Page 18 of Traitorous Lies (Prey Security: Charlie Team #6)

Of all the times for the fox to decide he was ready to move about on his own, which was a good thing because it meant his injury was healing, it had to be now.

Now when there could be people with guns hunting her.

Now when Jax had gone off to try to stop them from hurting her.

Now when she was so terrified for him, she could barely breathe.

Even though she understood why he didn't want her to follow him when they didn't know who those footprints belonged to, and knew it could be the people after him, it didn't make it any easier being left behind to wait.

Monique was finding that she didn't like the idea of not having Jax close. How was that going to work exactly if they did make it out of this and get back home ?

It wasn't like they were ready to move in together.

They still had a lot to learn about each other, and while she felt a bond with Jax and absolutely one hundred percent wanted to nourish it and help it grow, she also didn't just want to jump headlong into something. She had to meet his family, and unfortunately, at some point he would have to meet hers. They’d have to find out how their lives and jobs would mesh.

It wasn't like she could just move away from her animal rescue, but she also couldn’t expect him to uproot himself from his family.

So many things to talk through.

Things they'd avoided for now because they were both focusing on just trying to survive, and maybe they were both a little nervous about how quickly they’d developed feelings.

At least Monique knew she was.

It was crazy, and yet she couldn’t deny it was happening.

From the first second she laid eyes on him, she’d felt a pull, urging her toward him, and the more she learned about him, the more time she spent with him, the more she believed nothing could make her not like Jax.

He was out there right now, putting his life on the line for her, just like he’d done when they were abducted. He could have left her behind in that car, made a run for it, she was unconscious, might have been dead before she even knew what was happening.

But he hadn't left.

He’d stayed.

Protected her.

Killed for her.

Now he was doing it again, and she couldn’t sit there a moment longer.

“Try not to squiggle too much and get us both killed,” she warned her little fox, who whined at her, but stayed still in her arms as she awkwardly made her way down the tree.

Thankfully, her feet hit the ground without incident, and then she was sneaking off in the same direction Jax had gone. She was well aware this could be a huge mistake she was making, but she’d waited for what felt like hours and hadn't heard any gunshots.

What if there were none ?

It wasn't like she could stay there forever.

They might be beating Jax to get him to tell them where she was. She had to go and help him.

It wasn't safety he’d found. If the footprints led to houses or a village, or just people out for a walk, then he would be back for her already.

With zero plan in mind, she followed the prints in the ground until she heard voices up ahead.

Multiple men, having what sounded like a hushed conversation.

No screaming.

That had to be a good sign.

Maybe Jax had found help after all, and it was just taking him a while to sort things out before coming back for her. He wouldn't leave her alone in the tree, cold and scared, worrying about him, just for fun while he relaxed and chatted with whoever had been out there.

Just in case Jax hadn't found the men yet and it was just whoever had been out there wandering around, Monique approached quietly, moving slowly, so that her steps barely made a sound, clutching the gun tightly, although she wasn't sure she would have the guts to use it.

Through the trees ahead, she could see several figures dressed in black.

They looked just like the men who had attacked and kidnapped them, they even had weapons slung on their shoulders.

Had they already killed Jax?

It wasn't like shooting someone was the only way to kill them.

But if they had shot at him, why hadn’t Jax shot back?

He had the other five weapons from their abductors. He could have killed at least a couple of them before they got to him.

The voices got louder the closer she got, and her anxiety continued to climb.

Please be okay, Jax.

I don’t want to lose you when I just found you.

Just then, she saw him.

Standing right there with the four men in black, he looked completely calm and at ease, and she wondered if these were his brothers come looking for him.

Relief almost had her calling out and running forward. He might be mad that she hadn't stayed in the tree until he came back for her, but she didn't care, she just wanted to be close to him.

Then she heard him speak, and she froze.

“No, I didn't ask her,” Jax said.

Ask her?

Ask who?

Herself?

What did he need to ask her?

And why was he talking with his brothers instead of backtracking to her? If he’d ascertained that these men were no threat, he should have come right back. What was more important in that moment than making sure she knew he was alive and they weren't about to be captured again?

Knowing eavesdropping was wrong, and that you never heard anything good, Monique pressed herself against the nearest tree trunk and listened in.

“What do you mean you didn't ask her?” a man spoke.

“Time was never right,” Jax muttered.

“Time was never right?” a different man repeated. “You’ve been out here for five days, I think that’s enough time to see what she knows.”

See what she knows?

They had to be talking about her, right?

Who else could they mean?

But what was Jax supposed to ask her? And why hadn't he asked her this question over the last five days?

“I needed her to trust me,” Jax said, slightly sullenly, sounding nothing like the man she’d been getting to know.

Why wouldn't she trust him?

He’d done nothing to indicate that he didn't have her best interests at heart, had stuck by her when he didn't have to, and survived along with her these last few days.

“If she knew I was at the Halloween gala for work, she might not have been inclined to stick close to me,” Jax continued, obviously completely unaware she was listening to his every word.

Jax was at the charity ball for work?

Wait, that didn't make any sense .

She’d almost crashed into him right at the beginning of the event, and they’d left almost immediately. If he was there for work, although what work he’d be doing at a charity Halloween gala she had no idea, then why would he leave? If he left, he couldn’t do whatever work it was that he’d gone for.

Oh …

For a moment, it felt like her heart stopped beating in her chest as reality sank in.

She was the job.

He was supposed to be there to ask her something, which he hadn't yet done because he wanted her trust.

Trust she’d given freely and without reservation.

While she didn't recall doing it, she must have made some sort of noise because the next thing she knew, she was surrounded by big men in black, including Jax. Five weapons pointed at her, but when they saw it was her and not a threat they all lowered them.

Anger and humiliation warred inside her now that she knew the truth.

Jax was nothing but a liar and a user just like everybody else. No matter how much she wanted to be seen for herself, for who she was and not what people thought she was, it never seemed to work out for her.

This betrayal hurt worse than all the others combined, because she hadn't just trusted Jax, she’d allowed herself to develop feelings for him.

“Monique, you were supposed to wait in the tree for me to come and get you,” Jax said, taking a step toward her, care and concern on his face that added fuel to her anger.

How could he pretend that he wasn't using her? That nothing about their interactions had been real?

He was a good enough actor to fool her before, but no longer.

“Yeah, you would have liked that, wouldn't you?” she snarled in a voice she’d never heard herself use.

No matter how angry she got, she always bottled it up, never unleashed it, it wasn't ladylike according to her grandmother, but more than that, she just always believed nobody cared so what was the point in yelling. Wouldn't change anything.

Now she was the one who didn't care .

Jax had taken her feelings, twisted them, and used them to his advantage, and she wasn't just angry about it she was downright livid.

“Would have liked continuing to play your little game, using me, toying with me, just like everybody always does. Well, you can just go to hell, Jax, all of you can. I don’t care what question you came all the way to France to ask me, you don’t deserve an answer.”

With that, she held her head up high, hugged her little fox tight, and brushed past all five men to stalk away. She didn't know where she was going, and quite frankly, she didn't care. It would suit her perfectly if the earth just opened up and swallowed her whole to put her out of her misery.