Page 162 of Challenge Me

“What do you think provoked this?”

There was a moment of hesitation. “I believe there was a feud between him and Evan. My son . . . He was the sweetest man you’d ever meet.”

“You mentioned an incident that occurred a few years later.”

“Yes, I received a phone call telling me that Evan was in the hospital in critical condition. When I heard what had happened, I couldn’t believe it. Evan was in a coma for three days, but when he woke up, he confirmed everything.”

“And what exactly happened, Ms. Keane?”

“He ran into Remi. And Remi just . . . snapped.”

“He put Evan in the hospital?”

“He tried to kill him,” Charlotte cried. “I went to talk to him in jail, to see if there was some reason that he’d do such a horrific thing. I’ve never seen anger like that. He spat at me, told me that I deserved to burn in hell along with Evan. He told me that he hoped he was dead. When I told him he wasn’t, Remi looked . . . disappointed.”

“And what happened to Remi because of this?”

“They charged him with assault, of course. It was an open and shut case. If his friend hadn’t stopped him from using that gun, my son would have died that day.”

“A gun? That seems to be a theme with Remi at this point. Which friend was he with?”

“Some kid named Oliver. I’m not sure who he is, really.”

“Thank you, Ms. Keane. Do you have anything else you want to add?”

“Well . . .”

When it was silent for a few seconds, I peeked at the TV. There, right in the middle of the screen, sat my aunt. She had my dad’s eyes, and it made me sick. Her hair had turned grey, and her skin had become more wrinkled. There were tears on her cheeks, which she didn’t deserve to shed. Not for this.

“Remi likes to make himself the victim,” she rasped, dabbing at her face with a tissue. “He wants everyone around him to be the villain. He prays to a heathen god of violence, just like his mother did.”

I reached up to touch the Fehu rune around my neck. She knew nothing about those my mom revered. Freyja was war when she needed to be, but she was also love and beauty and life. Her brother Freyr was prosperity and peace, growth and the cycle of life. Odin was wisdom, poetry, and prophecy.

She could mock the gods all she wanted. They had longer memories than mortal men.

“I can’t bear the thought of him hurting anyone else, especially that little girl that Amir has.”

Amir’s fingers dug into my side at the mention of Mal.

“Will you tell us how Evan’s doing these days?” Clara asked.

“I wish I had something better to share. Unfortunately, he’s been dead for thirteen years. He hung himself, and in his note, he blamed Remi for why he felt that he needed to do it. In the end, he did murder my son.”

Amir shut off the TV, then dropped the remote on the table.

“Is that true?” he asked. “Evan is dead?”

I scrubbed my hands up and down my face. After a second, I breathed a laugh. “The murder bit surprised me, actually.”

“So, she’s lying.”

“Probably not. I knew Evan killed himself, but I’ve never heard about any note.”

“Do you know anything else?”

“He was in prison. Frankly, suicide was the merciful outcome for a guy like him in that place. He deserved worse, but he was a coward who couldn’t face the reaping.”

“Remi . . .”