Khan (Bowen Boys, #2)(16)

Monica looked at the door and wondered if she could make it. But Caitlynne spoke again, and she was suddenly very afraid.

“That was a friend of mine who has been looking into the deaths of a few women in this area. He’s been doing it for a few years now and he may need your help. He’s told me for years that it was the Barr boy and that his parents knew about it all along.” Caitlynne stood up, guided her to the couch, and pushed her down. “I’m going to call my husband, and you’re going to sit right there until Marshall comes here and talks to you. If you leave, I’ll call Khan, tell him where you are, and tie you up until he gets here. You might be surprised to know that as much as I dislike his tactics, I think you should tell him everything you’ve told me.”

“I can’t. What if they come here? What if they bring Tony with them when they come? I can’t let anyone hurt him.” Monica flushed when she realized what she’d said. “These people have money and they’re not afraid to toss it around to get what they want.”

She grabbed her bag and reached into her wallet. When she found what she was looking for, she shoved it at Caitlynne. It was the check that Mr. Barr had written her several months ago when she’d told him she was going to the police.

“See what they do? They write checks and think that’s enough. They think that everyone has a price because they do.” She pressed the check, dirty money, as far as she was concerned, into her hand. “I don’t have a price and I won’t let them try to buy me off. Not even if it means I have to run for the rest of my life.”

She started blindly for the door and was stopped when Caitlynne stepped in front of her. When she tried to get out of her way as easily as she could, the woman simply put her arms around her and held her. Monica cried as she was led back to the couch. Caitlynne didn’t pull away after she had her there, but continued to hold her. When Monica was cried out, she pulled away, but didn’t leave.

“I’m not usually such a cry baby.” She smiled at her. “I’ve had a shitty few years. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to unload on you and get you all wet.”

“Don’t concern yourself with it. Marshall will be here soon and when he is, we’ll be able to figure this out. And once we do, I’d like for you to talk to Khan. He’s in a state not knowing where you are.”

Monica said she’d think about it. She didn’t think that the man was stable and told her so. After Caitlynne roared with laughter, she got up to make them something to eat, or so she said. Ordering in was apparently what she did best. She ordered them Chinese.

Caitlynne also said, “And for the record, Khan has been hurt as well. Not nearly as badly as you have been, or as physically, but she did nearly destroy him. He might be able to help in ways you can’t imagine.”

When Marshall showed up, he had someone with him. She tried not to stare, but the man looked just like the president. The President of the United States. And when Caitlynne called him Warren, Monica knew it was him.

“It’s me, and thank you for noticing.” He winked at her. “I get no respect from that one and it matters little to her that I got her the job she currently has.”

“Blow me, *.”

Monica looked at the two men and back at Caitlynne when she told the president he was a prick. This was just too surreal.





Chapter Six


Khan sat on the plane and tried not to look at his brothers. He’d been in a fight with one or more of them since his dad had ordered him home the day before yesterday. And now he was finally going to get to see Monica. And from what Caitlynne had said to him last night, and she’d said plenty, Monica wasn’t going to take his shit any longer.

“You tell her. Everything, or so help me, I will. And if I do, I’ll make sure you never find her ass. And you know I can do it too.” She paused for breath, and he started to tell her what she could do with her bad self when she continued. “And, Khan, you should know something else. Tony, the man who is after her, is right here in Washington.”

That shut him up. He asked her what he needed to do. She didn’t speak for several seconds, and he knew she was crying.

“I don’t know, Khan. I really like this girl. I know that I teased you about finding someone and her being more than you can handle, but…” She sniffled. “This girl is almost more than I can handle. She’s had her parents murdered and so much done to her, yet she continues on. How does she do it?”

“I’ll fix this. I swear to you, I’ll fix this.” She said he’d better. “Caitlynne, please don’t keep her from me any longer. I need to see her. I was…I treated her badly. I treated her like… Walker said I treated her like an animal.”

“You ordered her around like she was. What did you expect her to do, Khan? Jump when you said to? Roll over when you needed to f*ck her? She isn’t going to roll over for anyone, least of all you.”

He’d figured that out when he’d broken down the bathroom door and found her gone. There was blood on the window she’d climbed out of. And when he’d looked down, he was surprised at how far she’d dropped to get away from him. Because that was what she’d done, she’d run away from him.

When they were told they were about to land, he looked over at Walker. He hadn’t spoken to him in hours and if he was going to be staying at his house, he wanted it to be better than this. Plus, he was pretty sure he was going to need his help explaining to Monica what he was.