Chapter 10
After finally wrestling Dena into bed after two books, three false alarms, and one “I need water” later, Monica changed into an oversized hoodie and shorts, then headed downstairs.
She heard Kane’s deep voice before she even hit the kitchen doorway.
Of course she did. The man’s voice carried like he was auditioning for some dark-and-sexy audiobook.
Everyone was staying at her brother Doug’s place until after the funeral tomorrow. She wondered briefly if Kane would be staying too.
Now she sat at the table with a carton of ice cream, pretending she was really invested in chocolate and not blatantly observing him while he talked to Doug.
Kane didn’t notice. Or maybe he noticed everything and just didn’t let on.
Hard to tell with Mr. Stone-Faced Warrior.
She grinned at that thought as she glanced his way, only to see him looking at her.
Why she enjoyed irritating him by calling him "Warrior," she didn’t know, but even doing it in her head had her chuckling.
He was handsome. Obviously, anyone with functioning eyeballs would see that.
But it was more than that. There was something in him that tugged at her.
Something steady. Something she didn’t have a name for.
And as much as his alpha-male crap made her want to flick him in the forehead, she felt… safer when he was around.
Which made absolutely no sense because she didn’t know him. Not really.
“So, you work with demons?” Doug asked, still in full interrogation mode. They used to tease him that he’d make a great lawyer. Instead, he hid behind a computer screen and worked with codes all day as a programmer.
“I kill demons,” Kane corrected in that flat, no-nonsense tone that said he wasn’t joking even a little.
“Oh, shit.” Doug blinked. “Okay… yeah, I don’t know what to ask after that.”
“Shocker,” Monica snorted, setting her spoon down and shifted her attention to Kane. “Since it’s suddenly Q&A time… whatever happened to that girl the Warrior doctor saved?”
“Wow.” Kane grinned, and damn it, the man should not be allowed to grin. He was too damn good-looking for his own good and hers. “You’re the first person I’ve met who doesn’t know. I thought every female on the planet knew that story.”
“Sorry,” Monica deadpanned. “Been a little busy dealing with assholes and trying to find my sister. Haven’t had time to keep up with paranormal romance news. So, they’re together?”
“They’re mates,” Kane said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms in that relaxed-but-ready way of his. “And married in the human way.”
“In the human way?” Doug repeated, frowning before shaking his head. “Never in my life did I think I’d be in my own kitchen talking to a vampire about killing demons and vampires marrying in the human way.”
Monica laughed—really laughed—for the first time in days, her stress lifted a little.
“Since, as you said, we’re doing a Q&A,” Kane said, cutting into her laughter, “I have a question of my own. Why did you tell me your sister had been missing for ten years?”
“Ten years?” Doug echoed, frowning as he turned toward her.
Monica gave a shrug that was way too casual for the knot forming in her stomach. “I was trying to throw you off,” she admitted. “Figured if you thought it was some ancient cold case, you’d lose interest and leave me alone.”
“So… you lied.” Kane lifted a brow.
“I did,” Monica said simply. And the stupid, unexpected hit of sadness that washed through her caught her off guard. She wasn’t a liar by nature. But ever since she started digging into Beverly’s disappearance, lying had become… normal. Necessary. “I’ve had to do that a lot lately.”
“Given what you’ve been dealing with, that’s normal,” Kane said, voice steady, surprisingly gentle. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.”
Monica paused midpoint to her mouth with her spoon, squinting at him as if he’d just started speaking French. “Why are you being nice to me?”
“I’m always nice.” Kane’s smirk said the exact opposite. Then he tipped his head, eyes catching hers. “And you’re letting me.”
Damn him for being right.
She hadn’t exactly been warm and fuzzy with him since the night they met in that bar, but the truth was.
.. she wanted to trust him. She was tired of carrying everything alone.
Upstairs, lying beside Dena as she slept, Monica had run her fingers through the little girl’s hair and made herself another promise.
She would find out who did this. She would keep Dena safe.
And Kane might be the only one who could actually help her do that.
“Been lying a lot, huh…” Doug said, cutting through whatever strange, charged staring match she and Kane had drifted into.
“Shit,” She mumbled to herself, knowing where this was going.
“Was… was that a question?” she asked, blinking innocently. Too innocently.
“No,” Doug said, tapping his fingers on the table. “That was an ah-ha moment.”
“Um… good for you, I guess?” she said, as she snapped the lid onto the ice cream, refusing to meet his stare as she went to put it back in the freezer. She knew exactly what moment he’d just arrived at.
“You wrecked my car, didn’t you?” Doug demanded. “You did not walk out of the grocery store to find the back end of my Corvette smashed.”
“Damn,” Kane muttered, with a wince. “Was it totaled?”
“No, thank God,” Doug answered, eyes still locked on her.
“Okay, fine!” Monica groaned. “I didn’t wreck it—someone rammed me in the ass, okay?”
“Okay?” Doug yelped. “Okay? Monica Marie, I lied to the insurance company!”
“And?” she said, instantly regretting it.
“And?” Doug practically choked on the word. “And?”
“Will you stop repeating what I say?” Monica rolled her eyes. “It’s annoying.”
“That’s insurance fraud!” he shouted, arms flying up.
“People lie to insurance companies all the time.” Monica waved him off. “And lower your voice. If you wake Dena, I swear—”
“When you say someone rammed you,” Kane cut in before Doug blew an artery, “was it an accident or on purpose?”
Monica walked back to the table and sat, forcing her tone to stay even. When she looked up, Kane was watching her like he already knew the answer.
“On purpose.” She hesitated. “I think.”
His brow lifted just slightly, but that was enough to let her know he wasn’t buying it. “You think?”
“Look,” Monica sighed. “I didn’t want to tell Doug because he’s already losing his mind worrying about me.” She jerked her chin toward her brother, who was glowering and worried all at once. “The night I was ordered to come to the hospital by you, I’m pretty sure I was being followed.”
“So, you didn’t even go to the grocery store that night. Another lie,” Doug muttered, though the anger had drained from his voice.
“Anyway,” Monica continued, ignoring Doug, “on my way home, I noticed the same car behind me. I took some different roads to see if it was a coincidence—which I realize now was stupid—but whatever. I ended up on a two-lane road. That’s when they started playing games.
Pulling beside me. Dropping back. Riding my ass.
Then they rammed me. More than once. I lost control and went off the road.
They stopped, but didn’t get out. Probably just trying to scare me, and they succeeded. Then they drove off.”
Kane’s eyes darkened almost instantly. “Is that the only time?”
“What?” Monica blinked. “Being run off the road or followed?”
“Both.”
“I haven’t been run off the road again,” she admitted, tearing her eyes away from him because looking into those pitch-black eyes was doing stupid things to her pulse. “But followed? Yeah. Pretty much feel as if I am every day.”
Doug’s anger vanished completely now. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I didn’t want you to worry.” Her shoulders sagged, exhaustion pulling at her and not the kind a nap could fix.
“Newsflash, sis,” Doug sighed, standing to squeeze her shoulder. “I’ll always worry about you, even when you’re not doing crazy shit. I’m going to bed. Make sure Kane has what he needs before you go up.”
“Sorry, Doug,” Monica said as he walked out. “I’ll pay you back once I start working.”
He waved her off but didn’t look back.
Monica stared at the empty doorway, then slowly turned back only to find Kane watching her with that unreadable, dangerous calm of his. Not only did it shock her, but it absolutely terrified her how much safer she felt under that gaze. This wasn’t good at all.