Page 39 of Traitorous Lies
“Yeah. My stepsister, who was only five when our parents were arrested on false charges. Over the last few months, we’ve learned that my stepmom was in the CIA, and she was raped by four men while on an assignment in Egypt. When they learned there was living proof of that assault, we believed they tried to take her out of the equation. Mydad and the rest of his team were collateral damage. One of the men involved is a world-renowned Egyptologist, he’s dead. Another two died before we knew about them. But the son of one of the men, and this final rapist have been trying to silence my family for months. Trying to kill us.”
The tension in the air was so thick you wouldn't just need a knife to cut it but a power saw.
“So far, we’ve survived every one of their assaults as we kept searching for names. Monique, we believe your dad is the last remaining rapist,” he informed her as gently as he could.
She gasped and staggered back.
Instinct had him reaching out a hand to steady her, but the look she shot him had him stopping before making contact.
“My dad isn’t a rapist,” she hissed.
“Isn't he? How do you know that? You’ve barely had any contact with him your entire life,” he reminded her, not to be unkind, just because she had no idea who her father really was. “He left you with his parents to raise after your mom left. He doesn’t check in with you. You speak to him twice a year on your birthdays. He could be anything and you wouldn't know.”
“This op wasn't about hurting you,” Jake said, stepping closer. “We sent Jax in because he’s the only one who’s single, and after everything we’ve all been through these last few months, the rest of us wanted to stay home with our partners.”
“We were hoping you would be able to give us the address of where your dad is hiding out since we’ve been unable to locate him,” Connor added.
“We were desperate,” Cole said, and Monique’s stance softened.
“Look, I can understand that, and while I don’t believe my dad is a rapist, if I knew where he was I would give you the address so he could prove it by giving you a DNA sample. In fact,I’llgive you a DNA sample to prove that your sister isn’t my sister. But I don’t know where he is. Jax is right, I don’t have anything to do with him and never have. I'm sorry.”
Her words were everything he’d hoped to hear but hadn't allowed himself to believe she would ever utter, and Jax felt relief knock most ofhis remaining energy right out of him. She understood. Now he could take Monique home, and they could figure out what happened next.
But when he took a step toward her, she quickly backed up.
“I understand why you were desperate, Jax, but that doesn’t make it okay what you did to me. I'm not all right with being used and treated like I don’t matter. I'm sick of being treated that way. I'm not really stupid enough to walk off and stay out here when I have a way to get home, and I’ll give you the DNA sample and even try to find out where my dad is so he can help you clear up this mess, but I don’t ever want to see you or hear from you again.”
With those firm words, that relief vanished, and he realized he’d lost her.
Whatever could have been was over.
And somehow, he had to find a way to live with the consequences of his decisions.
November 6th
4:46 A.M.
Finally.
The plane started its descent, and Monique let out what felt like her first real breath since the future she had been starting to picture in her mind completely fell apart.
All she wanted to do was get as far away from Jax and the rest of his family as possible so she was free to lick her wounds in peace. Here on the private jet with all of them watching her, she had to keep her game face on.
For once in her life, she was thankful for the lessons her grandmother had taught her as a young girl. One of them was how to keep her emotions to herself, something a lady should always do, according to her grandmother. While Monique didn't agree that she wasn't allowed to show her emotions, she was grateful that she knew how to paint on her mask ofindifference.
Without it she’d only be adding to her humiliation.
She was absolutely gutted to know that while she’d been dreaming about this wonderful future, opening herself up, sharing parts of her past she usually kept hidden, and falling for him, Jax was only there to use her.
How stupid was she?
Why hadn't she seen the truth?
After all, what kind of man wanted to leave a fancy party just to hang out with her?
None of them.
That was the answer, and when Jax had been different and taken an instant liking to her, she should have known better. Should have been more cynical. Other than her name and all that went with it, why else would anyone ever think to look at her?
