Page 19 of Traitorous Lies (Prey Security: Charlie Team #6)

Chapter

Ten

This was not how it was supposed to go, Jax thought in a panic as he watched Monique walk away from him.

She was supposed to wait in the tree until he came to get her. He would have thought up how he was going to approach things on the way, but instead, she’d overheard enough for her to lose all trust in him.

For him to lose her.

All the secrets he’d been keeping were falling like a house of cards and he didn't know how to stop it from happening.

“You and her …?” Jake asked, the others moving with him as he went to follow her.

“It’s complicated,” he muttered, not ready yet to admit to his brothers that not only had he slept with the target, but he’d committed the most grievous of sins possible on an op. He’d fallen for the target.

After coming face to face with a weapon, he’d been prepared to open fire, kill as many of them as he could, and keep killing until every threat toward Monique was eliminated.

But then he’d seen Cole’s face and knew that it was his brothers who had come to find him.

The relief had been instantaneous as he’d seen Cole, Connor, Cooper, and Jake, they were safe, rescued, and Monique wasn't going to die out there.

Now he hated that they were there.

Their presence was going to cost him the woman he was falling for.

If he’d been able to find a way out for them, he would have used the journey home to tell her everything, hoping that he could explain it in a way she understood.

But now, having overheard that she was the op, that she was being used, everything that could have been was slipping through his fingers.

“Monique, wait,” he pleaded as he darted around so he was in front of her.

The fury, hurt, and betrayal in the gray eyes that looked back at him made him stagger back a step. Of course, he knew she was going to be upset learning the truth, but he hadn't expected to feel like he was witnessing the storm of the century brewing in her gray eyes.

“I’d rather take my chances finding my own way out of here,” she ground out through clenched teeth.

“I’m not going to let that happen, princess,” he told her, gently but firmly. She could hate him, but he wasn't leaving her alone at the mercy of the weather, the environment, and the men who would be searching the forest for them. “Can I explain what you think you heard?”

“Don’t treat me like I'm an idiot. I know what I heard, Jax … if that’s even your real name.”

It hurt to know she was doubting everything, even down to the small things like his name.

But Jax had to remind himself that he had lied to her about his name.

From the moment he told her his name was Jaxon, he’d been setting himself up for this very moment, only back then he’d had no way to know he’d fall so hard and fast.

“My name is Jax,” he assured her. “Not Jaxon. I couldn’t stand hearing that fake name coming from your lips, so I gave you my real name.”

If he’d hoped that small admission was enough to soften her a little toward him, he was sorely disappointed. Monique looked like she’d been carved from stone. She was standing so still, her body so obviously tense, that he wished he could reach out and massage that tension right out of her.

“These are my brothers,” he added when she didn't yell at him to get away from her or order him not to explain.

Not that he would have obeyed the order, he needed her to know this wasn't about her, that his family had been desperate for her father’s location because until they had it and him in custody, they weren't going to be safe.

“This is Jake,” he said, pointing to his biological brother. “Then Cole, Connor, and Cooper,” he said, pointing out each of his stepbrothers in turn.

Monique made no attempt to greet any of them, and wisely, they all remained silent. Jax could sense their disapproval. Not of Monique, but of him and how he’d allowed this to play out. He couldn’t deny how badly he’d messed things up, but there wasn't anything he could do about it now.

One thing he was certain of, though, was that Monique wasn't a spiteful person. Despite what he’d done, if she knew where her father was, he was positive she would tell them.

“I told you about all of them,” he reminded her. While yes, of course, he had been lying to her about why he was in France, everything else he’d told her was true. He’d just kept some important details to himself. “I also have a stepsister.”

Her eyes widened at the revelation, and fury flared in them, along with the betrayal she wasn't bothering to hide.

Good.

He didn't deserve any concession from her, he deserved to know how deeply he’d hurt her.

“Her name is Cassandra. She’s in trouble and she needs help. We all do. If you overheard that I went to the Halloween gala as part of a job, then you’re right, but it’s not how it seems. It’s not you. At least not specifically.”

“Just spit it out, Jax, so I can get as far away from you as possible,” she snapped, her tone so much harder than he was used to. This was Monique Kerr with her guard up, and he didn't know how to get her to lower it .

Nodding, he stopped beating around the bush and just told her everything and prayed for the best. “I told you mine and Jake’s mom died when we were small.

That was true. I also told you our dad wasn't around much and that no relatives wanted to take us in and care for us. That was also true. And I told you that our dad remarried when I was twelve and Jake was fourteen. He remarried the widow of one of his Delta Force teammates, almost immediately after his team was ambushed. They all died except for our dad.”

“Oh, I'm sorry.” Sympathy flickered in her gaze, and she looked to his brothers who were standing around him. “That must have been hard to lose your dad that way.”

“It was,” Cooper told her, gently and offering her an encouraging smile.

“They weren't happy about their mom remarrying, but one night, not long after, agents raided our house in the middle of the night.

They took their mom and our dad into custody and claimed they were traitors, but none of us believed it.

Then they claimed they both committed suicide in custody, but we didn't believe that either.

We found out they weren't sharing a bed, and we believed the marriage was a sham.”

“I don’t get it, why would it be a sham? And how do you know they weren't traitors?” Monique winced as she realized how bluntly she’d phrased the question and shot them all an apologetic look, but didn't take her words back.

“We believed in them back then and wanted answers. A few months ago, we started to get them. It turns out that my stepmom was raped,” he said softly.

Monique visibly shuddered at the word, and he could see her clutch tighter at the little bundle in her arms. “I'm sorry she went through that.”

“The product of that rape is alive and well.”

“Cassandra?”

“Yeah. My stepsister, who was only five when our parents were arrested on false charges. Over the last few months, we’ve learned that my stepmom was in the CIA, and she was raped by four men while on an assignment in Egypt.

When they learned there was living proof of that assault, we believed they tried to take her out of the equation.

My dad and the rest of his team were collateral damage.

One of the men involved is a world-renowned Egyptologist, he’s dead.

Another two died before we knew about them.

But the son of one of the men, and this final rapist have been trying to silence my family for months. Trying to kill us.”

The tension in the air was so thick you wouldn't just need a knife to cut it but a power saw.

“So far, we’ve survived every one of their assaults as we kept searching for names. Monique, we believe your dad is the last remaining rapist,” he informed her as gently as he could.

She gasped and staggered back.

Instinct had him reaching out a hand to steady her, but the look she shot him had him stopping before making contact.

“My dad isn’t a rapist,” she hissed.

“Isn't he? How do you know that? You’ve barely had any contact with him your entire life,” he reminded her, not to be unkind, just because she had no idea who her father really was.

“He left you with his parents to raise after your mom left. He doesn’t check in with you.

You speak to him twice a year on your birthdays.

He could be anything and you wouldn't know.”

“This op wasn't about hurting you,” Jake said, stepping closer. “We sent Jax in because he’s the only one who’s single, and after everything we’ve all been through these last few months, the rest of us wanted to stay home with our partners.”

“We were hoping you would be able to give us the address of where your dad is hiding out since we’ve been unable to locate him,” Connor added.

“We were desperate,” Cole said, and Monique’s stance softened.

“Look, I can understand that, and while I don’t believe my dad is a rapist, if I knew where he was I would give you the address so he could prove it by giving you a DNA sample.

In fact, I’ll give you a DNA sample to prove that your sister isn’t my sister.

But I don’t know where he is. Jax is right, I don’t have anything to do with him and never have. I'm sorry.”

Her words were everything he’d hoped to hear but hadn't allowed himself to believe she would ever utter, and Jax felt relief knock most of his remaining energy right out of him. She understood. Now he could take Monique home, and they could figure out what happened next.

But when he took a step toward her, she quickly backed up.