“Keep me posted,” she told him. “You might be used to dealing with Remi, but unlike her, I only use information for good. I want to know when I need to start worrying.”
He nodded.
It felt wrong to have to keep the people he cared about updated on a threat he hadn’t yet mitigated for them. Like he was failing them. When the stakes were this high, he couldn’t afford not to do things exactly right.
“That’s all I ask,” Kimber said. She picked up her reading glasses and, with a wink, turned her attention back to her laptop.
Dismissed, Brick headed in the direction of the music and Remi.
He wanted to see her in his house, covered in flecks of paint, grinning or glaring at whatever world she was bringing to life.
The doorbell halted him in his tracks.
“Are you expecting someone?” Kimber asked, popping out of the living room.
It was the world they were suddenly thrust into when doorbells signified surprises, and surprises could be deadly.
“No,” he said, striding for the front of the house. “Maybe you should go wait in the studio?”
“I’ll stay with you,” Kimber decided.
There was more Remi in her than Kimber realized.
Casually, Brick reached down and released the snap on his holster.
But through the beveled glass, he spotted a familiar form. One that scared him almost as much as a murderous monster.
For a split second, he thought about not answering the door. But it was the coward’s way out.
“Audrey,” he said, opening the door.
His ex-wife looked good. Great actually. She’d cut her hair again, buzzing down the sides and leaving the top longer with tight curls. She had a stud in her nose—that was new. Her lips were painted a dark purple. She was tall and cool. Relaxed. Her black jeans and over-sized sweater were comfortable.
“Brick,” she said with a wide smile. She stepped across the threshold, pulling a suitcase behind her, and gave him a smacking kiss on the mouth.
“Audrey,” Kimber said, sounding as surprised as Brick felt. He could all but hear the accusation in her tone. He was sleeping with Remington, yet here his ex-wife was with a goddamn suitcase and a kiss.
“Kimber?” Audrey paused and looked back and forth between him and his guest. “Okay, I gotta admit I didn’t see this one coming.” She waggled her finger at them both.
“Huh?” He couldn’t come up with any other words.
“Me and Brick?” Kimber laughed. “Ah, no. The kids and I are staying here while Kyle and I decide whether to divorce each other or turn into completely different people to make things work.”
“Girl,” Audrey said. “I hear you.”
Brick felt like the floor under his feet was shifting, cracking, crumbling.
Audrey and Remi under the same roof. Someone was going to get hurt. Multiple someones. He was definitely one of them.
“This isn’t a great time...” he began. But trailed off when Audrey raised an eyebrow.
“It’s really good to see you again,” Kimber said.
He was so fucked. Beyond fucked.
“It’s good to be back on the island. Heard things are getting pretty serious between my brother and Ken, so I thought I’d come out for a week.”
“And you’re staying here?” Kimber said. “Brick is so generous with his house, isn’t he?”
“To a fault,” Audrey said, patting him on his arm.
“Did I know you were coming?” he asked, finally finding his voice.
“You did. Well, sort of. The plan was for me to come in May. But I got a break between projects at work and thought I’d move up the trip. So what’s new?”
Kimber and Brick exchanged a look.
“Uh. Well.”
“Did you come home to take me to lunch, big guy?”
Remi’s cheerful question had him whirling around in the foyer. His body the only barrier between the woman he loved and the one he’d married. Remi looked like a walking disaster. Her hair was piled wildly on top of her head. She had a slash of turquoise under one eye. Flecks of red dotted her hand. Every color of the rainbow lived on her green t-shirt.
Magnus threaded his way through her feet before wandering around Brick to greet Audrey. Mega, sensing trouble, tip-tapped into the foyer and cocked his head.
Brick’s brain froze. He’d been trained to handle a wide variety of threats, but this was new.
Remi’s eyes went wide in surprise.
Audrey’s face was unreadable.
Uh-oh.
“Hey. Remi, I was hoping to run into you while I was in town,” she said. “I have some things I need to say to you.”
Mayday. Mayday. SOS. Officer needs assistance.
“Why don’t we all take a minute—” Brick began.
“Sure. You want some coffee?” Remi offered.
“Love some,” Audrey said. She turned and handed Brick her suitcase. “Mind putting that upstairs for me?”
He stood there holding the bag as he watched the two women disappear into his kitchen.
“I can’t decide how fucked you are,” Kimber whispered.
“I... They... Uh...”
“I think I’m going to take myself out to lunch before I witness any crimes. If you need any back-up, text me,” she said, slipping into her coat and fluffing her hair.
“Um...”
“Good luck. Don’t make any sudden moves,” she advised.
45
“So, you and Brick,” Audrey said, wrapping her hands around the Michigan: The one that looks like a mitten, you moron mug.
Remi glanced her way as she poured her own cup. “Yeah. Me and Brick. After you and Brick.” She fished out the creamer he’d stocked for her and poured generously.
There was a long silence.
“This is weird,” Audrey confessed. “And I feel like he’s just lurking in the hall, waiting to see if he needs to call for back-up.”
“Poor guy. Want to go into the studio? We can crank the music and scare him even more.”
“Good plan.”
Remi led the way, waving to Brick, who was indeed standing in the hallway looking a little nauseated and a lot scared.
“He should have told you,” Remi said, closing the door. “I should have told you.”
Audrey shook her head, making her tiny earrings jingle. “Neither of you owes me anything,” she insisted, perching on a tall stool. “In fact, if there’s any apologizing to be done, it should be me.”
“You? Why?” Remi asked.
Audrey adjusted her glasses, a gesture that brought Remi right back to high school. “I wanted what you had. And when Brick started paying attention to me, I felt like it was my chance to finally be the special one.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Remi said, hopping up on a paint-splattered work table, letting her feet dangle.
“You were always the bright light. The one everyone was interested in.”
“I was a walking disaster. To this day, people still expect me to shoplift candy bars or jump off the roof of the fudge shop.”
“You were interesting,” Audrey pressed.
Remi was getting real sick and tired of other women telling her how “interesting” she was.