Page 39 of Monk
“I’m not fucking around, Kasey. I want you to get your ass home with my money,” he replies, his voice low and gruff.
“Sign the papers, Spencer.”
“Do you think this is a goddamn game? Do you know what my employer will do if he doesn’t get that money back?”
His employer. I smile as soon as I hear the flicker of nervousness in his voice. Spencer is obviously paranoid about anybody listening in or about me recording the call.
“Your employer. That’s cute. And by your employer, you, of course, mean Miguel Zavala, notorious murderer and drug cartel boss,” I sneer, twisting that knife.
“I’m not fucking around, Kasey. I want you home, along with the money you stole from me.”
“I didn’t steal anything from you, Spencer. Now, sign the papers, we both go our separate ways, and everybody wins.”
“You think I can’t find you?”
“Yeah, actually I do. I never credited you with an abundance of brains.”
My stomach flutters and it takes all of my strength to keep the quaver out of my voice. Talking to Spencer like this is something I’ve never done. But then, leaving him—finally—seems to have given me a boost of strength I never felt when I was with him. It’s a nice change and makes me feel more like my old self than I’ve felt in a very long time.
“Kasey, I’m warning you, if you’re not home where you belong, with my money, tomorrow—”
“You’ll what? Tell your cartel buddies to kill me? You’re really willing to go that far, Spencer?”
“Kasey, I am warning—”
“You said that already,” I interrupt him. “Sign the papers. I’m divorcing you, Spencer. Get used to the idea. If you want to talk to me again, contact my attorney. I’ll be disconnecting this line tomorrow.”
“Kasey—”
I disconnect the call and shut my phone off, knowing he’ll only call back all night if I don’t. For good measure, I drop my phone into the nightstand drawer and close it. After that, I turn out the light and settle into bed, pulling my covers up over my shoulders.
Truthfully, I am a little worried about Spencer finding me, and I probably have to start making plans to move on and find somewhere else to settle down for a while. It’s not like I don’t have the money now. Plus, it will keep my dad insulated from all of this garbage. The last thing I want is for him to get pulled into something like this. Something, if Spencer really does get his cartel friends involved, has the potential to go badly. I don’t want my dad paying for my sins.
My mind is filled with a sense of doom, making me feel half-crazed with fear. I push it away and stuff it all down, doing everything I can to stop thinking about it. In its place, my mind fills itself with images of Jacob. And rather than the feelings of gloom, I’m suddenly overwhelmed by confusion and angst.
And as I think about him, with all of the emotions swirling from within, I still feel the tingle and burn of his lips on mine. A familiar warmth flares within, and I slide my hand down between my thighs.
Chapter Sixteen
Monk
Pulling my gloves off, I stick them in my helmet, which I then hang on the handlebar. Cosmo is leaning against his bike and glances over at me as I walk up. We’re in an old campground the city shut down some time ago after some idiots let their fire get out of hand and burned a few acres before they got it under control.
Doesn’t stop some people from coming out here now and then, but most of them seem pretty cognizant of the need to keep from burning the world down. Anyway, we haven’t had any major incidents, so live and let live is what I say.
“You’re here early,” I remark.
“I like being out here. It’s peaceful. Quiet.”
He’s not wrong. I love coming out here—or at least, into the woods that surround Blue Rock—when I want to get away from the world. I love the thick, earthy, and woodsy smell of the place, as well as the peaceful vibe. It’s a great place to come to sit and think without all the distractions of the world around you.
“If you wanted quiet, you shouldn’t have had a herd of kids.”
He smiles. “Yeah, there’s that. Still, I wouldn’t trade ’em for the world. They’re fun.”
“I’m gonna to have to take your word for that.”
Cosmo looks at me with a wry look on his face. “Guess you’re gonna have to. Given the way that redhead smacked you at the church, I’m gettin’ the idea you’re not gonna find a woman to date you, let alone have your kids.”
