Page 59 of Daddy's Little Survivor

Michael looked at her, confused, before he looked over at Jaxson.

“Do you know what she's talking about?” he asked.

“No. I’ve never met her before now and don't have a clue what she's talking about,” Jaxson responded.

He looked back over at Monroe. Her face was pale and she was shaking. Whatever she was thinking, it wasn't good. It was like her meeting Leo all over again.

“Why can't you say anything? Do you know Jaxson?” he asked.

She shook her head and took a step back, wincing as she put pressure on her left leg. His eyes swooped down over her leg and saw a cut on her ankle. How did she get that? Did she get it while she was in the cabinet?

“No, you don't know Jaxson, or no, you won't answer why you can't say anything?”

She shook her head again and Michael knew he needed to ask one question at a time. He didn't want to overwhelm her and make her shut down even more than she already was.

“Why can't you say anything?” he asked. “No one's going to hurt you or get hurt.”

Monroe took a shaky breath in and kept her eyes on Jaxson. It was like she didn't trust him and he didn't understand why. Jaxson was a great guy and would do anything to help save people that were in need of rescuing.

He didn't like that she was so jumpy and really scared. He had hoped she’d begun to feel safe.

“Jaxson may know who he is and I don't want to get on anybody's bad side,” she said. “I can't get on anybody's bad side again.”

It made him sad she thought he would be mad at her or get on anybody's bad side. It was hard to get on Jaxson's bad side and he highly doubted whoever she was hiding from would have anything to do with Jaxson.

Michael knew for certain that Jaxson didn't like abusers. He had saved countless women, children, and men from abusers and got them into safe houses where most of them were living great lives now.

“I probably won’t know who he is, but I can tell you thatyou'renot going to get on my bad side. Whoever did this to you is on my bad side because we don't treat anybody like that,” Jaxson said.

Jaxson and Michael looked at Monroe, waiting to see what she would say. He had a feeling she wouldn't give them a last name because she was that afraid of him. It broke his heart that she didn't feel safe enough to say the person's last name, but he also couldn't blame her. If he was in her situation, he probably wouldn't tell them the person's name, either.

“Jared Anderson,” Monroe whispered.

Michael looked over at Jaxson right as his eyes went wide. Did he know this Jared Anderson?

Standing up, he held out his hand for Monroe to take and once she did, he brought her close to him. He wanted her close so if Jaxson did anything, he could put his body between them. Not that he thought Jaxson would do something like that, but he didn't know in this situation.

“What's wrong?” Michael asked.

“Jared Anderson as in the Jared Anderson who works for the FBI?” Jaxson asked.

Monroe gripped onto Michael's shirt and buried her head in his side. This had to be the guy, given how she was reacting. But who was he?

“Shit,” Jaxson stood up. “How did you meet Jared?”

She peeked her head around Michael. “I've known him since I was twenty-one. So over six years. He saw me when I was going into work one day from my car, where I was living, and he started talking to me. I didn't know who he was in the beginning, I promise.”

“Do you know anything he's done?” Jaxson asked. “Did you get involved? He was the one that beat you? I need to know everything.”

“I know some just from passing conversations he had on the phone or when he invited people over. I never got involved. Jared didn't trust me and kept me locked up in the house,” Monroe whispered. “H-he b-beat me.”

Michael didn't like how her shaking got worse as she talked about this Jared guy or how she got increasingly more pale. Before Jaxson could ask any other questions, Michael finally spoke.

“Does somebody want to tell me who Jared Anderson is and why you sound surprised and also angry?” he asked.

He didn't like the way Jaxson had reacted when he’d heard the name of the man Monroe was so afraid of. Something was going on and he needed to know because Jared Anderson was messing with his Little Bunny.

Nobody messed with his Little Bunny.

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