Loyalty was important to her, and she knew it was important to Raz as well. She was a loyal ass woman. She was willing to stand by Raz's side no matter what this world threw at them. But she'd never be loyal to a man who wasn't loyal to her.
Been there, done that.Even if Raz had to leave her for her protection, he could've done it in a better way. She met Cas's gaze without looking away. Only the guilty were scared to make eye contact.
Cas sighed. "I've got a bad feeling about all of this."
"Why?" Meka questioned. "I think the kidnapping will go off without a hitch. Or at least without any major difficulties."
"Yeah," Toya added. "We all know our tasks. I know where I need to be and what I need to do. Monique's tasks are the same despite her having a date."
"And I'll be by your side," Meka told Cas. "Keeping an eye on everything and reminding everyone of the countdowns and locations. We have our timeline memorized, and we all know not to act until after Raz has said his speech and the dancing has begun."
"We're not to act until after the fourth song has been played,"' Cas reminded them. "We must allow Raz time to mingle with investors and important business associates before the kidnapping occurs."
"I know," Meka told him. "And if any of us forget, we all have our earpieces to communicate. You have the getaway car in place. The cabin is set up and ready. We all know where our rendezvous spot is to check in after Monique and Raz are gone. What else do we need to go over?"
Cas rubbed his chin. "I guess that's all of it. My guys have been briefed on what they need to do. Therefore, we're good on that. Still, something just doesn't sit quite well with me." Cas's eyes moved to Monique.
"If you've got something to say, say it," Monique challenged.
"Raz loves you and..." Cas started.
"This is no longer about love, Cas. Yeah, I know your brother loves me. He knows I love him. Love has never been the issue. This is about whether he's willing to trust that I can handle his lifestyle or not. The fact that he's willing to accept someone else means he thinks I'm too weak for him."
"Not true," Cas corrected her. "It means he doesn't care about that other person."
"In time, he will come to care for her."
Cas started to deny that, but Monique spoke again.
"He will, Cas. That's just how life works. In time, he'll begin to care for her. Soon, he'll be in love with her. What will he do then, divorce her to keep her safe? If so, he's a coward, and I would've lucked out on not being with another coward in my lifetime."
"That's harsh," Cas told her, frown in place.
"No. What he did to me was harsh. I'm just being real."
"I feel like you're acting differently since meeting Miconi," Cas pointed out. "Do you still want to be with my brother?"
"Of course, I do. And tomorrow evening, we'll find out how badly he wants me."
"Trust me, he's going to come to his senses when he sees you face to face. I just fear he's going to lose his damn mind when he sees you with a date. Then, when he sees who your date is, he will see red."
"Good," Monique drawled. "It's about time he sees red because I've been seeing red for a long time."
"When Raz sees red, people die," Cas clarified.
"Let them die," Monique countered, causing her friends to look at her with wide eyes, mouths hanging open. "What?" Monique shrugged. "I trust Raz not to kill innocents. If he kills them, it must mean they did something deserving of being killed."
Toya nodded. "See. That's why he needs a bad bitch like you in his corner. He doesn't even know what he's about to miss out on."
Monique smiled at her friend. Unfortunately, Cas was still determined to make his point.
"What if he kills thembecauseof you?" Cas asked Monique. "What if he kills Frederico?"
"He won't. You already told me that Frederico is an important investor."
"When Raz is mad, he doesn't care about that. He killed most of our previous investors."
That kind of statement should shock and frighten her. After being kidnapped by her father and ex, not much scared her these days. She'd stared death in the face. She'd stared evil in the eyes.