Page 14 of Monsters in the Dark

I pushed that thought away in favor of hoping for the best. I wasn’t a stupid person, and Cian hadn’t raised me to be stupid. In fact, I was smarter than most people, and that was probably the only reason that I was alive now. Granted, it helped that they had underestimated me, but instead of falling into a hysterical heap on the floor, I’d fought back, earning my escape.

Another two hours later, I was pulling into the parking garage of my apartment building, and I could feel exhaustion finally settling in my bones. I wasn’t going to be able to manage more than a few hours of sleep, and I wasn’t a coffee or energy drink kind of person. Growing up the way that I’d had, I hadn’t eaten much junk or processed foods until I had moved to the city after Cian’s passing. I also didn’t like popping pills, so I was probably going to have to gag some coffee down tonight to make it through my shift. Of course, that was if I wasn’t dead or arrested by then.

Just then, my phone chimed, and as soon as I parked in my designated parking spot, I grabbed it. It was a social media notification, and when I pulled it up, it was a friend request from Kenneth.

I let out a deep breath as I contemplated what to do. We hadn’t exchanged numbers because we’d both been able to recognize what a one-night stand was, and neither of us had minded. However, we had exchanged names, and even though I hadn’t given him my last name, it wasn’t too hard to find me when you knew that I worked at Miller’s.

A few hours ago, I’d wanted to find him, so that I could figure out what to do, but now that he was messaging me, I wasn’t sure if contacting him was a good idea after all. Plus, how did I even know that it was him messaging me? He could have been found by the police or the O’Briens, and since it was obvious that Kenneth was a coward, it could be either of them trying to lure me out in the open.

My left knee started bouncing as I tried to figure out what to do. Cian had always taught me that it was better to do nothing than do something that I couldn’t take back, and I felt like that applied to this situation. It was like when people offered up too much information to the police in hopes that it would make them look innocent and cooperative, but it always backfired.

Since it would make sense that I’d be asleep right now, I decided to do nothing. So, after gathering all my stuff again, I got out of my car, then headed to my apartment. Luckily, I had a few purses and totes that I traded out, depending on my mood, so no one would suspect a thing when I showed up to work with a new bag. Knowing that I was on the verge of overthinking everything, I shook my head, letting out another deep breath as the elevator doors slid open.

I stepped inside, knowing that I needed some sleep, but also knowing that I wasn’t going to get any.

Chapter 9

Declan~

I stared down at the phone for a third time, and still there was no response. Though it was hard to imagine that Kenneth Swanson would be lying at this point, it was still possible.

Once Noah had put a bounty on Kenneth’s head, it’d only taken us a few hours to find him. Too many people on the street could be bought, and Kenneth hadn’t done a good enough job of endearing himself to anyone. Though it’d taken a couple of hours to find him, I felt like I’d broken even by having to pay only fifty-thousand on the bounty, instead of the hundred.

After Cathal had gotten the call, he and Lochlan had gone to pick him up. Lochlan Murphy was a doctor, and though he had a legitimate practice, he really worked for the family, so he was able to get us shit that would otherwise land us in prison. Noah’s youngest brother, Aran, was an artist, and successful enough that we were able to launder a lot of our money through his pieces.

At any rate, it was a lot easier to stick a grown man with a syringe than it was to wrestle him into a car sometimes, so that’s when Lochlan came in handy. Granted, we were careful to make sure that he never ended up on the medical board’s radar, but we still used him to our benefit. Plus, he was a fucking genius at extracting bullets and stitching up knife wounds.

So, after securing Kenneth Swanson, Lochlan had shot him up with a little wake-me-up potion, and the man really was the worst kind of coward. Once he’d found himself tied to the metal chair, the pleading and begging for his life had begun. When it finally occurred to him that I couldn’t give two shits about his life, he had offered up information for my mercy, and I was still trying to decide if he was crazy or just too stupid to exist.

“I’m telling you,” he wheezed through his broken ribs. “It’s the truth.”

I looked back over at him, his phone still in my hand. “You want me to believe that some random woman that you took home for a quick fuck killed both my men?”

Kenneth nodded. “She had to,” he whimpered. “No one else was there.”

“Christ, you really are a piece of shit,” Cathal muttered. “If you’re telling the truth, then you’re telling us that you left an innocent woman behind while you fled like a fucking coward.” He let out a disgusted huff, and I didn’t blame him. “What kind of disgraceful fuck are you?”

I cocked my head a bit in thought. “Why would you take her to your house if you knew that we were looking for you, Swanson?” I asked. “That makes no sense.”

Though his face was busted up, I could still make out the flush on his cheeks. “I…I didn’t think that you…that you guys would do anything with a witness there.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sakes,” Noah muttered. “You actually used a woman as a shield? I can’t even…”

I could feel heat creeping up the back of my neck, my anger threatening to take over. During our interview, Kenneth had admitted to not having any cameras in his house, and he had also admitted to one neighbor being out of town, the other closest house being abandoned. That’s where he’d been spending most of his time hiding out from us. So, there was no way to prove his story of some unknown woman, short of us finding her. Though he’d given us her first name, and Noah had managed to find her online through Miller’s Brewery & Tap, there was still the question of whether we believed Kenneth and his outlandish story or not.

Plus, there’d also been her social media profile to consider. Though pictures could be deceiving, if the pictures really were her, and if she really did look like that, then she was too beautiful to be hooking up with the likes of Kenneth Swanson, so that was another thing that made me doubt his story. While Kenneth wasn’t a bad-looking man, she was clearly way out of his fucking league.

So, trying to fish her out to see if Kenneth was lying or not, I sent her a friend request from one of his social media accounts, seeing if she’d bite. Granted, according to Kenneth, she had ended her shift at two this morning, so it was reasonable to believe that she could be sleeping right now. However, if that were true, what kind of woman could sleep soundly after having just killed two men? Also, according to Kenneth, she’d heard enough of the conversation to know that Ren and Jacob had been O’Briens, so did she really not know who we were, or did she really just not give a fuck about her life?

“Well, da lass hasn’t responded ta yer request,” I told him. “So, it’s got me wonderin’ if yer tellin’ da truth.”

“I swear,” he practically sobbed. “I didn’t kill them. It was all her.”

“Ye know…even if ye dinna owe us all da money, I’d wanna kill ye just fer darin’ ta put that little lassie’s life ‘n danger,” I informed him. “I mean...yer a real piece o’ shite fer da one, Kenneth.”

His shoulders sagged, but what could he say? It was one thing to be a coward, but it was quite another thing to hide behind a female. I couldn’t even fathom the very idea of hiding behind a lass’ skirt to save myself. Men like that really held no value in my eyes, no matter how bloody my hands were.

“Why are you wasting time with him?” Noah asked. “Just kill the fucker already.”

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