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She laughed, and squeaked yes through the tears, throwing her arms around him. “Yes, of course!”
Asher’s smile was real and honest and took her breath away. She tasted the sweetness between them in his kiss, and suddenly years of pain and heartbreak spilled out. She cupped his face as his kiss turned urgent with the same intensity she felt burning inside. An intensity that was better than new, happy love. What they had was love that was built through pain and memories. Real love. Honest love. Connected, touching, she knew this was where life began and ended for her. Always.
She’d run and hid and pretended that she moved on, but there was no denying the truth anymore. Remy could exist without Asher; she simply didn’t want to. Life lost its flavor. Colors were duller. The air less breathable. And to live without him would be to live in a world that didn’t make sense, where everything fell apart. Asher was the glue that made life make sense. And she knew she was that for him too.
Always and forever.
Chapter 23
Fifteen minutes before five o’clock, Remy grabbed the duffel bag off the passenger seat of her car and then locked the doors with her key fob. She was only a two-minute walk from the square. Her throat constricted, even though she knew this was what she’d been waiting for. Soon, Lars and Joaquin King would be behind her and she and Asher could settle into a new normal.
She felt the weight of a stare on her back long before she turned around. It came as no surprise to find Asher frowning with his hands shoved in his pockets, scowling at her. “I’ve never seen you look so miserable,” she said with a laugh, adjusting the bag on her shoulder to slide her arms through his until she pressed herself tight against him.
“I am miserable.” He glowered down at her. “I don’t want you doing this alone.”
She wiggled against him a litt
le, hoping to make him feel better. “I need to do this alone,” she told him for the hundredth time today. “Besides, I’m in the middle of the square and surrounded by hundreds of people. Joaquin just wants his money. We all know that. I hand over the money, then this is done.”
Asher stared hard a moment longer, then sighed and wrapped his arms around her neck, bringing her in close and kissing her forehead. “I still don’t like it. I don’t want you anywhere near King.”
“Believe me, I don’t want to be near him.” She stood on her tiptoes, then pressed her mouth against his. “But I’ll be back before you know it and then we can put this all behind us.” Before she chickened out and changed her mind, she stepped out of his hold, and without looking back, headed down the street.
Remy was no cop, no detective, no FBI agent, and the last thing she wanted to do was hand off money to anyone. Especially Joaquin King. It took a lot of people’s help to get her here, but she needed to take this last step alone. And as much as Asher hated that Joaquin had seen Remy’s face, Remy didn’t want Joaquin to see Asher’s either. They were on opposite sides of the law. Remy didn’t want those two squaring off.
When she reached the corner of First Avenue, she nearly bumped into a couple walking hand in hand. Remy held the bag a little tighter. Two hundred grand was in this bag, and was also her path forward. String lights hung over the street from one side to the other that would light up the square once the sun went down. Each bar or restaurant had their own eclectic style, desperately trying to outdo the other with the best patio in the square. From elaborate lighting to gorgeous floral displays to gas fireplaces, there wasn’t a place that didn’t invite Remy in.
She slowed when she reached the northeast corner of the square. When Asher told her how this would all play out, he picked this corner specifically because of the busyness of it. The thought that Joaquin could easily find her wasn’t very settling. She breathed deeply against the sudden surge of adrenaline pumping through her veins, trying not to let her mind run wild with the danger today presented.
Though soon, every set of eyes felt like they landed on her.
Her heart began pounding in her ears and sweat coated her flesh when her cell phone rang. She glanced at the screen seeing an unknown number. It didn’t take much to know who was calling. “Hello,” she said, answering the phone.
“You brought the cops with you,” Joaquin said.
“No, I came alone,” she replied, glancing around the street as the cars slowly drove past here. “I swear, it’s just me.”
“Then you just don’t know they’re there,” Joaquin said. “Look down the street from where you are, they’re there.”
An icy shiver raced down Remy’s spine as she realized she was currently being watched by Joaquin from somewhere. She turned in the direction he indicated, and sure enough she spotted Boone. He leaned casually against a street post, looking down at his phone, with his sunglasses on, which obviously was a ruse and he was looking straight at her. “I told them not to come. I don’t want anyone else involved in this. But they love me and want to make sure I’m safe.”
“Ah, but that’s our problem, Ms. Brennan. They are involved in this now,” Joaquin said.
Remy cringed, her eyes scanning the crowd until she found Rhett. “Tell me what to do to keep them out of it,” she said.
“I’ve got a car coming up. Thirty seconds out. If you want to put this matter to bed, you’ll get into that car. Do not hesitate. Your new husband is close.”
Remy glanced around and couldn’t see Asher anywhere…and yet, she shut her eyes and concentrated. She could sense that electric pulse whenever Asher came near, and her body hummed with his closeness. “I’m ready,” she told Joaquin, opening her eyes. Because she’d made her bed, and now she had to unmake it, without somehow making everything even messier. Her happiness was so close, she could taste it. She’d have Asher and her shop, and nothing would get in the way of that. Not anymore.
“Five seconds,” Joaquin said.
Remy blinked once, and then a black SUV stopped next to her and the door swung open. Remy took the breath she needed for bravery and then jumped in. With a squeal of the tires, the SUV sped away. She couldn’t be certain, but she swore she heard Asher yell her name before she slammed the door behind her.
A quick look through the back windshield told her that she wasn’t wrong. Not only was Asher chasing the SUV, but so were Boone and Rhett. She turned back in her seat, realizing that both of Joaquin’s guards were in the front seat wearing bulletproof vests and earpieces. She swallowed deeply.
“We’ve got her,” the guard in the passenger seat said into his earpiece.
Remy noted the shaking of her hands while she fastened her seat belt. She kept the duffel bag on her lap, but then realized the seat belt was pointless considering the SUV pulled into an underground garage a few seconds later. The driver parked and then exited, so she followed. Before she could even shut the door, the taller bodyguard opened a door to a limousine next to them.
