Page 24 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

Monique's thoughts swirled like a storm inside her head as the two men continued to argue. They were both the worst of the worst – there was no denying it. But if she had to choose between the lesser of two evils, she'd take her chances with Pastor Rose.

At least he was trying to free her. Once free, she could escape him and report both of them. They both needed to rot in prison for what they'd done over the years. How had she lived with a devil for so long and not seen his horns?

How had she slept beside him at night and not realized she was sleeping next to evil? She'd thought she was a pretty good judge of character. She was wrong. So, damn wrong!

"Fine," Trevor growled, seeming to give in to her father's demands. "Take her and go. But remember what I said, old man. If I go down, you're going down also."

"We'll talk again later," her father sneered before facing her. "Come on, let's get you out of here. Then we'll go get Meka and Toya."

"The chains," Monique whispered, barely resisting the urge to lean away from her father. She didn't want to be near either of these men.

"Oh, right. Let me take care of those chains," Pastor Rose murmured, gaze dropping to her ankle.

Monique couldn't help but notice how his hand trembled as he pulled the keys from his pocket. Was he scared? Was he wanting to change his mind?Please don't change your mind, dad.

She held her breath, barely believing her dad was about to free her. She stared at him as he began removing the cold metal cuffs from her. She couldn't believe the man who'd given her life had also taken the lives of so many.

"Don't believe a word he said," her father whispered as he unlocked each cuff. "When we leave here, I'll make sure he never approaches our family again."

Family? Monique's family was her friends and Orazio Cattaneo. This man was just a criminal in her eyes. But she kept her thoughts to herself as she nodded to her dad. He smiled at her as he unlocked the last lock.

"I'll do better in the future," her father promised, eyes rising to hers. "I swear. I'll do better. Okay, sweetheart?"

"Okay, dad," Monique replied, willing to say anything in that moment.

Just as the last chain fell away, a gunshot rang out like a clap of thunder, making her jump. Blood splattered across Monique's face, hot and sticky against her skin. Her father's eyes widened, and then she watched as the light drained from them, as the life drained from him.

"Dad," she whispered, mind not truly understanding what had happened.

The world seemed to freeze as her father slowly fell back. She stared in horror at the lifeless body of Pastor Rose, collapsing to the floor with a bullet wound in his head. Blood pooled onto the floor. So much blood. Her father's blood. For a brief second, there was nothing but silence, shocked disbelief.

"NO!" Monique screamed, her voice tearing through the silence like a knife.

Her father... her father was dead. The gravity of the situation hit her full force, and the realization that her chance at freedom had been ripped away sent her spiraling into despair. Blood dripped from Monique's face, mingling with her tears as she stared at the lifeless form of Pastor Rose.

The metallic taste of her dad's blood on her lips was a sickening reminder of what she'd just witnessed. This was not a dream. Her nightmare was real. She could hardly breathe as fear and horror twisted in her gut.

"Get up," Trevor growled, grabbing her arm and pulling her to her feet.

"Get your fucking hands off me," she wailed.

Monique tried to fight him off, punching him so hard that his head jerked back. Before she could swing again, he slapped her across the face with his gun twice, sending her face jerking to the side.

Her entire face throbbed from the force of his blows, and she was pretty sure she was tasting her own blood now. Placing his arm around her neck, he dragged her from the room, kicking and screaming. As she screamed for him to release her, she stared at her father's body on the floor.

He was dead. He was really dead. Her father was gone. Her mother was alone now. Would her mother be able to survive on her own since she'd depended so heavily on Pastor Rose?

Why was she even thinking about that right now? At least her mother was safe. Monique wasn't. Trevor dragged her outside, shoved her into a car, and handcuffed her to the steering wheel.

She cursed at him, demanding he release her as he slammed the door shut and walked back toward the building to get her friends. Monique pulled with all her might. Even as she did so,she knew she'd never be able to break the cuffs or the steering wheel.

Turning to the side, she tried to kick the window out. She was hurting herself more than she was hurting the window. Even so, she kept trying until she saw Trevor leaving the building without her friends.

No. Where were they? Where were Meka and Toya? A fresh wave of fear washed over her. Had he killed them?Please, God, no.He climbed into the car and uncuffed her hands from the wheel. Again, she tried to attack him.

"Where are they?" Monique shouted, striking him across the face. "Where is Meka and Toya?"

He twisted her arm until she cried out.

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