesty is a bitch even as liberating as it can be.
Chapter 34
Remy
“Is that why….” he prompts, lightly tugging at the lock of hair he’s still fiddling with.
“Liv read something on Gabe’s computer that sorta points to you going hard and heavy on Brian and his friends. Did you find out…about those photos and go on a vendetta against them?” I ask quietly, feeling the rage that now courses through me every time I think of those buttholes.
He stiffens but doesn’t show any other outward signs of anger. I breathe a sigh of relief when he just shrugs and meets my gaze.
“I saw them, and went looking. When I realized that they had done that to you…I wanted to ruin them.”
“But…why would you care? You didn’t even know me, Chase,” I point out, hitting on the one loose end that I can’t quite piece together.
While I’m grateful that he cares enough to go to these lengths, it confuses me to understand why he would do that for me—a woman he didn’t even know.
“I did know you, Remy. I’ve known you for a long time, babe,” he murmurs, pulling me closer to kiss at the furrowed wrinkles between my eyebrows. “You don’t recognize me, and if I’d had my way, you never would have. But it seems our relationship needs total honesty if we’re to survive this and move forward as I want to.”
“Are you purposefully trying to confuse me? I would so remember you if we ever met before,” I mutter, giving his eyes a pointed look. “There aren't too many hot guys walking around with two different colored peepers, Marshall.”
He laughs at my tart tone and shakes his head almost sadly before looking at me with something that resembles fear.
“I wore contacts at school to hide the abnormality. My eyes were blue.”
“Okaaay. Still would have remembered meeting you though.”
“My face was a lot leaner than it is now and I had a rangier build or, more appropriately, I was a skinny dork who wore his hair long to hide a scar I got in kindergarten.”
I’m at a loss and about to tell him so when my mind blinks and flashes to another skinny, blue-eyed boy who’d scratched at a scar just above his floppy bangs…
And then everything starts running together in a slide show that makes my heart speed up and cramp with every bittersweet memory. Alex smiling at me when I got an A on my math test. I practically climbed him; I hugged him so hard that his left front tooth slightly chipped and was adorable as hell.
Alex scrubbing at his hair in frustration when it took a little longer to explain an equation to me because I was so busy checking him out I didn’t hear a word.
Alex and his habit of playing with one dark lock of my hair while we sat side by side studying in the library.
“Oh God.”
I feel like my bottom has dropped out. I’m left floating and floundering when he looks at me with so much hope and fear that I can’t do anything other than launch myself at him and cling, my body shuddering with joy and residual anger.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you, Rem gem,” he whispers into my hair, his own body shuddering as he uses that long forgotten nickname that drove me nuts.
I shove away and glare at him, finally feeling steady enough to feel the anger and slight betrayal at his actions.
“First of all, you weren’t there because you were probably in the hospital, so don’t even blame yourself for that. But that does not absolve you of the other shit. You should have cal
led me, Chase! Is that even your real name?”
He’s looking sheepish—as well he should—because he deserves to feel bad about this. He left me, just left without a word, and it broke my heart.
“I know. And yes. My name is Alexander Chase. Marshall is my nans maiden name,” he mutters, leaning his head back on the back of the sofa. “I was afraid. They said that if I ever saw you again…I didn’t want them targeting you for my actions if I couldn’t be there with you. But they did,” he growls, his eyes going hard.
I snort at that because if he’s getting this pissed over a couple of nude pics, I hate to see how he reacts when I tell him about the rest.
“Wellll…er, yeah, but those photos, God, I cringe just to think of those things…they weren’t exactly my only problem at the time,” I admit, feeling the usual dread pool in my belly.
He stiffens and I see his hands tense before he makes a concerted effort to relax and look at me again. I can see the strain he’s under and consider dropping things for now…’cause yeah, I’m reeling from finding out that this is my Alex and that…wait!
“Oh, my Lord! You loved me!” I yell, feeling my heart split wide as the truth rolls over me.
Give me a break. Of course, I am still focused on him telling me he loved some other floozy. Who turns out to be me! Oh yeah, I am totally over the moon now. I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m squealing and jumping him like an animal.
Chase laughs when I throw myself at him and kiss the living heck out of him, my happiness bubbling over like a font.
“Good God, woman, you need to focus.” He laughs against my lips before pushing me away and putting space between us. “You need to tell me everything. Please.”
Okay, that dampens my joy, but only a little and I’m still smiling when he gives me a shy twist of his mouth and strokes my cheek.
“We’ll revisit those memories later. For now…talk.”
I nod once and feel my smile slip. I’m picking at the thread on my blouse before I even know it and he frowns when the bottom starts to slowly unravel but keeps his mouth shut, urging me on silently.
“When you left…” he winces and I shake my head, kissing his palm quickly before continuing. “I was in a real funk. I sort of had this urge to just give up and go back to the easy way. But I didn’t.”
LUCI (The Naughty Ones Book 2) Page 44
