Page 62 of Guarded By a Monster

“It’s okay. He called me when he couldn’t get hold of you since I gave him my number the other day.” She tilted her head toward the door. “Are you ready? I parked the SUV at the hall.”

None of the ‘fangs houses had roads that led to them. The only driveway in or out of the compound stopped at the common hall. There was a small parking area, big enough to hold maybe four of the SUVs Supe Sec favored, plus the ‘fang’s van that Kendal drove.

“Sure. Let me run by Thurl’s for my phone and my purse.”

I felt him stiffen under my hand. I stood up and he followed suit. I gave him a hug that ended with a pat on his bicep. “Stay here. Visit with your brothers.” Naturally, they had all shown up for Nanna’s feast. “Luna will be with me.”

He looked around at the others. “If you’re sure?”

“I’m sure. I’ll be fine. Nanna will pass out the after-meal cookies soon. I’ll be back before you know it.”

He acquiesced, and I let out a breath. He’d been at my side every second I was here. He needed to spend some time with his brothers without me underfoot.

Luna chatted about nothing while we gathered my things, but when I slid into the passenger seat with her, she turned serious. “I’m not happy about this meeting. He wants me to bring you to what he called a satellite office. He said it’s more secure, but it’s sketchy. In the warehouse district. If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to duck, get your ass down. Got it?”

“I got it.” And there were my nerves, poking holes in the calm I’d managed to accumulate. “If you have a bad feeling, why are we going?”

She shrugged. “He insisted, and Bull said he checked out. I trust that Bull would have found something if he was dirty.”

“Okay.” I wrung my hands in my lap until she reached over and put her palm over them to stop me.

“You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure of it.”

I relaxed and tried to smile. “I know.” I trusted her. That was the problem—something felt off about this to her, and so the whole thing seemed like a bad idea to me. Her instincts amplified mine a thousand fold.

The warehouse we parked in front of almost triggered a panic attack.

The outside looked like a can that was tied behind a ‘just married’ car. After the newlyweds came back from the honeymoon. Which was a road trip through the mountains of Appalachia.

Weeds had taken over what was left of the asphalt in the parking lot and the security fence wouldn’t keep out a raccoon. A crumbling dock was being slowly eaten by the Blackgum river. A single security light hung next to the door, doing its best impression of Eeyore.

I was about to put my butt right back in the car when the door opened, revealing Bradley Laurent in all his balding glory. He looked left and then right, like he was a bouncer at a speakeasy.

“Ms. Massey, please, come in.”

I looked at Luna, who nodded, so I started forward, uncertainty lacing every step. He closed the door behind us as I gawked. Inside, it was a whole different world. Spotless, with workspaces scattered throughout the massive space. A large, open area dominated the center and whiteboards on wheels sprang from the floor like spines on a cactus.

My attention snagged on one that held a series of pictures, mostly men’s mug shots, with lines drawn between them like a conspiracy board straight from a movie.

The top picture was Adrian Vale.

“Welcome to the headquarters of the joint Damruck and F.B.I. task force.”

“Wow.” It was all I knew how to say at that point.

He chuckled. “We’ve been working on taking down the crime organizations in Damruck for years. The leaders of which have remained out of our grasp…” He looked over his shoulder at me while he led us further into the building. “Until now.”

“It’s my understanding that Adrian Vale is powerful and connected enough to discredit me and any testimony I might give.”

He shined his bald pate with the sweat of his palm. “That’s possible, but your testimony is the closest we’ve come to having a solid case on any of them. I plan to prosecute him for murder based on your eyewitness account, Ms. Massey.”

My eyebrows joined my hairline. “So you’re going ahead with an arrest?”

“Detectives Chambers and Drake took him into custody yesterday evening.”

Luna and I shared a look. That explained the early morning visitor that was causing my floors to be refinished.

“So why am I here now?”

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