Page 77 of The Monsters Within

Would she tell the old ladies?

Would she talk to Mellie?

What about Mimic? How would he react when he learned the truth?

“Cash, you with us, brother?”

“No,” I said, standing from my seat. “Let me know when you have something. I need to check on Rose.”

I pushed through the double doors and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw a woman I didn’t know holding my girl.

“It’s ok, baby girl. We’ll figure it out.”

“Get your fucking hands off her,” I shouted, stomping across the room. Two more women I didn’t recognize stepped in my path.

I looked them both over. “If you think I won’t toss your ass into the nearest wall, you’re wrong. Get the fuck out of my way.”

“Cash, no!” Rose scrambled from the couch and slipped in front of the two women. “It’s okay. They’re my friends.”

“Baby, they are not your fucking friends. They didn’t protect you.”

“Cash, please, don’t,” she whispered.

“Kytten, what is he talking about?” the redhead asked.

“Baby?” The Asian woman who was holding Rose walked over.

The third one hadn’t said a word. She glared at me from right behind Kytten. I glared back, adding a snarl for good measure.

I assumed these women were Nyght Nymphs. And if one of them was the bitch who hurt my old lady, she was fucking dead. And so were the rest if they tried to get in my way.

“Cash, this is Arsyn, Harmony, and Lucky.”

She said the names slowly, making sure they penetrated my brain. I grabbed her hand and pulled her close. The one named Arsyn stepped forward, and I quickly put Rose behind my back.

“You got a problem with me touching my old lady?”

“Old lady?” Lucky asked.

“What the fuck is going on out here?” King bellowed from the doorway.

“Seems we have some guests,” I told him, my eyes never leaving the one woman in the room I trusted the least.

“Is one of them...?” King let his question trail off.

“No.”

“You told him?” Kytten asked, squeezing between me and Arsyn, who still hadn’t backed down.

“No, Rose. I didn’t tell him, but I had to give him something. I don’t want that bitch anywhere near you.”

“What bitch?”

“Oh, she finally speaks,” I snarked, turning a hard stare on Arsyn.

“I will ask you again. What bitch? Kytten, what is he talking about?”

The look of fear and panic on Rose’s face broke my heart. “Baby, they have to know.”