Page 108 of The Villain

Rob stiffened, the movement slight but strong enough to ripple the silence.

“What is it? What are you thinking?” I asked steadily.

“Nothing,” she answered too quickly, her fingers tensing around the ring on her necklace.

“You think it’s Remington, don’t you?”

“No.” Again, the answer was too quick to be anything but a false denial.

Why?

Why would the former FBI agent, who now sat at the top of his previous employer’s Most Wanted list, be involved in our business?

Yes, there was a moment last year when Rob told one of her friends to impersonate the infamous criminal to save the woman he loved. Looking back now, that moment seemed like asiren. A warning flare. The very first domino that toppled all the rest.He’d been involved in helping Harm save Daria. He’d sent the photo of Athena and Ivans to me. He was everywhere. Alright, not everywhere. But everywhere he shouldn’t be.

“Why would Remington want to help us?”

There were plenty of things Rob did on her own. Plenty of secrets she kept from the rest of us. And that was fine, unless it was a man like Remington who had her in his sights.

“He wouldn’t,” she declared. “And your first mistake would be to think anything he does is to help anyone but himself. So, if he did play some role in this, it would be to serve his own purpose. Regardless, whichever way you look at this, Remington or accident, it means Athena is safe.”

I stiffened, anger rushing through me. I wish she wouldn’t have said that. It didn’t feel like Athena was safe. It felt like we didn’t know enough to be certain that all the bad guys were offed by a benevolent villain, let alone to declare Athena safe.

“So, it’s over?” Athena asked hesitantly. “I can go home? Go to my art show in two weeks?”

The owner of the gallery assured Athena that the show would go on whether or not it was safe for Athena to be there. She wanted to support her—wanted her success. But Athena really wanted to be present. Wanted to see her dream—her future—finally come to life.

“Rorik’s running additional tox screens on the body, but I can’t think of any reason not to. Can you?” Rob looked at me.

I pushed an exhale through my tight lips, wanting to say yes. Wanting to insist that Athena needed to stay here for a few more days until we could be certain.But certain of what?

“I don’t know,” I ground out, my voice turning hoarse. There was no reason—no one else who would want to hurt her.Then why did it make me feel uneasy?

Maybe it was because I thought I’d have a few more days with her here before we talked about what happened next. It wasn’t that I was uncertain of what I wanted with her—which was nothing short of everything—but she was the one who’d been married. Betrayed. She was the one who was just starting over, and I was afraid to admit I wanted to start with everything—afraid that what I wanted might be too much too fast and I’d lose her all over again.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to decide that.” Rob leaned over the counter and set her mug in the sink. “I’ll let you know if we find out anything else.”But she wasn’t planning on it.

I walked my sister to the door, following her into the hall to give us some privacy.

“Do you really think she’s safe?” I rasped, not caring how vulnerable I sounded.

Rob tipped her head, her sharp stare softening. “I think she’s not the one you’re afraid to let out of here.”

I’d lived here for so long—secluded myself for so long. To not only find someone and be with them but to now venture out…was that the thing that made my chest tight?

“You deserve a life, Dare.” She put her hand on my arm and then pulled me in for a hug.

It was there I realized I’d started to believe it.

Guilt was a bad habit, started by trauma and strengthened by solitude, but I was going to break it. I had a reason to break it now.

“So do you,” I reminded her as she went to pull away.

“I have a life,” she said and smiled at me. “I have my people. My purpose.”

“And love?”

Her smile flickered but recovered quickly. “Love? If I fall, who’s left to take care of Ty? He’s getting up there.”

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