Page 211 of Forever Never
“The big deal, you stupid, dick-swinging shit, is that the entire police department is on the scene of a fire, and you two are the only federal agents on the fucking island. Why didn’t you roll out a welcome mat?”
“Ms. Ford,” Brice said.
“Don’t fucking ‘Ms. Ford’ me. If this fire hasanythingto do with Warren Vorhees, if any of my people get hurt, it’s onyourhead.”
Brice ran her tongue around her teeth. “Stay here and keep an eye on things,” she told White. “I’m going to track down Chief Ford at the fire and find out if there’s any reason to be concerned.”
“You can keep an eye on thingsoutside,” Remi said, opening the front door for them.
Everyone gathered in the living room for popcorn, tea, and a movie. Her father and Kyle both volunteered to spend the night, telling the kids it was the first big family sleepover. Remi kept her phone on her and waited to hear from Brick.
The tightness in her chest a constant companion as the movie played. As Kimber and Kyle carried the kids upstairs to put them to bed. As one by one, everyone wandered off to bed.
Perhaps she wasn’t the only one feeling the tension, she noted.
Her father sprawled out on the couch, a baseball bat on the floor next to him “just in case.” Brick’s father positioned himself in the dining room with a book, one of Brick’s guns, and a line of sight to the front door and stairs.
“You all right in here?” Remi asked, bringing him a glass of water.
He nodded. “I’m right where I need to be.”
“I know Brick feels better with you here,” she said, brushing her fingers over the chair back.
“He’s entrusted me to keep an eye on you,” William said. “I’m not going to let him down. Not again.”
“Seems like you’ve been done letting people down for a long time.”
“It’s nice of you to notice,” he said with a soft smile.
“I’m going to marry your son,” she said suddenly.
“I’d hoped so. You’re just exactly what he needs. A reminder that life isn’t so black and white. That there’s a lot of fun to be had with colors.”
“It’s good to have you here,” she said. “I’m going to go back to the studio and see if I can burn off some energy with paint for an hour or so.”
He nodded. “I’ll be here.”
She headed down the hall, wandering past rooms that held so many signs of life now. Schoolwork for the kids. Kimber’s makeshift office in the living room. Magnus and her father both snoring in the living room. The popcorn bowls. It felt good, right, to fill Brick’s life with just a little bit of chaos.
She stepped into the studio and flicked on the lights. Shaking off the anxiety about what lurked beyond the dark windows, she rolled her work in progress back onto the center of the drop cloth.
She’d finish her painting for Brick later. Right now, she felt like exorcising some demons. With “No Surprises” on repeat, she kicked off her shoes and got to work.
The nervous energy, the sliver of fear that put a metallic taste in her mouth, was exactly what she needed. To create fear and confusion with brush and oil. To bring a desperate drive to survive to life on canvas. As it took shape, as she shaded and scraped and layered, she wondered if anyone else would ever see this painting. Or if perhaps she’d paint it and then burn it. Or maybe she’d sell it. There were collectors out there who would appreciate a moment of fear frozen in time to hang on a wall.
However it ended, she would be free. She, Camille, Brick. They would all be free to go on with their lives, to move forward.
But first, she had to finish.
* * *
She didn’t knowhow much time had passed when someone calling her name dragged her from the trance of color and memory. The song was still on repeat, but it felt distant now. As if its hold had been severed.
“Remington?”
She tore her eyes away from the painting and found Camille standing on the ramp. She was dressed casually in borrowed leggings that were several inches too short and a sweatshirt.
Remi snapped the rest of the way out of her reverie and fumbled for her phone to shut off the music.
