“The only person who comes to mind is my new boss,” Monica said before she could filter it. She looked at Kane. “I think you’re right. Something’s off with Farrar. I still haven’t gotten anything about where I’m supposed to go tomorrow. No contact since he called the day of Beverly’s funeral.”
“He called the day you buried your sister?” Raven hissed. “What an asshole.”
“He actually showed up at her visitation, talking to me about this new job and informing me that Griffen sold the business, but was starting a new one, and he was now my boss.” Monica frowned, still angry that he decided the day of her sister’s visitation was the best day to inform her of all this. Seriously, who did that? Her eyes went back to the paper lying open with Griffen’s eyes staring at her. A killer, that’s who.
“Well, even if he’s not part of all this, he still needs his ass kicked,” Val frowned, glaring at the paper.
Should I call him?” Monica asked Kane. He didn’t look thrilled. “I mean, I start tomorrow. If I don’t reach out, it’ll look suspicious.”
“Makes sense,” Raven agreed, folding her arms. “I agree with her.”
Kane glared at Monica like she’d suggested walking into traffic. “I still think you working for him is a bad idea, especially since we know he’s the one who's been having you followed.”
“But he doesn’t know we know,” Charger pointed out.
“And if he doesn’t mention Griffen on the call,” Raven added, “that’s basically confirmation this whole thing is a setup.”
The room fell silent, heavy and tense.
“Call him,” Kane nodded, then frowned. “On speaker.”
Monica pulled out her phone, searched for the missed call, and then hit it before turning it to speaker. Ringing filled the room as everyone stared at her phone except for Kane. His eyes were on her. After about five rings, the voicemail came on. It was Farrar’s voice and then the beep.
“Mr. Farrar, this is Monica Vail. I’m sorry I missed your call, but that was the day of my sister’s funeral.” Her jaw tightened, but she forced politeness through her teeth. “Again, I apologize. I hope I haven’t hurt my chances with the new company. I really need this job. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you.”
She hung up, pulse thrumming.
“And now we wait,” Charger muttered, glancing around the room like waiting was a sport he planned to win.
Monica didn’t answer. She stared down at her phone like it might bite, her stomach twisting with a mix of dread and fury. She finally lifted her eyes.
Kane was watching her closely, intensely, like he could read every thought she was trying to bury. His fists were clenched at his sides, like he was barely holding himself back from taking that phone and dealing with Farrar his own way. And a part of her wanted to let him do just that.
CHAPTER 28
Kane stood off to the side while everyone else talked, bullshitted, and caught up, but none of it landed. His mind and his damn eyes were locked on Monica. She and Raven sat curled into the couch, heads together like they’d known each other longer than five minutes.
Kane frowned.What in the hell was Raven telling her?
He was already second-guessing bringing Monica here, but dammit, he couldn’t leave her alone either. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed by the Dark Guardians. It wasn’t that at all. They were definitely a different breed, but they were his family, and he’d die for every single one of them.
It washimhe was embarrassed by.
He was a manwhore, plain and simple. Maybe not as bad as Creed, but pretty damn close. He bounced from one woman to the next like it was a damn sport, and everyone in the Guardian world knew it. Kane didn’t do feelings, didn’t do attachment, and didn’t do anything that required giving a single shit past sunrise. Never had he felt guilty about any of it...until now.
“So, it’s finally fucking happened?” Charger’s voice cut through Kane’s spiral.
Kane took a long drink of beer before giving him a look. “What finally happened?”
“Her.” Charger jerked his chin toward Monica, then pinned Kane with that all-seeing stare of his.
Kane almost denied it, but something in his chest tightened, warning him not to lie, not even to himself. “Mind your damn business, Charger. We’re men. We don’t talk about this shit.”
“Oh, really?” Charger snorted loud enough to turn heads. “You gave me so much shit about Raven, I’m still shocked you didn’t start up a damn advice column on relationships and call it Kane’s Korner or some shit.”
“Damn, you put a lot of thought into that.” Kane couldn’t stop the grin. Bastard was right. He’d ridden Charger hard about Raven—daily, and relentlessly, like it was his damn job.
“She your mate?” Charger asked directly, brutally, with no sugarcoating. That was Charger’s specialty. Didn’t matter who he was talking to; he poked the bear every time.