Chapter 31
Monica almost ran into the back of Kane when he came to a complete stop walking out of the bathroom. Glancing around him, she saw Creed and King, but then Kane moved. Standing next to King was Ken, her brother-in-law.
“What are you doing he—” Her question stopped as her eyes lowered to his wrists that were encased in handcuffs. “No,” Monica shook her head, trying to piece together what in the hell was going on.
“Monica, it’s not what it looks like,” Ken said, taking a step toward her, but Creed stopped him with a hard slap to the chest. “Take one more move toward her, and you will die.”
“We found the van, shot up with bullet holes on the side of the road,” Jared informed Kane. “Good shooting, by the way. Not easy to hit a target sliding across asphalt.”
“Then further down the road, we saw this dumbass running,” Sid nodded toward Ken, who looked terrified. “He tried to say he was out for a jog.”
“Which was a lie,” Adam spoke up with a cocked eyebrow at Ken.
“Obviously,” Jared snorted. “I mean, who goes out for a jog dressed like he’s been in the office all day?”
“He said he wasn’t alone,” Creed added. “The rest of the guys are out trying to find the other one.”
“I didn’t know he was going to shoot at you. We were just supposed to be following you, that’s all.” Ken said, his eyes never leaving Monica’s. “I swear it.”
“Who is he?” Kane growled, his eyes black as he glared at Ken.
“One of Farrar’s guys. That’s all I know.
” Ken said his eyes shot toward Kane. “I put an AirTag in your shoe so you could be followed. That’s how they knew you were meeting up with these guys.
Dammit, Monica, I told you to leave all of this alone.
Why didn’t you listen to me? Beverly may still be alive today if you had just stopped. ”
The rage she’d been holding back since the night her sister vanished finally tore loose. Monica moved before anyone could stop her.
She crossed the room in a blur and slapped him hard across the face, the crack echoing off the walls.
“What did you fucking do?” she screamed, hitting him again, her hand stinging, her vision burning.
“I made a bad business deal and owed Griffen money,” Ken snapped, tears spilling now, humiliation twisting his face. “A lot of money. I didn’t know it wasn’t his to lend. When I couldn’t pay him back, he threatened me. Said he’d take Beverly until I could.”
Something inside Monica went cold.
“You sold my sister,” she whispered, a fact she now knew to be true.
Her gaze dropped to the floor because she couldn’t look at him as she processed everything.
“This whole time I knew that Griffen was involved,” she said quietly, every word slicing deeper than a scream. “And you stayed silent because you owed him money. You knew where she was. You fucking knew.”
She lifted her head then. The hatred in her eyes was so sharp it sucked the air from the room.
“You stood at my sister’s funeral and cried like a grieving husband while she lay cold in a coffin because of you,” Monica said, her voice rising with every word. “You knew the whole time and never said a goddamn thing.”
“I couldn’t!” He bellowed, his eyes wide and bulging.
“What was the money for, Ken?” Monica’s voice was surprisingly steady as her insides exploded with fury and rage. “What was my sister’s life worth to you?”
“A business that was funded by someone I thought was Griffen, but I was wrong.” Ken shook his head, then looked away from her. “It was a start-up, but things didn’t go right. I couldn’t get the permits, and I fucked up. I spent the money on our new house.”
“You fucked him over,” Monica growled, wanting to smack him again. No, that was a lie. She wanted to inflict every single ounce of pain her sister had most likely endured and then kill him slowly. “And my sister paid the price. What business venture did my sister pay with her life for?”
“A laboratory,” Ken said, then looked around at the Warriors and Guardians. “They are working with doctors who are sending blood samples of their patients to different labs they have set up to test for Golden blood, but they are especially interested in you guys. They want to reproduce your blood.”
King growled, his hands balling into fists. “Who is in charge? This Farrar fuck?”
“In this area, yes, but he’s not the main guy,” Ken said, not even having the courage to look at King. “Griffen was just a lackey for Farrar. Farrar calls the shots, as far as I know, but I do know he also answers to someone higher up. At least that’s what Griffen said.”
“Seems like you got real cozy with them?” King hissed in his face. “Did Farrar have Griffen killed?”
“I don’t fucking know, but yeah, I’m sure he was behind it. And I’m not cozy with any of them.” He cried out. “They killed my wife.”
“No!” Monica shook her head as she glared at Ken. “You killed your wife, you bastard.”
“They want you, Monica.” His burning gaze swung to her with almost as much hatred.
“You’ve pissed a lot of people off. Griffen knew exactly what you were doing and hired you to keep an eye on you.
You asked too many fucking questions, dammit.
You fucked everything up. Then you get them involved.
” Ken motioned around the room with his hands cuffed.
“That’s enough,” Kane warned, his voice deadly as he gave Ken a shove.
Monica swallowed hard, wanting out of this nightmare. Was it true? Was she the downfall of Beverly?
“Farrar showing up at Beverly’s funeral was a warning to me. He doesn’t mean to hire you. He means to see you end up exactly where Beverly ended up, and he’s using me to do it.” Ken continued ignoring Kane’s warning glare, then his gaze dropped to the floor. “I can’t lose her too.”
Monica’s blood turned cold as she heard his whispered words. Oh God. “Where is Dena, Ken?”
When he looked up at her, his eyes were filled with tears, and his face looked ravaged. “He has her.”
“No,” Monica whispered as fear rose to the back of her throat and she wanted to vomit.
“You for her,” he said, then looked at Kane. “And if I bring him in alive, he will forgive my debt.”
“You son of a bitch!” Monica attacked Ken with all the rage and fury that had been building inside her. She lost herself in the hate she felt for this man, whom she had trusted, and her fear for her niece.
Suddenly, she was pulled away from Ken and lifted off her feet, being carried across the room. She kept fighting to get back at him, tears flowing down her face, cursing him with every breath.
“Monica!” Kane’s voice broke through her fury, but she couldn’t help fighting to get back at the bastard. “Dammit, stop before you hurt yourself.”
“I don’t care.” She cried out, but started to calm down. She knew she was losing her shit, but she was past caring. They not only killed her sister, but now they had Dena.
“But I do,” Kane said, forcing her to look at him. “Listen to me, Monica.”
Finally, her eyes focused on him, and she stopped fighting, but the tears continued to flow.
“We are going to get Dena back, but you need to calm down.” Kane swiped at the tears falling down her face. “And none of this is your fault. Do you hear me?”
She finally nodded as his words sank in.
“I will tear this fucking town apart to get Dena back to you,” Kane said, still forcing her to look at him. “Do you trust me?”
Her face crumbled as she nodded again. “Yes, I trust you, Kane.”
“Good girl,” He whispered as he pulled her to him and held her tight. “We are going to work together, okay.”
“Yeah,” Monica replied, but her eyes focused on Ken, who stood staring at her.
Never in her life had she felt so betrayed by someone.
Forcing her gaze away, she pressed her face into Kane’s chest, knowing that if it came down to it, she would gladly give her life for her niece, and no one would stop her.