Page 172 of Trust Me

Chapter 46

Oliver

I was on high alert. With both hands on the wheel, I scanned every inch of the neighborhood while we drove toward Remi’s place. He was ahead of us, and I’d barely taken my eyes off of him. Sure, he was safe in his car, but I wasn’t using my rational brain right now.

“If Cole freaks out—” I stopped and shook my head. “When he freaks out, what’s the plan?”

“Depends. Is he gonna get violent?”

“Who knows?” I laughed humorlessly, lifting one hand off the wheel while I gestured at nothing in particular. “He’s a wild card.”

“Tell me about him.”

I blew out a long breath. “He and Remi met in college. They dated off and on. It was toxic, but that’s not really new for him. At a certain point, it escalated. Cole got really jealous, thinking Remi was out messing around, especially once he started working at the bar.”

“Was he?”

“No. Remi’s a lot of things, but he isn’t a cheater. I convinced him it wasn’t healthy, so he eventually broke up with Cole. He was doing better, bought the bar from the old guy who owned it before, and things were okay. Then they started seeing each other again. Cole was still jealous, but he’d also gotten into drugs.”

Dean looked over at me. “Is he still?”

“Maybe.” I shrugged. “If he is, he’ll be hiding it because Remi . . . Either way, Cole’s worse than he used to be. He likes to drag Remi back into his life. I think he enjoys having power over him, but they always end up fighting. Remi’s not innocent in it, but he isn’t abusive. He eggs him on, it gets to the point it did when you found him at the bar, and it goes round and round.”

“We’ll put an end to it,” he decided.

I nodded, even though it was hard to believe him. I’d tried for a long time. There was just something missing inside Remi, a thing he was so desperate to fill that he’d look for it in all the wrong places. It was like it transcended all sense of self-preservation and logic.

“Dean.” I swallowed hard as I turned a corner. “I despise fighting, but I will defend myself. And Remi. If Cole does something—”

He took my hand, so I stopped talking and looked over at him.

“I’ve got it covered.”

“What do you mean?”

He smiled, then looked ahead. I pulled up to Remi’s rental and put it in park beside the curb. Before I’d even gotten out, I saw the doors open on the car across the street. Two guys hopped off the red motorcycle behind it, and soon, there were four men heading directly for us.

“Oh my God.” Jumping out of the car, I looked between all of them. “What are you guys doing here?”

Kai winked, then popped a piece of gum into his mouth. There was a guy beside him with blonde hair and a softer look to him. When he got close, he offered me a kind smile.

“We’re the backup, I guess. I’m Sen.” He held his hand out, and when I shook it, he made a surprised sound, followed by a laugh. “Damn. Strong handshake. Respect.”

“Who’s getting their ass handed to them today?” West shouted as he came up beside Kai. There was a maniacal look on his face, which was amplified by his wild blue eyes.

Instinctively, I took a step back. Linc slung his arm around West’s shoulders and whispered something in his ear, but it just seemed to excite the guy.

“Friends of yours?” Remi asked, looking both amused and cautious.

West’s head cocked. Stepping toward Remi, he looked him up and down. “Where’s the fuckwit? I’m ready for a forcible eviction.”

“Ugh, how forcible are we talking?” Sen asked.

West bounced on his toes and flexed his fingers. “Pop, pop, making motherfuckers drop.”

Kai cackled. “Let’s not add to your record, yeah?”

It was impossible not to laugh when West started swinging his arms around like Popeye. Linc looked mortified, although the gleam in his eyes as he watched him betrayed how enamored he was.