Chapter 28 Monroe
MONROE
I was sitting on the porch of my apartment sipping on a glass of wine.
The day had been long and it seemed as if the weeks were only going to get longer.
I watched the sun set in the sky as my lips wrapped around the edge of the class, my body trying to relax itself.
I kept replaying the events of the day in my head.
Everything I had done to try and secure information and everything I had done to try and convince myself Knox hadn’t been a part of any of this.
And once I had that proof, it made me sick that I could’ve doubted him in the first place.
I set my wine glass in my lap as the door of my apartment opened.
I braced myself for whatever was coming.
Whatever anger or sadness or upset was coming my way.
Knox had sounded tense on the phone. And I knew he was out in the desert.
The wind had been whipping around on the phone call which meant he’d probably been with the guys.
Doing something he probably didn’t need to be doing.
“Monroe?”
His voice fluttered over me as he stepped out onto the porch. I had a beer waiting for him, uncapped and ready to be drank. He sat down beside me and picked it up, his eyes watching me rhythmically sip on my drink.
I had so much to tell him.
“What’s wrong?” Knox asked.
“Nothing. And everything,” I said with a snicker.
“Why don’t you start at the beginning?” he asked.
“I flirted with the evidence locker officer to get a glimpse at Blaze’s evidence box.”
I felt his eyes harden on the side of my face.
“Uh huh,” he said.
“There was a knife. At the bottom. A knife we’d never seen. Never processed. It was covered in blood and an exact match to the wound found in Blaze’s back.”
“So, the murder weapon was in there,” he said.
“The box hadn’t been sealed yet. It was just sitting there. Waiting for anyone to stick their hands in it. I took pictures of everything and went back to tell Rose, but then she told me I had to go flirt with a judge to get a warrant for the evidence box.”
“Sounds like you made a lot of men’s days today.”
“Yeah. Well, I didn’t flirt with the judge. I met up with Diego instead.”
“What?” he asked, his voice hardening.
“I was straight up with him. I told him the RICO case was pending and even though it didn’t look like people were coming into town, I was now having to try and figure out what they had that was making them build their case.”
“What did you tell him, Monroe?”
“Rose is under the impression that the assistant U.S. attorney has someone on the inside, Knox. Someone talking to them and ratting you guys out.”
I looked over at him and watched him tense as anger barreled over his features.
“Rose said that.”
“Yes,” I said. “And if that’s the case, then the government probably has some serious stuff on you.”
“Did you tell Diego that?” he asked.
“No. What I told him was that the only way they could build this kind of case this quickly was if someone was feeding them something. I didn’t go into specifics.
Diego asked me why I called the meeting and I told him that the more connections I could fry between you guys and the police, the better.
He helped me secure the warrant I needed from the judge in exchange for keeping him in the loop on things regarding the RICO case. ”
I watched Knox nod as he brought his beer to his lips.
“Anyway, we got the box. The knife was still there. We tested the blood and it’s an exact match to Blaze. But the fingerprints were too smudged to make a formal I.D. on anyone. So there still isn’t a connection as to who was wielding the knife.”
“I think I can help there, but you keep on going,” he said.
“I don’t know why, but I get the feeling that Blaze’s murder and this RICO case aren’t actually connected.
I think the assistant U.S. attorney saw an opportunity with you in jail and tried to leverage it.
What I think is that they’ve been trying to build this case for a long time, and they stumbled on something from whoever is talking to them that gives them solid footing.
I think you being in jail was an exploitation. Not the start of this.”
“I agree with you,” he said.
“You going to tell me why?” I asked.
“Because Rex’s sister came forward and said she was the one who saw her brother kill Blaze.”
My wine glass tumbled to the concrete as I whipped my head over to Knox.
“You make a habit of breaking those, you know?” he asked.
“What happened now?” I asked.
“Rex, one of the guys I mentioned to you at the bonfire? His sister was there. Everly. She saw the whole thing go down and says it was Rex who killed Blaze. She heard him talking about how it was his idea to pin it on me.”
“Knox. When the hell were you going to call me with this?”
“When you called, I was only finding out about it then. This is news to me, too.”
“That’s huge. We can use her testimony.”
“But the case was dropped.”
“Not… not for that case,” I said. “Other cases. It’s a long story, but this knife can tie things up with other cases.
Knox, that knife has been involved in other murders and attempted murders against your club for years.
Two, to be exact. That same knife with those same dimensions and that same serrated blade. ”
I watched fire boil in Knox’s eyes as he slammed back the rest of his beer.
“I gotta go,” he said.
“Wait, please. I’m not done,” I said.
“You just told me some asshole Black Saddle’s been killing us off and you think I can stay?”
“I’m sorry,” I said.
Knox’s eyes fell hard onto mine as I drew in a deep breath.
“The hell you apologizing for?” he asked.
“I had doubts about you. Even after I told you how I felt, I was somehow convinced you were involved in all this. That you were capable of something like this. And I was so wrong, and I’m so sorry.”
“I didn’t expect anything different from you.”
“But you should’ve. Because I love you, Knox.”
“I love you, too. Don’t mean we’re perfect.”
“I want to make things work.”
“Were we not trying to do that?” he asked as he reached out for my hands.
“I don’t-... I don’t know,” I said.
“I was trying to make things work.”
“You were?”
“Uh. Yeah?”
I snickered and shook my head as I stood to my feet.
“Why does it feel like I haven’t seen you in two months?” I asked.
“Because today’s been a long fucking day for the both of us?” Knox asked.
“Do you have to leave now?”
“Did you have something else you wanted to tell me?”
“Not… tell you,” I said with a grin.
I squeezed Knox’s hands. I led him through my apartment, leaving the porch door open so the breeze could get in.
We walked into my bedroom and tumbled to the bed, our legs and arms and tongues intertwined.
We slid each other’s clothes off, my hands running over every inch of his muscles.
Gripping his shoulders and sliding along his back and running my fingertips over his chest. He was beautiful.
The most incredible man I’d ever encountered.
Toeing between light and dark and never once trying to drag me one way or the other.
His lips hit my neck and his name escaped from between my lips.
His cock throbbed hard against my thigh.
I could feel him leaking onto my skin as his hands explored my body.
He massaged my tits to life and tugged lightly at my nipples.
He sucked welts on my shoulders and slid his body between my legs.
He kissed and sucked and nipped and licked.
He covered every inch of me in his touch before he stood to his feet.
“What a sight,” Knox said. “Spread for me like you are.”
“Take me,” I said breathlessly. “And don’t stop until you want.”
His eyes darkened as he took my legs by their ankles.
He threw my legs over his shoulders and pressed his cock deep into my dripping pussy.
He set a relentless pace, my bed rocking on its frame as my hands dug into his thighs.
He pounded against me. Skin slapping skin filling the corners of my room as my body shook in ecstasy.
Then he pulled out of me and flipped me over.
My ass was in the air as he cracked his hand against it.
I moaned at the pain, wiggling around as my skin burned at his touch.
He connected his hand with my other cheek, sending shockwaves through my pussy.
He slid slowly into me, filling every inch until he bottomed out against me.
His hands were massaging my reddened skin and my hands were digging into my mattress.
He felt so good.
I never wanted to let him go.
He slammed into me so hard my whole body moved.
My toes curled and my breathing became irregular as he leaned heavily into me.
His strong chest pressed into my back, sending both of us to the bed.
His hands hooked underneath my leg and spread them wide, leaving me helpless with my chest pressed into the bed.
His mouth kissed every divot of my spine as he sank his cock into my body.
“Knox. Please. I can’t take it anymore. I-... I can’t-... please.”
“Please what?” he asked.
My legs were trembling and my brow was covered in sweat.
My pussy ached for release and my toes were curling so hard they were cramping.
He pulled out from me and rolled me over, my body spread haphazardly along my bed.
My hips were throbbing with his assault as he covered me, his lips dipping to mine as he slid back inside.
Then, his fingertips found my clit.
“Please let me come,” I said breathlessly. “I’ll do anything.”
“Anything?” Knox asked.
“Anything. Yes. Anything. Oh. Don’t stop. I’m so close. Right there. Right there. Right there, Knox. Right there! Yes! Don’t stop!”
My back arched off the bed and I pulled his face into my breasts.
My pussy throbbed around him, his fingertips pressing deep into my body.
I felt myself take off. Soaring through the clouds as stars burst behind my eyelids.
His lips wrapped around my nipple as he rolled deeply into my body, feeling my pussy pulsing against mine.
His body pulled taut and his hand fell away from my clit, bracing himself as he filled me with his hot cum.
Pump after pump of his arousal, coating me and marking me as his own.
The two of us collapsed to the bed, spent and sweating as the nighttime sky blanketed the small town of Redding.
His lips mindlessly pressed kisses into my skin, his muscles sinking deeply into my curves.
I wrapped my arms around him and drew him closer.
Wrapping my legs around him to keep him inside of me.
I wanted him this close for as long as I could have him.
“Did you mean what you said?”
“Huh?” I asked.
“When you said ‘anything’’, did you mean what you said?” Knox asked.
His eyes rose up from the crook of my neck and met mine as his arms shook with exhaustion.
“I guess so,” I said. “Why?”
“I want you to come with me,” he said.
“Where are we going?”
“I wanna show you something.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
Knox rolled off my body and sat up in bed. He got dressed quicker than I expected him to before he held out his hand for mine. He helped me sit up and he gathered my clothes, setting them next to me as I watched him with a curious stare.
“Just come with me, Monroe. That’s all you gotta do.”