Page 101 of No Fear
“Rach…” He started cautiously but she shook her head.
“No. It’s okay. I mean, I knew that was going to be the answer I just… I don’t know. I guess in my head I was thinking I’d have to deal with like, funeral arrangements or something.” Her hand came up to her neck and she winced, “He’s really dead, isn’t he?”
His heart squeezed again and Remy moved towards her in the small space, pulling her hand away from the bruises and kissing her lightly, “Yeah, Rach. He is.”
Her hand trembled slightly, “He can’t ever hurt me again.”
“No, baby. He can’t.” His voice trembled too. “He can’t ever hurt anyone I love ever again.”
“Oh, Remy…” Rachel threw herself into his arms and buried her face in his chest, “Thank you. Thank you. Oh, God, if you hadn’t showed up when you did… I… He would have… you…”
“I know.” He wrapped her up and squeezed her tight.
“I was so scared you were going to be the one to find my body. I didn’t want that.”
“Oh, baby… no, you can’t think about that anymore.” He smoothed her wet hair back and kissed her temple.
“You didn’t want me to go in the first place and…”
“Shhh, it’s okay.” It was his turn to soothe this time as the dam broke and he felt tears run down his chest as she shook in his arms again, “Don’t go there. You’re okay. I’m okay. We’re going to be okay. I promise.”
“I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Rach.”
He held her against him until the water turned cold and they both screeched and jumped out of the shower. In silence, they dried off together. They exchanged touches here and there, kissing softly as they went, and when they were dry Remy took her hand and led her towards the bedroom. He pulled out an old t-shirt and helped her put it on and then put her in bed and tucked her in, kissing her forehead softly before pulling away.
“I’ve got to go take out the trash with our clothes in it. Make sure the keys are in that car. One of the boys is picking it up and getting rid of it. Stay here and I’ll be back in just as soon as I can.”
Rachel nodded slightly so he kissed her again and then retreated before he gave in to the urge to crawl into the bed beside her and never let her go.
He grabbed a clean pair of boxers and jeans and retreated to the bathroom to pull them on. A glance around the small space made his stomach turn again. The bloody clothes in the trash can were one thing but the pink stains in the bottom of the old tub were worse. He grabbed the Clorox from under the counter and quickly sprayed it down. When he was done, he twisted up the trash bag and tied it off as well.
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.”
