Chapter 27 Penny
Penny
The golden Malibu sun coasted over Penny’s skin like warm honey, tempting her into closing her eyes. The sounds of Rhys’s family intertwined with the never-ending crashing of the waves against the shore below, along with the occasional call of gulls above their heads.
For someone who had never left England, it was magical.
A shadow fell over her, interrupting the sun’s rays. “Are you sure you don’t want more pillows?” it asked.
Penny opened her eyes—just. She smiled at the sight of Rhys standing next to her, prepared with yet more plump blue pillows with which to surround her. “I’m more comfortable than I’ve ever been in my life.” She sighed. “Although, could you pass me my drink?”
Rhys’s smirk made an appearance as he reached for her banana daiquiri. “You actually want to finish this one?”
She nodded, reaching with her good arm—the one not currently bound in a cast from hand to upper arm.
It had been broken in two places, according to the X-ray she’d had.
After he’d dealt with Chomsky, Rhys had taken her straight to a private doctor’s practice, both of them still wet from their dip in the Thames.
The doctor hadn’t asked questions, and an hour later she’d walked out with a bag full of painkillers and a fibreglass cast securing her arm in place.
An hour after that, they were boarding the Stone Holdings jet to Miami.
Since then, she’d been feeling a little…adventurous. Rhys’s brother, Aldous, had offered her a cocktail earlier in the week, and she’d accepted.
After her brush with death, she wanted to live a little.
Penny took a carefully measured sip, letting out a murmured hum of approval. “It’s even better than the strawberry one yesterday.”
Rhys reclined on the other side of the two-person daybed on which she was lounging.
For a moment, he simply looked at her, brushing a lock of her glossy black hair away from her face.
“I still can’t believe you’re here.” He gestured towards the other end of the enormous patio, where the pool was situated.
Roman swam at one end, launching the kids—Rhys’s niece and nephew—high in the air before they splashed back into the water.
A strange lightness filled her chest. “Your family is wonderful.” And it was true. As soon as Rhys’s mum and sisters-in-law realised Penny hadn’t brought any clothes with her, she’d been whisked off to the nearest shopping mall to spend a truly ridiculous amount of money.
And to think Rhys’s brothers—and brother-in-law—had travelled across the Atlantic to help find her.
For Penny, it was truly alien to walk into a family and feel welcomed.
Like I belong.
“Have you seen the news today?” Rhys asked quietly. There was a thread of tension hiding in his voice.
It was enough to have her stomach twisting into knots. “No. Why?”
“Laila’s contact came through. They’ve broken the news about Chomsky’s criminal activities. She’s managed to implicate something like fifty police officers in total, not including Chomsky’s brother, the police commissioner.”
Penny felt frozen, despite the balmy temperature. She’d checked the news a few days ago—after Chomsky’s disappearance had been noted. All anyone had focused on then was his philanthropy. “And?”
Rhys tilted his head from side to side, as though he was trying to come up with an answer.
“Safe to say no one is mourning him anymore. The narrative has changed to how could he have gone undetected for so long and how did the police force allow themselves to be infiltrated like this? Chomsky’s brother has resigned because of the backlash, but there’s no way he’s getting out of this without prison time.
” He stroked her knuckles with his thumbs. “This is excellent news, Pen.”
“I know.” And she did, truly. “I just worry that someone’s going to find his body and connect it back to us. To you.”
Rhys’s teeth flashed in an unexpected laugh. “I wouldn’t worry about that. There’s, uh, nothing left of him to find.”
Part of her didn’t want to ask, but in the end, curiosity got the better of her. “Meaning?”
He took her glass, swishing the liquid within. The ice chimed against the glass. “Without going into detail, his fate was much like the banana in your banana daiquiri. Only he was poured into the North Sea rather than into a cocktail glass with a fancy little umbrella.”
Penny couldn’t look away from the glass, watching the condensation drip down onto Rhys’s hand. The same hand with which he’d drowned Chomsky.
The old Penny would have been horrified at the sight of a man being drowned in front of her. The new Penny had breathed a sigh of relief when Chomsky stopped struggling. But she wasn’t the one doing the killing; she hadn’t felt Chomsky thrashing beneath her touch, desperate to surface.
“How have you been since that night?” Her voice came out as a croaked whisper.
Rhys’s eyebrows raised. “How have I been?”
“You killed a man—again. I imagine that’s the sort of thing that stays with you.”
He leant in, resting his forehead against hers. The sounds of their surroundings faded into nothing as Penny breathed him in. Eventually, he pulled back and looked in her eyes. “What stayed with me is the satisfaction of knowing I protected the person I love. And you?”
Her dopey, lovesick smile faded slightly. “And me?”
“Mmm. I killed a man—again.” He echoed her words. “In the past, your attitude to my criminal record hasn’t been all that positive. Do you think less of me?”
Penny didn’t look away, taking his hand with hers.
His tone was gentle, but guilt filled her chest until she felt like she was going to burst. “Never. I’m sorry I judged you before.
I was na?ve and stupid. I looked down on you when I would have killed to have someone like you protecting me as a kid. ”
He pressed his lips to her temple. “You have me now.”
A novel sensation grew within her. It took her a moment to recognise it. Safety, she realised. She felt safe, wholly and completely, for the first time in her life.
Penny hadn’t bothered to contact Elaine or Joseph for an update on her father. She’d closed that chapter. So too had she closed the Chomsky chapter.
“I love you,” she murmured against his neck, snuggling in as his arms came around her.
He lurched back, his face white with shock. “What?”
A blush rose to her cheeks. She had never been very good at discussing her feelings, let alone…this. “I love you. And I want that future you mentioned.”
Rhys’s shocked gaze flicked between her eyes. A second later, his face broke into a wide, almost luminous smile. “Fucking hell, Pen. I love you so much it hurts.” He cupped her face, brushing a soft kiss against her slightly squashed lips. “The future is yours.”
“Ours,” she corrected him, with a lopsided grin.
It was time for her new chapter to begin.