CHAPTER FOURTEEN
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“I think it’s best if we pretend that kiss never happened,” Remy managed to say on an even keel before turning back around to focus on pouring them two cups of coffee. She succeeded in transferring the steaming liquid into the porcelain cup without spilling a drop. That tiny measure of success gave her the courage to stand her ground, so she quickly sweetened her coffee before lifting both mugs with every intention of avoiding this discussion. “It’s a tense situation, and our emotions got the better of us. I’m sure you’ve run into this before in your line of work. We’re total opposites, and you basically said yourself that we’re completely incompatible.”
Remy pasted a smile on her face, wishing she’d remained in her business suit she’d had on earlier. This lightweight summer sweater and jean shorts she was currently wearing were an open invitation for utter disorder. She presumed most average people wouldn’t agree with her, but she could somehow handle difficult situations better when she was dressed for the occasion. She likened it to strapping on a helmet prior to engaging in a road race. They called it personal protective equipment (PPE). It was best to be prepared than to leave oneself open to attack. Bare feet made her feel rather vulnerable as well, and it had nothing to do with Townes’ suggestion of snakes in the grass.
“Are you still thinking about that kiss? That moment?” Brody’s gradual smile continued to grow until she realized her mistake. Her stomach fluttered at the recognition of her blunder. It didn’t help that he appeared rather happy over her slight error in judgment. He’d been referring to another exchange which was something else entirely, and she’d shown her hand. She’d figuratively stepped in dog crap and that’s what she got for going in bare feet. Townes had been right all along. She now wondered if his earlier warning had been about critters in the yard after all. The realization of his prophetic comment stung. “I have to say that I find it endearing that you’re the total opposite of me…in every way. They say that opposites attract. Maybe it’s true.”
Brody’s insinuation about their physical attraction to one another had her holding tight to his coffee cup. What was it about him that had her wishing she could be someone different? She’d tried dating corporate men numerous times, but there had never been that lightning strike that Anna always told her she would experience. Her baby sister had been outgoing and lived life to the fullest, constantly telling Remy that she needed to live a little. She had never understood the responsibility that was inherent to taking care of another human being—the weight of it all. Anna was always falling in love and out of love, and she hadn’t regretted a second of the joyful life she’d experienced right up to the point when Varan had attacked her.
With no more responsibility, why couldn’t Remy have that outlook?
“Varan.”
At first, Remy thought that Brody had read her mind. Then she realized that something on one of his monitors had caught his attention. She quickly made her way around the long table until she was standing by his side.
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s finally leaving his mother’s house,” Brody said rather distractedly as he reached for the arm of his chair off to the side instead of his preferred stool. He reached for his coffee and then proceeded to bring up different camera feeds that were in his queue and appeared to follow a distinct route. “There. See? He’s getting into his mother’s vehicle and backing out of the driveway.”
“Where’s Keane? Does he see that David is leaving?” Remy asked, grateful that Brody’s attention had been diverted, but regretting the diversion had been caused by David. She hastily drew up another chair so that she could also observe what was transpiring, sitting on the edge of the seat so she didn’t miss a thing. “Should we call him?”
“No, Keane has things well in hand.” Brody pointed to the small square that provided a video of a side street, where the tires of a vehicle were slowly turning and indicating it was pulling into the road. “I scanned Forsythe’s security settings, and no one has breached their finance department server with the exception of me.”
Remy cast a quick glance toward Brody, who was leaning forward and studying the screens as if he were watching a mystery on television. He was trying to decipher the behavior of the actors and their motives for doing such things. She wanted to tell him it was because David was evil. Pure evil. There was no rhyme or reason for the things he’d done.
David had somehow gotten access to information that SSI had been hired to protect her, but the list of people who were aware of that fact was rather small. The payroll and finance departments had maybe four employees, not including the section supervisors. Had one of them inadvertently said something over a cell phone to another employee while they were out of the office where someone could overhear? Or what about a phone trace?
“What about phone calls?” Remy asked, taking a sip of her coffee and hoping the caffeine supplied some energy for the long night ahead. “Could David have tapped into the lines, maybe overhearing someone on our accounting staff talking to the bank? Or maybe to Mr. Calvert himself?”
“I’ve already discounted that possibility, as well as numerous others,” Brody shared, shaking his head as he finally leaned back in his chair. This was his realm, where he could oversee the mission and direct others to the finishing line. “Varan is headed back to the hotel in Winter Park. Keane’s a good distance behind him, but should easily be able to keep him in sight.”
Remy could think of only one more person who could have had knowledge of her situation, but her friend didn’t know any specific. Did she?
“You’ve known Susan since high school,” Brody pointed out, immediately setting Remy on edge. He wasn’t about to take the one lasting relationship in her life and turn it upside down. She wouldn’t allow that to happen. “Why didn’t you tell her that you were going to go after Varan?”
“I didn’t really go after David.” Remy didn’t want to argue with Brody tonight. It was late and they both had work to do. Ralph wouldn’t be up to working for a few weeks, which left her and two other advertising executives to oversee some of their larger accounts. She didn’t have time to sit around here and justify her trust in her friendships…limited though they might be. “I simply monitored his movements, because I truly believe he will try to kill another woman. I’m not dragging Susan into something this dangerous.”
“You also didn’t come clean with her about my role in this whole affair.”
“Your role is still something I consider threatening in the scheme of things, and Susan shouldn’t have a part in any of this. Involving her in this mess could place her in Varan’s crosshairs. It’s better this way.”
“Did you know that she wrote to Varan in the hospital quite a few times over the years?” Brody asked, though there was a gentleness in his tone that was meant to soften the damage caused by the wound he’d just created. “Granted, her letters were warnings to him to stop reaching out to you, but it’s still something that stands out.”
Remy had to have heard Brody wrong, because Susan would never have reached out to David without telling her. It also sounded as if he were suggesting Susan had something to do with David getting ahold of SSI’s information. He’d gotten her to second guess everyone in her life, and that included Ralph, who had barely escaped death not twelve hours ago.
“Susan has nothing to do with David, or any of this. Neither does anyone else that I trust.” Remy met Brody’s gaze and once again realized that she and Brody would never see eye to eye on things. They were total opposites, and nothing would change that. She stood with her coffee with every intention of getting caught up on work. “Not everyone is bad, Brody. You said yourself that Susan was trying to get David to see how wrong his actions were to take a life—my sister’s life—and to leave me alone. He’s manipulative and incredibly evil. He killed Anna all on his own, just as he killed those other women who the authorities couldn’t link to his case in court. He’s who we need to concentrate on. No one else, so please don’t bring up my friend’s loyalty again.”
Brody stood so abruptly in order to prevent her from walking away that it caught her off guard. She would have spilled her coffee had he not taken it from her hand and set it down on the table. The low simmering anger that was always below the surface began to rise once again, but it wasn’t because he doubted her friend or that he was trying to figure out how David had received information regarding SSI.
No, she was angry at herself for thinking that Brody could ever understand what she’d gone through and why the few relationships she did have left meant everything to her. A part of her understood that he wasn’t suggesting anyone was purposefully betraying her, but she was done with second guessing everything in her life. There was only one person responsible for taking her sister’s life, and she refused to allow him the freedom to carry on as if he’d done nothing wrong. It wasn’t a traffic offense. He hadn’t driven down a one-way street in the wrong direction. He was a cold-blooded psychopathic murderer.
Remy prepared herself for another argument, but she was unprepared for when he gently rested both hands on her shoulders. His dark eyes filled with compassion…and there was something else. She wasn’t ready for whatever he had to say, so she stepped back until his arms fell away.
“I’m a mess, Brody,” Remy confessed quietly, although he was most likely already aware that she wasn’t even close to holding things together. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear while she thought of words to express just how fucked up her life was. “You’re right. David Varan has become more a part of me than I would like. I’m consumed with this need to see him put away for the rest of his life, or even better yet—see that he’s dead and gone. That doesn’t make me a good person, and you can’t fix that. You can’t fix what I’ve become.”
“You’re not broken, Remy. Your soul has been severely battered,” Brody said, taking another step forward. What did he think he was doing? She tried to move away, but the chair behind her must have caught on something. Didn’t he understand that she could break if he touched her right now? “Varan’s incarceration won’t make those black and blue marks fade, and the people you’ve chosen to keep close are those who are afraid to tell you any differently.”
Remy was shaking her head in disagreement, refusing to accept that he was right about any of this. He didn’t understand her situation.
“David Varan is a monster and shouldn’t be allowed to walk around free on this earth,” Remy whispered harshly, wishing Brody would move out of the way so that she could do what she’d set out to do.
“You’re absolutely right, but it shouldn’t come at a cost of you giving up the happiness Anna would have wanted you to have,” Brody said softly, slowly reaching out until his palm cupped her cheek. There it was again—that warmness that only he seemed to possess. He also said Anna’s name as if he had a right to talk about her. “Your sister wouldn’t want you stuck in the past.”
“You don’t know what she would have wanted. You didn’t know her,” Remy managed to say, all the while struggling against the penetrating desire they’d both chosen to ignore. What had changed? She lifted a hand and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, but her protective movement only seemed to intensify their bond. “You don’t know what I want.”
“Don’t I?” Brody asked tenderly, his confidence giving her pause. It was when his body was inches from hers that she realized he was truly offering something she’d denied herself all these years. “Tell me truthfully what it is you want, and I’ll see to it that you have it.”
Remy parted her lips to tell him what she’d been saying all along, but the words wouldn’t form. She lowered her lashes so that he couldn’t see her struggling to answer. This should be simple.
She wanted David put away for life.
She wanted retribution.
She wanted justice.
“I want to live.”
*
She would die.
He smiled at the declaration. He’d often wondered why the angelic voice had chosen him to deliver God’s message.
“Because you are the only one who can see this mission through.”
He was honored to receive an answer. Usually, the speaker only gave him directives. He thought of asking it more questions, but he’d already been granted one miracle with a response.
Remy was no longer his, in the way he would dream about in the hospital. He’d often envisioned saving her from the demon who’d inhabited her body by blessing her with his seed, but the voice made him realize that it was too late to cure her.
His Remy.
She was gone…and soon the body which encapsulated the devil’s evil compatriot would be too.