Chapter 30 – Remi
Thirty
Remi
“You seriously couldn’t wait for me to get out of the shower?”
Valentina’s silhouette is blurred behind the fogged glass. She’s perched on the vanity, one of my lollipops in her mouth, legs swinging like a little chismosa waiting for the tea.
“No. Spill it. How’d you go from there’s no way in hell I’d ever be friends with a cop to fucking said cop in your living room?”
How do I even begin to explain the chaos that led to multiple orgasms, the best of my life, might I add, with Thiago’s name on them?
Let alone what we agreed to afterward. Friends with benefits. Fuck buddies. My idea, by the way.
And then there’s the part I still can’t make sense of.
My charges. All gone before I’d even made it home because a SWAT officer who’s been in Philadelphia for a little over a month apparently knows exactly which strings to pull. Thiago gave me an explanation. I’m just not sure I believe all of it.
I dip my head beneath the hot spray and gather my thoughts.
“He came over to see me. Told me my mugshot went viral. We fought. Then he handcuffed my hands behind my back. Sex was just the natural progression.”
“What?” she says, nearly choking on a laugh as she yanks out her phone. “A viral mugshot? I have to see this.”
It only takes her a moment to pull up Philly PD’s social media page before she’s squealing and jumping off the sink.
“Remi Isabel fucking Cain, you absolute legend.”
I kill the shower and step out, wrapping a towel around myself. She turns the screen toward me and bursts out laughing again. I can’t help but join her when I see the photo. My tongue out, knuckles bloodied, looking completely unbothered by the fact that I’d just been arrested.
In reality, I was pissed the fuck off.
“That intake officer was a total bitch,” I say with a grin. “So I did what I had to do. Though I never thought that’d be the shot they’d go with.”
“Are you kidding?” Valentina gasps. “This is the most you mugshot I’ve ever seen. We need to put this on a T-shirt.”
“Hey, it’s the only one you’ll ever see again. And don’t you dare.”
“That’s exactly what someone headed for another mugshot would say.”
I lunge for her phone. “Valentina.”
She shrieks and jumps backward, holding it above her head. “I’m making it my lock screen.”
“No!”
“Christmas cards.”
“Absolutely not.”
“A life-size cutout.”
“I will push you down a flight of stairs.”
She doubles over laughing, stumbles into the hall, then tosses herself onto my bed. “Rem, these comments are gold.”
“Do I even want to know?”
“Probably not, but I’m going to read them to you anyway.”
I roll my eyes and head into my closet, where I pull open a drawer, drop my towel, and grab a pair of black underwear.
“The classic, I can fix her,” she says as I step into them. “‘Respectfully, I’d let her ruin my life.’”
“God, people are weird.”
“Oh, it gets better.” She clears her throat dramatically. “‘Your Honor, she was framed.’”
“Tell that to the twelve cops who chased me across the fucking city.”
“Still not funny, Rem.”
“What? I’m not laughing.”
“You’re smirking.”
“That’s different.”
She rolls her eyes and looks back at her phone. “‘I don’t know what she did, but I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs.’”
I snort as I pull on my jeans. “Okay, that one’s funny.”
“I knew you’d like it.” She scrolls farther. “‘She looks like she carries a knife and has no patience for stupid people.’”
“Accurate.”
“‘This isn’t a mugshot. It’s an album cover.’”
“Also accurate.”
“‘The officer who posted this definitely has a crush on her.’”
“Fuck no,” I say, pulling on my shirt.
“That one has nine thousand likes.”
“People need hobbies.”
Valentina cackles.
“‘She looks like she’d win the fight and steal your girlfriend.’”
I walk out of the closet and plop down beside her. “I mean...”
“True.” She points at me before scrolling again. “Oh, and BigDaddyDavid wants to know what that tongue do?”
Valentina laughs so hard she nearly falls off the bed. I whack her with a decorative pillow, sending the phone tumbling from her hand.
“That’s disgusting.”
“Okay, okay,” she says, taking a deep breath as she tries to get herself under control. “We have more important things to discuss. For example, on a scale of—”
“Twenty,” I blurt out, already knowing what she’s about to ask. “Hands down. Probably the best I’ve ever had.”
Val sits upright, her eyebrows damn near disappearing into her hairline. “Oh, fuck. I know what that means.”
“That he dicked me down real good.”
“No. I mean, yeah, obviously. But that’s not what I’m talking about.” She points at my face. “That right there. You’ve got it bad. Like, bad bad.”
I scoff. “Don’t.”
“Remi, the best of your life? Please. I know that look.”
“I don’t have a look.”
“Oh, yeah, you do.”
“It’s just sex, Val. Straight fucking. That’s all. I don’t even know him like that.”
And after what I learned about my charges this morning, I know even less than I thought.
Valentina grins. “Well, hell, Rem, you do now.”
Another pillow goes flying in her direction, and she catches it effortlessly before lunging at me. We fall back onto the mattress, laughing until it fades, leaving us sprawled beside each other with her head resting on my shoulder.
“I’m excited for you, baby.” Her voice softens.
“I don’t know what it is, but I have a good feeling.
And whether it’s just sex or eventually becomes something more, you deserve to feel like this.
So damn happy. I haven’t seen you this way since…
” she trails off, maybe regretting bringing up the subject.
But I squeeze her, letting her know it’s okay.
That I’m okay.
Valentina rolls over and props herself up on her elbows.
“You had this light about you when you were with Kuroda,” she says quietly. “I see that again.”
My smile trembles when her eyes turn glassy.
This isn’t only about me and Thiago, or even Ryuji. This is her way of saying goodbye. Of telling me she feels better about leaving because there’s one less part of me that she has to worry about. Because after everything, I finally look happy again.
But I’m not ready to let her go. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.
“Don’t leave me, Val,” I whisper, my voice breaking. “I need you.”
“I’m sorry,” she says and pulls me against her chest. “But you’re going to be okay. I know you will. And I’ll be back sooner than you think. I promise.”
My sobs shake both of us, and she only holds me tighter. Learning to live without Valentina has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I don’t know how I’ll make it through tomorrow, let alone every fucking day she’s gone.
My tears eventually dry up, and our cries subside until only the occasional sniffle fills the room.
“Remi, I need you to promise me you’ll be careful. Ease up on Furia for a while until things die down.”
I hate feeling like I have to stop living my life. For the past four years, I’ve looked over my shoulder, dissecting and analyzing every detail, from sideways glances and unfamiliar faces to anything that even slightly feels out of place. It’s exhausting. Suffocating, even for me.
But I understand it.
“I know.”
Valentina turns to look at me, her expression serious. “And no more mugshots. Don’t let these fifteen minutes of fame go to your head.”
I scoff. “I’m internet famous now, Val. There’s no going back.”
“Oh, my God.” She sits up, laughing as she wipes the last trace of moisture from her cheek.
“People are probably making edits as we speak.”
“Absolutely they are.”
“I might even have a fan club.”
It’s her turn to throw a pillow at my face.
“One mugshot, and you think you’re a celebrity.”
“Not a celebrity,” I correct, crossing to my vanity to apply my favorite red lip. “An icon.”