Chapter 57
Remi
Trust in the light that another can bring;
Hope is the seed that survives into spring.
Storms may rise and darkness creep near,
But together in love our hearts will endure.
I didn’t remember the last time I’d been this light.
I was engaged. It should’ve scared me, but fuck all that noise.
I also didn’t remember the last time I’d pinned anyone against my office desk with this little shame, but here we were. Amir was going to be my first for many things. And last.
His shirt was somewhere by the filing cabinet. Maybe behind it. My mouth was still on his throat from trying to stay quiet. We’d both failed miserably.
“Remi?” Oli’s voice floated faintly from the hallway.
I bit down on a laugh, and Amir swore softly.
“Just a minute!” I shouted.
“Hey, uh, your presence is requested.”
“The door’s locked,” Amir said through panting breaths.
“You’ll need a reinforced vault to keep him out.” The dreaded knock came. “Just a minute!”
“You said that a minute ago,” Oli replied. “Okay, I’m coming in. Shielding my eyes. Five seconds—”
Just as I thrust Amir’s shirt at him, the door creaked open. I angled myself in front of him as if I needed to protect his virtue. “Fuck, I said give me a minute.”
Oli grunted a little derisively. “Oh, so you’ll harp on my ass for getting freaky in here, but you do it and it’s fine?”
“It’s my bar.”
“I don’t see the relevance.”
With a snort, I pulled on my flannel, not bothering to find my t-shirt first. I left the top two buttons open so I could cool off, then turned to Oli.
He lifted a brow. “Is Amir alive?”
“That’s debatable,” he mumbled from where he’d slumped in the chair. “I’ll join you in a sec.”
“What’s going on?” I asked. “If we’re getting robbed, that’s literally a Tommy job.”
When we stepped out of the office, Oli looked at me with something like curiosity. “There’s a guy asking for you. Like . . . asking asking.”
I frowned. “A guy? What’s he call himself?”
“Aiden.”
The name cracked open something in my chest. “Aiden who?”
“Well, I don’t really know. He works at Harmon’s library.”
“He came from Seattle? So, he’s a friend of yours.”
“Acquaintance, I guess. I’d only ever talked to him on campus. But he isn’t here for me.”
I made it behind the counter, and my stomach dipped when I saw a man standing awkwardly by the door.
His hands were in his pockets, and he swept his gaze across the bar like he was checking for threats while he tapped his heel.
I might not have recognized him if I didn’t know his name, but his thin frame and messy red hair lit up memories inside me.
He was still slight, still sharp-boned, still that strange blend of timid and hyper-focused. But now, he was grown, no longer the young boy who got thrown into dumpsters and called horrible names.
As I approached, his attention snapped to me, and his face brightened. “Hi,” he said. “You look . . . Wow.”
“Sorry, I don’t really know what to say. How are you here?”
Aiden’s smile faltered. “You posted a video on Instagram. I saw it. The whole . . . blackmail . . . thing. Yeah.”
I breathed a laugh. “Sure, it’s kind of crazy, huh? I’m not a criminal, just so you know. It was a bit of a misunderstanding.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “It was complicated.”
“I came to see you,” he explained, glossing over everything I’d said. “I never knew what happened after they moved you. One day you were there, then you weren’t.”
The words struck something in me. “I didn’t know what happened to you either. How’ve you been?”
“Oh, good. Great. Mostly.”
My gaze moved across his face, to his steel-blue eyes and too-wide pupils. “Let me get you a soda.”
He bit his lip, then nodded. I led him to a stool, and Tommy eyed him. Aiden gave him the tightest smile I’d ever seen, not that I could blame him.
“Friend of yours?” he asked.
“Sort of. Hey, Tommy. Cool it with the mean mug, alright?”
He grunted before he stood and headed into the bathroom. What a grump.
Oli slid over to us on the other side of the counter with a friendly smile. “What are you up for? I make a mean vodka sour. Simple, I know, but I add a splash of pineapple—”
“Cokes are fine,” I interrupted, giving him a meaningful look.
With a nod, he pulled out two glasses.
“So,” I said. Aiden was twiddling his thumbs on the counter, which might have been a nervous habit. “You were in Seattle and I had no idea.”
“Yeah, small world. I did see you once, though.”
I picked up the soda Oli handed me and took a small sip. “Where at?”
“The Commons.”
I tried not to let that bother me. Aiden was an adult with fifteen years between our last conversation. I didn’t know who he was now or what vices had a grip on him. Maybe none.
I glanced at the tattoos on his arms. The solar system, like he used to draw there.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” I asked. “I would’ve loved to catch up.”
He swallowed and looked down. “I mean—well—uh—It’s—”
I breathed a laugh, hoping he’d ease up a bit. “Relax, man. You came all the way here. Don’t give yourself a heart attack already.”
“Right. I guess . . .” His fingers tapped, then froze, then tapped again. “I was never sure what to say. I admired you. Back then.”
“Oh. You probably shouldn’t have.”
“Yeah, I mean, we were both screwed up. It was a . . . weird connection we had.” Suddenly, he grabbed my hand. His was cold, like a freaking ghoul.
“Jesus, Aiden. You’re freezing.”
He yanked his arm back. “I came here because I thought, after all this time, maybe I should tell you—”
“Man, I should’ve eaten,” Amir groaned as he appeared from the back. He let out a big yawn, and when he looked at me, I saw how tired he was.
I held out my hand. “Give me your keys.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m making you passenger princess tonight.”
“Oooh.” A silly grin tilted his lips as he reached into his pocket. After setting the keys on the counter, he looked at Aiden. “Oh, hey. You’re new. I’m Amir.” He went in for a handshake, but Aiden just stared at it with his mouth slightly open. Amir glanced at me, raising a brow.
“Hey,” I said, drawing Aiden’s attention back to me. “Are you staying somewhere?”
His expression was tighter than before. He shifted, scratching his arm. When his eyes flicked to Amir again, I wasn’t sure what to think.
“Aiden.”
His entire body flinched, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I should probably go.”
I gently grabbed his forearm and rotated it. With the tattoos, all I saw inside his elbows were swaths of black and the splatter of stars.
He jerked his arm back and jumped to his feet. I followed, feeling wrong about letting him leave.
“Can you give me a sec?” I smiled at him, which seemed to help somewhat. When he nodded, I angled my head to have Amir follow me to the pool table.
“What’s his deal?” he asked quietly.
I opened my mouth, but instead of speaking, I sighed. Aiden had wandered to the other side of the counter, but he wasn’t going for the drinks. It was a small relief.
“Remi?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Childhood crush maybe?”
“That’s . . . strange.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“You look worried.”
Running a hand through my hair, I turned my attention to Amir. “I am, but I don’t know what to do about that. I haven’t seen the guy in fifteen years.”
“Well, let’s get him a place to stay.”
“Really?”
“It’s not much, but if you feel like there’s something wrong, you should listen to your gut. Go talk to him. I’ll stay here.”
With a nod, I returned to the bar. Tommy came out of the bathroom and eyed Aiden again, so I shot him a glare.
“Hey,” I said, offering Aiden a smile.
“Hi.”
“Why don’t you let us get you a hotel? We could catch up tomorrow when there’s more time.”
His eyes went to the pool table, then fell to the floor. “Us, huh?”
I made sure my easygoing expression didn’t falter. “So, what do you say?”
“I shouldn’t.”
“Why not?”
He rubbed his hands up and down his arms. I wondered if he was cold.
Stepping closer, I lowered my voice. “Let me help.”
His eyes found mine, and he narrowed them. “Help?”
“We’ve walked the same roads, man. There’s no point trying to hide, and I know that you know that.”
“I’m gonna go.”
“Aiden, what are you taking?”
He shook his head. “I just—I thought—I thought you’d want to see me. You were the only person who ever . . . Never mind.”
My chest squeezed. “I did want to see you. But . . . I honestly don’t know why you’re here.”
Aiden blinked rapidly. “Right. Me either.” His gaze landed on my left hand, which rested on the counter. “Congratulations, then.”
Before I could say more, he spun toward the door.
“Hey, Aiden, wait.”
He was gone too quickly, and I exhaled, scrubbing a hand over my face.
“What’d you do to the poor guy?” Kai asked.
“I don’t have a fucking clue.”
Oli rushed to the window. “Uh . . . Remi?”
Outside, the headlights of Amir’s Maserati lit up as the engine turned over. The car pulled away, and Amir raced out the door with a shout. I looked at the counter where the keys had been, but of course, they were missing. When I turned to Tommy, he appeared more pissed than I felt.
“Little shit,” he barked. “I knew he was no good.”
“Then how’d you let him steal the keys? You’re literally security.”
“Security has to piss sometimes, too, especially when you’re giving me these damn sugary drinks all night.” He shoved his mojito glass away with extra attitude.
Dropping into a crouch, I gripped my hair at the roots. Even I, master of expecting the worst, hadn’t expected this day to go south so sharply.
I lifted my gaze and blinked a few times. “What the hell?” I reached under the counter, praying to the gods above and below that I was somehow wrong. “Oh, gods. No, no, no, no.”
“What is it?” one of the guys asked.
With a roar, I grabbed a glass and chucked it into the back. The distant shatter didn’t help one bit.
“One of my guns is gone.”
Wide eyes all around. Except Tommy’s. He was fucking livid.
The door shut behind Amir, and he released a heavy sigh. “This sucks.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Sucks? That’s one way to put it.”
“We’d better get the cops out here.”
“No.”
“No?”
“I can’t . . .” I bit my nail. “I don’t think that’s the right move.”
Oli rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Remi, he stole your freaking Glock.”
“I know.”
Brooks hummed while he rubbed his chin. “Dude’s high as balls and running around in a Maserati with a glizzy in his pocket. Yeah, I think this is a cop situation, my guy.”
Amir blanched. “He was high?”
Oli looked at me with a single raised brow. “Your fiancé is so sweet.”
Trav stood from the booth. “I vote we report it.”
“Same,” Dean agreed.
I shot Oli a look, but he didn’t appear surprised by his boyfriend’s vote.
Everyone was in agreement except me and for some reason Kai. Oli glanced at Dean before he took my side on the matter. Tommy simply refused to chime in.
“If he does anything with that gun, you could be liable,” Brooks warned.
Oli nodded along. “Food for thought. Brooks is almost a lawyer.”
“And I’m not getting Aiden arrested,” I replied.
“Then he won’t do anything with the gun,” Tommy said, already pulling his bomber jacket on. “He probably intends to pawn it, but if he’s high with a weapon and a car like that, somebody is going to get hurt.”
My pulse pounded in my ears. “I’ll go look for him.”
“Let me find him before the cops do.”
“You?”
“I’ve done my fair share of bounty hunting in the past.”
Somehow, that didn’t surprise me.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m on it, boss. Don’t you worry your pretty head about it.”
I stared as he whistled for Loki to follow him. He swept out of the bar, truly like a man on a mission.
“Swoon,” Tilian said, feigning a dramatic fall with his hand on his forehead. Brooks caught him with a laugh, as if a blast from my past hadn’t come in to maybe admit to having a crush on me before he stole my fiancé’s car and swiped a loaded gun from under my nose.
Happy engagement day to me, I guess.