Chapter 17
Monica sat quietly, eyes fixed on the fire as the last of the day faded into night.
Knox lay sprawled at her feet, letting out soft huffs every so often like he was dreaming.
Ken had taken a half-asleep Dena to bed, and Doug was lingering with that restless tension he always carried when he worried about her.
“You trust him now?” Doug asked, breaking the silence.
Monica looked up slowly. She knew the ‘him’ he was talking about. The answer came easier than she expected. “Yeah… I do.” She surprised herself with how sure it sounded. “Honestly? I wish I’d trusted him sooner.”
Doug nodded, though his frown didn’t budge. “But you didn’t know who to trust,” he murmured. Then he sighed, long and rough.
“True,” Monica replied. She had even started not trusting the cops working Beverly’s case, which led her to investigate the case herself.
“Monica… should you really be diving back into all of this? Beverly is gone. Nothing is going to change that. It’s over. Let it go before something happens to you.” His voice cracked, just a little. “I can’t lose two sisters. You’re the only one I’ve got left.”
Monica turned back to the fire, letting his words sink in. It would be so easy to walk away. To go back to the life she had before all this started. But she couldn’t and knew she wouldn’t. This was way too personal for her now.
“This isn’t just about Beverly anymore,” she whispered.
Her voice felt thin but steady. She lifted her eyes to him.
“This is for Joey—the boy I took to the hospital because Griffen’s guy ran over him and killed his father.
It’s for every person that bastard hurt, every family he destroyed. And for Dena.”
Doug swallowed hard, then looked away into the flames. “But why does it have to be you?”
“I don’t know,” she said, leaning back and staring up at the stars. “I just know I can’t walk away until it’s done. I started something, and I need to finish it.”
“Even if you die trying?” Doug’s voice was rising, frustration building.
Monica knew what was coming—a fight she didn’t want, not tonight.
“Doug, I’ve seen what men like Griffen do to women, kids, and anyone they think won’t matter.
” She shrugged, though her chest was tight.
“You’re scared because it’s me. I get that.
But I’m not doing this alone anymore. I have someone in my corner now, someone who actually knows what he’s doing. We’re going to take Griffen down.”
Doug cursed and pushed to his feet, anger masking fear. “Fine. Just stay alive while doing it, okay?”
“That’s the plan, bro.” She smiled up at him, small but real.
“You’re an asshole,” he muttered, though the corner of his mouth twitched. “Come on. Let’s go inside.”
“You go. I’m staying out here with Knox for a bit.” She kicked off her shoes and curled her feet beneath her. “We’ll be in later. I’ll turn on the alarm system.”
Doug hesitated, scanning the yard. “I really think you should come in.”
“It’s fine,” Monica rolled her eyes. “Knox will alert me if anyone sets foot in the yard. And Kane said no one’s been following us.”
Doug still didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “Good night.”
“Good night.” She watched him walk a few steps, then called out, “Hey.”
He turned. “Yeah?”
“Thanks… for caring.”
Doug shook his head with a tired laugh. “You’re still an asshole.”
Monica laughed too, then looked down at Knox. “Guess it’s just you and me, buddy.”
Knox stretched dramatically, letting out a groan that made her smile. She sank deeper into the chair, the fire warming her as her thoughts drifted the way they’d been drifting all day...straight to Kane.
Her gaze slid to the empty chair he’d been sitting in earlier, and she felt that stupid pinch in her chest. God help her, she actually missed him.
A few times, she’d thought she heard a motorcycle, sending her heart pounding.
And that swirling-in-her-stomach thing? Yeah.
Still happening every damn time she thought of him or he was near.
The first time she’d ever seen him, when he’d ticked her off so bad she’d wanted to smack his handsome face, she’d felt it too. That spark...that impossible, maddening awareness that refused to back off.
He irritated the hell out of her, and yet she trusted him with her life. She pulled her knees in tighter, eyes drifting back to the flames.
What scared her wasn’t the danger looming over her. It was how easily this man was starting to slip past every wall she’d ever built and how a part of her didn’t want to rebuild those walls.
Knox’s low growl yanked her straight out of her thoughts. Without moving her head, Monica glanced down. He was still lying there, completely still, but his eyes were wide open and locked onto the darkness like something out there had his full attention.
“What is it, boy?” she whispered, barely moving her lips.
Knox suddenly sat up, growl deepening, turning more aggressive.
Shit.
Maybe she should’ve gone inside with Doug. She was seriously rethinking her brilliant decision to “sit with the fire for a bit” as Knox slowly stood, ears pinned back, hackles up, with that low rumbling warning vibrating out of him.
Her eyes darted around, searching for anything she could use as a weapon. Nothing. Absolutely nothing but the oversized stick Doug had been using to poke at the fire. Great.
Monica stood slowly and yanked the stick from the flames.
“What do you see, Knox?” she whispered, squinting uselessly into the darkness. She couldn’t see a damn thing. “I swear, if it’s a rabbit, I’m going to be pissed.”
Knox started creeping forward, head low.
“Don’t you dare leave me, Knox.”
Naturally, he ignored her. He stalked farther out into the yard until he stopped, circling something, nose working overtime with his ears still flat.
Monica tightened her grip on the stick that was still burning at one end and moved closer, trying to make out what in the hell Knox had locked onto.
“Shoo.” A man’s voice came out of nowhere.
Monica stumbled backward so fast she almost took herself out. “Who’s there?” She tried to sound tough, but it came out like a terrified squeak.
Knox was now growling and snapping at nothing. Absolutely nothing. What in the actual hell?
Her heart hammered as she pinched her own arm, hard, wondering if she’d fallen asleep outside and was dreaming.
“Dammit—stop biting,” the male voice growled, right as Knox yelped and fell back like he’d been kicked.
“Oh, hell no,” Monica snapped. She launched forward, swinging the burning stick like she was going for a grand slam. Whatever in the hell was going on, she didn’t care because no one kicked Knox.
Suddenly, the stick exploded as it struck something solid, sending sparks and splinters of wood into the air.
“Fuck! I’m a friend!” the male voice shouted.
Monica didn’t comprehend a word of it. She screamed louder than she’d ever screamed in her entire damn life, scrambled back straight toward the fire pit without realizing it.
Her leg hit the rim, and she pitched backwards toward the flames. Before her body hit the fire, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her back, lifting her clean off her feet.
“Are you okay?” Kane’s voice, tight and full of concern. He looked her over quickly, then whipped his head toward the yard. “Knox!”
To her shock, Knox immediately stopped trying to kill whatever was out there and bolted straight to Kane like the loyal little traitor he was.
“I—I heard a man’s voice,” Monica stammered, still trying to catch up with reality. “And I hit something with the stick, but there’s nothing there.”
“Dammit, Steve,” Kane muttered, checking her one more time before turning toward the yard.
“Has that dog had a rabies shot?” The same male voice moaned, and then, suddenly, a man appeared sitting on the ground holding his thigh.
“What the hell?” Monica gasped.
She pinched herself again. Still not dreaming. Great.
“You’re a fucking vampire, Steve,” Kane barked, marching toward him. “Get the hell up.”
Monica edged closer, staring hard at the guy who had just materialized on her brother’s lawn like...poof, and he was there.
Knox growled again but stayed beside her.
“Friend,” Monica said slowly, looking at the man. Then frowned. “I think.”