Doug opened his mouth, then shut it, repeated the same motions a couple of times like a fish out of water, then shook his head and walked further into the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” Monica frowned, watching her brother.
“To get a damn beer before I call the hospital psychiatric ward,” Doug gave her his classic brotherly side-eye as he passed, opening the fridge. He grabbed four beers like he was prepping for battle. Handing one to Steve and Kane, he held another out to Monica. “One last hurrah before we ship you off in a...straightjacket.”
Monica took the beer and shot him a dirty look. “Believe me or not, hewasinvisible. And then poof… there he was, sitting on your grass, crying.”
Kane couldn’t stop the grin. Watching the two of them bicker was like stepping into a sitcom—one he didn’t mind sticking around for. Monica gave as good as she got, and he liked that a little too much.
“I was sitting on your grass, but the crying part—” Steve snorted, straightening like he had some pride left. “—isn’t exactly what happened.”
“Ehh, I’d say that’s exactly what happened.” Monica lifted her brow at him, the picture of innocent sass.
“Bullshit. You and your stories, Monica.” Doug rolled his eyes and took a long drink of his beer.
And then Steve vanished.
Doug froze, lowering his bottle slowly just in time to see Steve’s floating beer bottle. Doug’s own slipped from his fingers and hit the floor, shattering beer and glass everywhere. “What in the hell!”
“I’m known as the Invisible Warrior,” Steve announced, his voice drifting through the room like he’d been waiting all damn night to say it.
Monica laughed, and Kane found himself watching her instead of the chaos. The way she handled the night, the fear, the shock, Steve’s chaos… all without losing her edge. Most people folded when the world tilted sideways, but not her. She snapped right back, mouth sharp, eyes steady, and meeting every bit of madness head-on.
He spent the rest of the night listening to Doug and Steve talking about everything from vampires to Bigfoot. He lost count of how many times Monica rolled her eyes. After seeing her yawn for the tenth time, he got his IDs from Steve and sent him on his way.
“You ready to go home?” Kane asked, then realized he really liked the sleepy look on her. It honestly made him want to crawl into bed and cuddle with her. Holy fuck, never in his life had he ever wanted to cuddle with anyone.
“I am,” she said, then hugged her brother as she grabbed her stuff and snapped for Knox to follow. Kane walked out behind them and slowed, watching her and Knox walk side by side, and frowned, realizing Monica wasn’t just gorgeous. She was grit wrapped in soft skin. Smart, quick with her wit, and braveas hell. The more time he spent with her, the more he saw her different sides. What surprised him was...there wasn’t a side of her that he didn’t like. Yeah, he was truly fucked.
CHAPTER 19
By the time they walked into Monica’s house, she was wiped out. Even Knox was dragging. Kane had followed her back on his bike, and she had secretly wished she was riding with him. Yawning for what felt like the hundredth time, she set her bag down and basically collapsed onto the couch.
“What a day,” she sighed, watching Kane set his own bag by the door. “As soon as I can get my lazy ass off this couch, I’ll show you the extra bedroom where you can put your stuff.”
“No worries,” Kane said with a frown, distracted, his attention glued to his phone.
“Bad news?” Monica asked through another yawn.
“Hmmm?” Kane finally moved, coming over to sit in the chair next to the couch. Knox padded over and dropped his massive head onto Kane’s lap like they’d been friends for years. Kane scratched behind his ears without even thinking about it. He was a damn handsome man. His features were strong, and he had that sexy jawline that made women drool. His hair was wildfrom riding in the open air. He had that dark, mysterious thing going on, and he looked damn good in a leather jacket.
“You were glaring at your phone. I asked you if it was bad news,” Monica said, curling her arm under her head as she watched him. “He likes you.”
“Just work stuff,” Kane replied, then glanced at her dog. “Do you?”
“What? Like you?” Monica squinted at him, then gave a tired shrug. “Ehh… you’re not as bad as I thought.”
Kane chuckled, cocking his eyebrow. “Ditto.”
Monica smiled, then felt it drop instantly, guilt hitting her hard and fast.
“What?” Kane asked, his attention sliding fully to her now.
“I just buried my sister this morning,” Monica whispered, voice cracking. “I shouldn’t be smiling or laughing. It feels wrong.”
“And what would your sister say if she were sitting here right now?” Kane’s voice was low and steady, that hypnotic calm she’d noticed the very first time she’d heard him speak. Even when he annoyed the hell out of her, she liked the sound of his voice.
“She’d tell me to shut up and grow a pair,” Monica said with a choked breath right before the tears hit her hard. Losing her sister kept sneaking up and knocking the air out of her. Covering her face with her hand, she tried to stop the tears, but they just kept coming.