Page 32 of Monster

“‘Her’, as in…?”

I threw back the rest of my wine. “Yep. From what I could gather, the Lucchese mutt was supposed to have dibs on Miss Pettigrew. But, he didn’t fill out some sort of paperwork or whatever laying claim to her, so the bid was rightfully mine.”

“That would make sense.”

“Seems a bit easy, though. Even for them.”

“Do you have any other suspects? Anyone you know that would want to find any way to target you?”

I chuckled. “You mean, other than every other family from this coast to the other?”

He chuckled. “Good point.”

I set my wine glass down onto the table and folded my hands in my lap. I crossed my leg over my knee, watching as the rhythmic waves crashed against the shoreline. There were dark clouds building in the distance, already kicking up waves with the winds that started howling through the vineyards of grapes that surrounded us. I loved it out here. It was peaceful, and kind. A dark contrast from the life I led.

A dark contrast from the person I was.

Whoever had a random out on Miss Pettigrew’s head, though, would have to deal with me. If someone thought they could openly defy the rules and take what was mine for themselves, then they had another thing coming. I had grand plans for Miss Pettigrew. For us both, really.

But, there was no use in kicking up more drama.

“So, what are you going to do?” Rupert asked.

I drew in a deep breath. “I’ll let them come to me.”

He paused. “Wait, really? You’re not going to go after them first?”

I shrugged. “No point. I have home-court advantage here. If they want Miss Pettigrew, they’re more than welcome to try.”

He chuckled. “You’re a ballsy man, you know that?”

I licked my lips. “Can’t get by in this lifestyle without being as such.”

“You got that right.”

My eyes fell to the small droplets of blood in the sand near the steps of my porch. And as the storm continued to approach and the wind kicked up, I watched the sand swirl in tandem with one another. Like little miniature tornadoes whose sole purpose was to blow away any evidence that Charlotte was in my basement.

I watched the red-speckled sand twist and turn before being buried forever under fresh sand. And as thunder rumbled in the distance, a thought crossed my mind.

Maybe if Charlotte knows someone’s out to get her, she’ll stand with me to fight for her life.

Then, a plan slowly started forming in the deep recesses of my mind.

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