Kane sighed but gave Monica a look as if apologizing for his friends before turning his attention back to Charger. “Okay. What was so important that you dragged me here and risked blowing my cover?”
“Your cover sucks,” Charger shot back.
“My fault,” Monica said, wiggling her fingers in mock guilt.
“Oh, I know,” Charger raised one brow at her before turning serious. “King’s on his way. Says it’s something we need to hear, and he doesn’t sound happy.”
Kane finally let go of her hand to grab two beers from the fridge. The loss hit way harder than it should have. When he came back and handed her one, she wondered if it was him who actually lived here. Realizing she knew very little about this man, she frowned.
“Thanks,” she said quietly, not asking the dozen questions sitting on her tongue. Later. She’d ask later, when they were alone.
The door swung open, and more tall men filled the space—along with a stunning woman who beelined straight to Charger and kissed him like she owned him. Monica quickly looked away, only to find King pinning her with a stare. The same stare he’d given her at the hospital. She offered a small smile. He didn’t give one back.
Her stomach clenched painfully. Did he still think she had something to do with Joey? The idea made her sick. King stalked toward her, his expression dark. She instinctively stepped closer to Kane.
“I’m sorry for the loss of your sister,” King said, and surprisingly, she knew he meant it.
Monica let go of the breath she’d been holding. “Thank you.”
“Whoa, who’s this?” another ridiculously handsome man asked as he approached.
“Back off, Creed,” Kane snapped, voice dropping an entire octave.
Creed lifted his hands, but the look he gave her said he’d be back the second Kane wasn’t blocking him. “No worries. I’ll just wait until you’re done with her.”
Everything exploded at once.
Kane lunged before Monica even processed the insult. Chaos erupted with men grabbing, cursing, and pulling them apart. Monica felt a hand tug her backward and turned to see the tall woman smiling as if this were all perfectly normal.
“Don’t worry. This happens a lot. Pretty much normal,” the woman said. “I’m Raven. And hey… I heard about your sister, Monica. I’m really sorry. We’re going to find who did this to her and make them pay.”
“We?” Monica repeated, thrown off.
“Yeah,we,” Raven said just as Kane and Charger rejoined them. Kane still looked like he wanted to murder Creed. “You’re not alone in this.”
Those words hit Monica like a punch. For so long, shehadbeen alone—fighting, questioning, and searching. Hearing someone say they were standing with her made her knees feel unsteady. Guilt suddenly hit her hard. Maybe she should’ve trusted Kane a long damn time ago.
“King,” Charger barked, shooting Kane and Creed twin death glares, “what’s so urgent it couldn’t be a text? I’m not cleaning blood off the floors again, so get on with it so these guys can get the hell out.”
“Again?” Monica whispered to Raven.
“Normal,” Raven murmured the reminder with a pat to her arm.
King pulled something from his back pocket and tossed a rolled-up newspaper onto the kitchen island.
“Daniel came to me last night,” King said. “Told me Griffen was dead. Said to watch the papers. This is today’s.”
“Who’s Daniel?” Monica asked, confused.
“That,” Val muttered, “is the question of the damn year.”
Kane unrolled the paper and turned it toward Monica. Her stomach plummeted. John Griffen’s photo stared back at her above a headline she didn’t want to read.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “He was found in the same area as my sister… in the river.”
Kane’s arm immediately came around her, solid and steady, while her insides crumbled. “Any leads?” Kane asked.
“Nothing yet,” King said. “Sloan and Duncan are on it.” Then his gaze locked on Monica. “Do you know anyone who might have taken Griffen out?”