“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.