Page 14 of Secrets

“Honey, every man here has protected his wife, sister, sister-in-law, friend, or someone else here that we love. We are all former military, most Special Forces. Some were in the CIA,FBI, Homeland, Coast Guard, and other groups. I was in the Army and a police officer.”

“So, you were violent men. You hurt other men,” she asked nervously.

“Sometimes men need to be violent to stop the violence of men who have poor intentions,” said Antoine. “We don’t seek violence. We’d rather not fight or fire a weapon. We’d rather do things peacefully, but I can tell you that most men who set out to commit violent acts aren’t interested in peace.”

“My father and brother definitely weren’t,” she said, shredding the paper napkin in her hand. Kane placed his big paw over hers, calming her nerves. “I think if it had just been me and Tick, we would have been okay. But Dad and Jay, they were just angry and mean all the time.”

“Sometimes, men get it in their heads that they have to be angry to be men,” said Kane. “A real man knows how to not get angry. Do you know how your father and brothers got connected to the men that they worked for?”

“Connected? You mean, how did they get introduced to them?” she clarified. He nodded at her. “Jay. Jay was always out there drumming up business. That’s what Dad used to say. He’d go to a bike rally or to a gang hangout and start a fight, show them how useful he could be. Sometimes, he’d get beat up, but they always said they admired him for approaching them first. After a while, he just had a reputation.”

“He’d go by himself and start the fights?” asked Nash.

“Yes, sir. I heard Dad say once that it started with the Scorpions. He fought one of their best and beat him. They told him they wouldn’t kill him if he killed a member of the Montilla family. Then it just snowballed. He got a name for himself.”

“Honey, they must have been paid a lot of money. Where did all that money go?” asked Miller.

“I’m not sure. I was given two hundred dollars every three months to buy whatever I needed. New clothes, shoes, girl things,” she blushed. “I learned to go to thrift stores and discount stores. I never bought anything new. They didn’t dress well either. Mostly used clothes.”

“So, you never saw them with a lot of cash?” asked Nash.

“Oh, yes. They always had a roll of cash on them, but as far as I knew, we didn’t have a bank account. I know that because I had to pay a fee for something at school once, and they didn’t want cash, only checks or credit cards. My dad was really angry because he had to go to the school and force them to take the cash. Agent Fowler said they were avoiding the IRS. If they didn’t have anything traceable, they weren’t paying taxes.”

“What was your home like?” She stared at him, tilting her head in curiosity. “I mean, was it well maintained? Was it clean, a nice house?”

“Oh. Yeah. Dad hired this guy, Marco, who did a lot of side jobs for him. Mostly cut the grass, fixed the roof, painted, that kind of thing. Sometimes, people they did business with came to the house. That’s how I learned to cook. We had nice dishes, and the appliances were good. Nothing like what you have here, but I wasn’t embarrassed by my home.

“I was always clean. They took me to the doctor if I needed it, but I tried not to ever need it. It only made Dad angry with me. Sometimes, Dad would hit me harder than he should. The last time, they were so angry with me because Agent Fowler showed up at the school, and my dad thought I’d snitched to him. I didn’t tell him anything. I was so scared, and then whenthey locked me in the shed after beating me, I knew they were going to kill me.

“Anyway, Dad didn’t like taking me to doctors. He said he didn’t trust doctors much. He used to say it was because of Mom, but Agent Fowler told me that my father killed her. So, I’m not sure what that was about.”

“Thank you for telling us all of that,” smiled Alec. She looked at the group of men and then stood.

“What’s happening? Did he escape? Is my brother out there?” she asked.

“No, honey. He’s still secure behind bars,” said Miller. “But. But he will be testifying at a massive federal trial in Chicago. He’ll be chained, guarded, and watched very closely. We just want to be sure we have all the information we need. If they were making a lot of money, we’re wondering where all that money went because it wasn’t recovered after they were arrested.”

“I wish I could help you, but I honestly have no idea where the money went.”

They smiled at her as she walked back to the kitchen, then they stared at one another.

“Anyone believe for one moment that Jay isn’t going to want to get to her because of that money?” asked Alec.

“She might not know where it is,” said Kane, “but the men her family worked for think she does. Even if she doesn’t, her brother is going to want to kill her because she testified against him.”

“Maybe we send a team to the courthouse just to be sure he doesn’t get away,” said Luc. “Comms says her house is still boarded up, technically a crime scene for the feds. It was paidfor. In cash. They never had a house note the entire time they were there. I’m going to bet the money is on that property.”

“Let’s talk to Gaspar and the others tomorrow morning. It might be worth sending a few guys up to Chicago. I think we might also do well to send some people to check out that last known residence. It’s been years, but we might be able to find something buried in the backyard.” Miller smirked at him.

“Yeah.Bodies.”

CHAPTER NINE

Millicent finished the lunch rush and went to the gardens to gather fresh vegetables for dinner. She would get them prepped for the evening staff and then head home to shower.

It was quite a walk to the massive gardens. Today, she decided to walk instead of taking the ATV. She was pulling a wagon that had baskets attached so she could load them with the produce.

As she approached the gardens, she smiled, seeing an ATV and Trevon kneeling in the dirt once again. He was singing a song she didn’t recognize, and she realized he had a wonderful, deep voice.

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