32 - Monty
32
Monty
—
The yacht knifes through the ink-black water, returning us to the island’s safety. Standing at the helm, I endure Frankie’s scalding silence, a penance for my behavior.
I came on too strong, unable to stop myself. I usually have better control. But it’s been 314 days since I’ve had her alone.
314 days of hell.
Putting my hands all over her, however, isn’t how I earn back her trust.
I glance at her, and she glares back with eyes that peel away my clothes and rip open my throat. A paradox of seduction and hostility.
Christ, it turns me on.
It reminds me of our courtship.
I went without sex for a year while I chased her. A year of suffering her rejections, her repulsion, her stubbornness, and the worst case of blue balls.
But when she finally gave in?
It was ebon nirvana. I took her to bed, and she showed me where the shadows of forgotten stars whisper secrets of eternity, where light and dark coalesce, and the divine and the damned fuse in perfect harmony.
As I entered her body, the pink velvet of her soul wrapped around mine, pulling me into an embrace that altered me on a molecular level.
Whenever I’m with her, the sun never fully sets, and the air shimmers with the soft sighs of the universe.
I didn’t settle down with Frankie Novak. I settled up.
Being her husband is as intoxicating as it is humbling.
She’s given me a luscious, technicolor life, and all I want is to bend her over the dashboard and fuck her ass until she passes out.
I also know that’s not what she needs. She’s too much in her head, and she doesn’t feel safe around me.
Except something changed tonight.
Before I pinned her against the bulkhead, she looked at me differently. She looked at me like she didn’t want to drive a stake through my heart.
She looked at me like the woman I married once looked at me.
On the phone, she said she needed me.
She has me. Always.
But I need to be cautious, extra tender, and patient. I need to remember that the pain of being forced, blackmailed, and abused for the sole pleasure of my sick brother creeps into her thoughts and lingers in her bloodstream.
I need to remember that her livid gaze and mutinous jawline are a result of everything I’ve failed to protect. They also represent the resilience that’s kept her standing.
My throat tightens with regret and resolve. “First thing tomorrow, I’ll launch a full investigation into finding your stalker. I want Sirena on it.”
I expect an argument, but she merely nods.
She knows as well as I do that something needs to be done. The texts, the call, the threats, the implication they know where she is and who she’s with—they’ve gone too far.
My hands flex on the wheel as I agonize over her abduction and the months of horrors she endured. She’s been through enough.
“I have nightmares.” Her fragile whisper shatters through my thoughts. “About killing Denver. No matter what he did to us, to Leo, Wolf, Kody, and all the others, I can’t wash that blood off my hands.”
Her confession pierces me. My brother was a monster. His death was inevitable, yet the burden of it falls on her.
She shouldn’t have been the one to end his life. That bane should’ve been mine.
“I wish it had been me.” My voice roughens with regret. “I should have killed him when we were young. It should’ve been my hands that removed him from this world, not yours.”
“I did what I had to do.” Her eyes meet mine. “But it doesn’t make it easier.”
“I’m sorry, Frankie. So fucking sorry.”
“I know.”
We dock at the island, the familiar silhouette of the estate rising against the night sky. I guide her off the yacht, our steps silent on the pier’s wooden planks. This place is a fortress, guarded by a highly-skilled security team, their figures visible in every direction.
But even here, shadows lurk.
Inside the house, I lead her to the living room with the new couch I bought two months ago.
But she stops me with a hand on my arm. “There’s something I need to show you.”
Curiosity piqued, I follow her upstairs, through my bedroom, and into the bathroom.
None of her belongings remain in this space. It took me a few weeks, but I did what she asked. I removed her presence from my private rooms.
That seemed to satisfy her, but it’s done nothing to soothe my heartache.
“Look.” She points to a wall sconce next to the bathroom door, her expression tense.
I lean closer, examining the hardware. There, hidden in the ornate design, is a tiny camera.
“What the fuck?” Rage and violation surge through me. Someone has been watching us. Watching her. “How long has this been here?”
“Two months.” She pulls out her phone and opens an app. “We set a trap.”
My anger thaws into relief. No one trespassed on the island. They did this. Her, Leo, and Kody. They spied on me. I can live with that.
I did the same thing to them.
I turn, following the angle of the camera. It points directly at the shower.
The recordings on her screen confirm it.
“We put cameras throughout the estate.” Her voice wavers. “You have every right to be mad. We thought…”
“If the stalker contacted you again, you could catch me in action.” I sigh. “Smart.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t blame you.” I hold out my hand for the phone. “May I?” When she offers it, I ask, “You checked the cameras after you received the threatening call?”
“Yes.” She points to one of the recent recordings. “You were in the shower.”
I press play, watching a video of me jerking off. Unmuting it, I let my groans vibrate from the speaker. The sounds of me moaning her name, over and over, fill the air around us.
She crosses her arms over her chest, a barrier between herself and my obvious feelings for her.
Now she knows.
She knows I’m thinking of her when I pleasure myself.
She knows I’m not the one terrorizing her.
But I’m a threat to her nonetheless.
“I’m not mad.” I disarm all the cameras in the app and hand back her phone. Then I pluck the small recording device from its hiding place.
This explains the changes I noticed in her tonight, why she’s been looking at me so differently.
But it doesn’t solve the stalker problem.
“I’ll increase security.” My fists crack the bones in my fingers. “No one will get to you on the island. You’re safe with me.”
“Thank you. For everything. For helping Leo and Kody, for showing up tonight. It means more than you know.” She squares her shoulders. “I’m sorry for invading your privacy. I’ll remove the cameras immediately.”
“Leave them.”
“What? Why?”
“Even though you can prove to Leo and Kody that I’m not your stalker, they still won’t trust me.”
“I already told them about the call and the video proof that it’s not you.”
“Even so, they’ll continue to follow you everywhere and never take their eyes off you. Maybe the cameras will help them relax and give you space while you’re home.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible.” She laughs. “Giving them access to your privacy isn’t healthy for them. They need to learn to trust you.”
“This will help them do that.”
“At least remove the one in your bedroom.”
“I have nothing to hide, Frankie. But I do fuck my hand in the shower.” I give her the tiny camera. “If you want to watch that, you’ll have to join me.”
“Monty…” She makes a growly kitten sound.
“In the spirit of honesty, it’s my turn to show you something.” I motion for her to follow. At her frown, I soften my voice. “It’s safe. I promise. I won’t proposition you.”
In the walk-in closet, I remove the night-vision goggles from a shoebox at the rear of a shelf and hand them to her.
“What’s this?” Her face pales.
“I’ll show you.”
I lead her to the guest bedroom, through the closet, and into the unlit attic space.
“Power the goggles on.” I show her the button, my insides coiling. “Good. Now put them on.”
“I don’t know about this.” She squints at me in the dark.
“I know you don’t trust me, but—”
“I’m trying.”
She won’t trust me after this, but I want full transparency. No more secrets.
Slowly, she puts on the goggles. After some adjusting, I guide her to the half-moon window. When she peers through it, directly into the bedroom she shares with Leo and Kody, she gasps.
“What is this?” She clutches the windowsill. “Why are you showing me this?”
“The first night you returned, I controlled the thermostat, forced you to open the French doors, and watched you with them.”
Her knees buckle, and she stumbles back, retreating from the horror and shock before her. She rips off the goggles and whirls on me.
I confront the ire in her glare.
I deserve it.
Lowering to my knees, I tilt my head back and let her see every emotion written across my face in the moonlight. Guilt, remorse, love.
She studies my features, looking for deception, and her arms lower to her sides, the goggles dangling from her fingers.
“I’m sorry.” I hold her gaze and wait for the backlash.
“How many times did you watch us?” A blush colors her cheeks, but she pairs it with hot rage.
“Only that night. It was too devastating to repeat.”
“Your knuckles.” She anchors her fists on her hips. “The next morning at breakfast, your hand was busted.”
“I broke the window.” I nod at the glass behind her, which was repaired by Greyson the next day.
“I watched you masturbate in the shower, and you watched me have sex with Leo and Kody.” She blows out a breath, releasing her anger. “God, Monty. We’ve really made a mess of this. Please, stand up.”
“I’m sorry.” I remain on my knees, heart thundering. “It was wrong. I had no right to invade your privacy, especially after everything you’ve been through. I brought you here with the promise of security and safety, and I violated that.”
Her hand moves, but not away. Instead, she rests her fingertips against my stubble and traces the hard lines of my face, her gaze following the movement to the back of my jaw, around the shell of my ear, and down, along my neck, her thumb stroking my bobbing Adam’s apple.
She touches me with gentle devotion, and I cherish it openly, hungrily. Goosebumps rise in reverence. My heart thrashes in its cage, desperate for her. She confounds and captivates me entirely.
“Leo must’ve suspected something.” Hooded green eyes meet mine, provoking all manner of lustful thoughts. “He was adamant about putting a camera in here.” She points at a shelf in the corner of the attic.
“He noticed the broken window the morning after it happened and asked me about it.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I omitted the truth and simply said I’d have it fixed.”
“Will you spy on us again?”
“No.” My ribs expand with the pressure in my chest. “Keep the goggles.”
“Oh, I am. Come on. We have more to discuss.” She pads out of the attic and heads toward my bedroom. “If you want to change, I’ll wait here.”
She leans against the wall in the hallway as I slip into the bedroom and change into sweatpants and a T-shirt.
When I emerge a minute later, she makes a beeline down the stairs, through the main hall, and outside, taking the path to the guest house.
“You’re sleeping in the main house tonight,” I say.
What I want to say is you’re sleeping with me tonight and every night after.
“I know. I want to put on my pajamas.” She touches her chin to her shoulder, peering at me through her lashes. “Will you walk with me?”
Fucking spellbinding.
“Lead the way.” I motion her forward, my eyes automatically falling to her heart-shaped ass, the delicate sway of her hips, and the nip of her tiny waist in that curve-hugging dress.
I would give anything to put my hands on her gorgeous body again.
She moves like a moonbeam on water, gliding with natural, effortless grace. There’s something magical about her. Her poise, her determination, the fluidity of her movements. She’s not just insanely sexy. She’s alluring in a way I can neither describe nor ignore.
We walk in silence, the crunch of gravel under our feet. The island, dewy from the earlier rain, seems to hold its breath, waiting for something.
“I can’t believe Leo and Kody are in jail,” she says, breaking the quiet. “After fighting so hard for their freedom. I was afraid this would happen. Their tempers…They’re too feral for this world.”
“They’ll adjust. They need time.”
“I just…” Her shoulders sag. “I don’t want to lose anyone else.”
Entering her passcode, she breezes into the guest house and up the stairs. I follow, growing uncomfortable with each step. This may be my house, but it’s her space. The space she shares with them.
In the upstairs bedroom, she tosses the goggles and the tiny camera on the bed.
“I’ll just be a second.” She slips into the closet and shuts the door.
One of her discarded shirts drapes over the chair. I grab it, pressing it against my face and inhaling. Christ, her scent. Cherry, vanilla, and something uniquely Frankie consume my senses, grounding me.
The closet door opens. “Do you care about them?”
“What?” I drop the garment.
“Leo and Kody.” She steps out, wearing sleep shorts and a tight little tank top, looking absolutely edible.
Do I care about Leo and Kody?
I consider the question, really think about it. To do that, I separate them from her, imagine them single and navigating the world after a lifetime of isolation and abuse.
Their struggles aren’t why I’m rooting for them.
It’s their fight, their snarling, brawling, driven natures to get back on their feet every time they’re knocked to their knees. That warrior spirit is something I can get behind. I want to see them succeed and will do everything in my power to help them.
“Yeah.” I delve into the haunting depths of her eyes. “I don’t want anything to happen to them. They matter to me.”
“Why?”
“Because they’re mine. My family.”
Her eyes soften, glowing with unguarded warmth. If I were an optimistic man, I would interpret that as a look of a woman falling back in love with her husband. But I know we have a long way to go.
“Let’s go sit on the oceanside balcony,” I say, “and drink under the stars.”
“Okay.”
Back at the main house, we step out onto the grand balcony with our drinks in hand. The summer rain washed the air clean, leaving a balminess that clings to the skin.
The diamond glimmer of countless stars punctures the sky, the ocean a dark, undulating mass beneath us. The pounding waves resonate with the turbulence in my chest.
She sits beside me, all that red hair tangling around her in the warm breeze. The gap between us feels like an ocean, though she’s only an arm’s reach away.
“Monty.” She draws in a breath. “I need to talk about the call I got tonight.”
“Go on.” Dread churns, always there.
“Some of the things that electronic voice said, calling you Daddy Strakh…”
My heart pounds, a primal urge to protect her roaring to life. But her next words cut the deepest.
“I can’t stop thinking about it. I know it sounds crazy, but it sounded like something Wolf would say.” A pained look crosses her face, and she takes a long pull from her bourbon. “He used to reference movies, especially Disney movies. The way the threat was worded reminded me of The Wizard of Oz . I’ll get you, my pretty. I’ll come for you and your guard dogs, too.”
The mention of Wolf is a fist in my chest. My son, my tortured boy who I never had the chance to know, to save. He’s a bleeding wound inside me, reminding me of my failures as a father. My grief over him festers every day, ready to consume me at a moment’s notice.
“I promise you.” I grip her hand, holding it tightly as if she might slip away. “I’ll find whoever is threatening you. They won’t get near you. Sirena has a team searching for Wolf’s body, and we’ll pull more resources to track this person down.”
“Who knows about those flight logs and where you found them?”
“Melanie Stokes, Alvis Duncan…” My shoulders go rigid, bracing for her reaction. “And Sirena and her team.”
“It could be her.” She pulls her hand from mine, sitting stiffly on the lounge chair.
“It could be anyone. The riddle said this is someone from your past.” I throw back my whiskey, swallowing half of it. “Could be an ex-boyfriend or someone you knew in Anchorage.”
“How would an ex-boyfriend know about those flight logs?”
“Why would Sirena be stalking you?”
“She wants you . And maybe Leo and Kody, too. I don’t trust her.”
“Then I’ll hire someone else to investigate this.”
“I think that’s best.”
“Whatever you wish.” Resigned, I finish my drink.
She nods, but the fear in her eyes remains. “Kody’s made a lot of progress with the distillery renovations.” She sips her drink. “He’s building a small apartment in the back and wants Leo and me to move in with him.”
Her words cleave me in half, a cold blade of jealousy and horror. The idea of her living with them, unprotected, with a stalker on the loose…no fucking way. I’ll do everything in my power to prevent it.
“What about us?” I fight to keep my composure. “The family you wanted me to nurture?”
“My relationship with Leo and Kody causes you pain.” She swallows, looking away. “I don’t want to stand in the way of the bond you’re building with them.”
“You’re not in the way.” My voice rises. “You’re the center of it. The one holding us together.”
“I think you’re doing great with them, Monty. I mean it.”
“I’m trying. But I can’t do it without you. I won’t.”
“I can’t stay here. I can’t stay on this island and pretend we’re married and everything is fine.”
“I’ll ignore the comment about our marriage, for now, and focus on the glaring hole in your plan. You’re not safe out there. The only place you’re safe is here, with me. This island is fortified, guarded. I can protect you.”
“I know you can. But I can’t keep doing this to you. I can’t be with Leo and Kody under your roof. It’s not fair to you. Not now that I know your intentions are pure.”
I wouldn’t call my intentions pure. Not by a long shot.
“Frankie.” I pull in a calming breath. “I appreciate that you’re trying to protect my feelings, but I need you to stop. I can handle it. I’ve been handling it. What I can’t handle is you living elsewhere, knowing you’re in danger.” I tilt my head and try a different tactic. “How will Leo and Kody pursue their careers while trying to watch over and protect you every second of every day?”
“You’re right.” She lowers her face to her hands and groans. “Fuck!”
“I want you to be safe.” I shift, desperate to erase the distance and pull her onto my lap.
“I know. Dammit, I just want to go back to work. Every threat, every violation, makes it harder for me to do that.”
“I understand.” My heart aches for her. I know how much she loves her job, how much she needs it to feel whole. “But your safety comes first.”
She straightens, looking up at me with those intelligent eyes. “Okay, I’ll stay here. But they’re staying with me.”
“Okay.” I smile, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “You need sleep. Come on.”
I lead her to the guest bedroom across the hall from mine, tucking her into bed. She looks so small, so vulnerable. I lean down, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“I’ll watch over you,” I whisper. “I love you, Frankie.”
“I know. That’s part of the problem.” Her eyes grow heavy, closing as sleep tries to claim her.
Perched on the bed beside her, I watch her breathe. This woman, my wife, my world. I will do whatever it takes to protect her, to keep her safe. No matter the cost.
The night is still, but my mind is anything but. Somewhere out there, someone wants to hurt her. I won’t sleep until I remove that fucker from the planet. When the time comes, I won’t hesitate to take the killing blow.
“Monty,” she mumbles, opening her eyes. “You should get some rest.”
“I’ll rest when there are no more threats against you.”
“You can’t protect me if you’re exhausted.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“So fucking hardheaded.” She shifts, inching away, making room for me. “Sleep here.” She pats the empty spot. “Above the blankets. No touching. Promise me.”
“I promise.” I lie on my side, facing her with a fuzzy glow of warmth in my chest.
“I hurt you.” She meets my gaze, her eyes fierce. “I regret it, Monty. So much. The pain I’ve caused you, the torment of knowing I’m with them. God, I can’t believe you watched us.”
“Frankie…”
“Having sex with them under your roof was disrespectful and cruel. The justification I gave myself, my resentment, my distrust…I was so angry with you. But that ends now. As long as I live here, I won’t have sex with them. Not in your home.” She pulls in a breath. “I’ll still sleep with them at night. But that’s all we’ll do.”
The relief that washes over me is immediate, overwhelming. But with it comes a stab of doubt. Leo and Kody will never sleep beside her without fucking her.
I wouldn’t.
Except that’s precisely what I’m doing tonight.
Before I can formulate a response, the rhythm of her breathing slows, the grip of sleep finally taking hold.
I watch her, my heart aching with love and regret. So much has been lost, but so much still remains.