Chapter Thirty-Eight
The study door closed, and once again we were alone with Hastings. Garrick strode to his desk, clearly pissed. “I hired him to watch my wife. My wife.”
He slammed his fist against the wall, and I jumped. Should I go to him? I took a tentative step but stopped when he pounded his fist again.
“Garrick, get it together. Think about your actions. We got Knoah back.” Hastings’ terse tone must have gotten through to Garrick.
Reining himself in, he took a deep breath. Then his eyes met mine, and he rushed to wrap his arms around me. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”
“We’re together now. That’s what matters.” I kept telling myself that to rid myself of the vileness of Navarro. “Was anyone else involved?”
Garrick led me over to the couch. For a second, Hastings watched him. “You good now?”
“Yes.” We were all strung tight; he was no exception. “Do you want to sleep some first, sweetheart?”
“No. I want to get it all out first. Do you suspect anyone else? I want the full truth. No holding back.” At one time, I’d stated I wanted to only deal with Garrick, to let him give me information only when it was necessary. That time was over, and now I needed to know everything.
Hastings took a seat in the leather chair across from where I sat. “Two men from my team, both lower level, were involved. They’re being dealt with.”
Which most likely meant killed. Another wave of unease flowed through me. It was time to get to the heart of the matter. I looked at Hastings. “Did you know that I’m an heiress of sorts?”
“What?” There was true confusion on his face. “What do you mean heiress? To whom? Or what?”
Garrick cocked his head, focused. I tried to remember the exact details. “To a fortune and territory in Scotland. Someone named Duncan Allaway on Mom’s side set it up. Only women of the family can have the power. Navarro said as of yesterday only me and Mom existed to take it over. He’s been killing descendants. Evelyn and I are the only ones left.
“And Navarro planned to take it all over?” Hastings asked.
“Yes. That’s why he changed his mind about killing me. He’d meant to kill me, not Jessica, but he turned it into a warning when he learned about Duncan.”
Garrick’s eyes grew angry. “What else did he say?”
“I would divorce you willingly.” Garrick nearly lost his cool again, gritting his teeth and growling. I grabbed his hand to reassure him and hurried on. “Of course I didn’t want to. If I didn’t agree, then he would start killing off those I loved in front of me. He killed Vivian without blinking an eye. She threatened me, so he stood there and shot her. I barely saved Carrie from the same.”
Garrick closed his eyes. “This is all my fault.”
I scrambled into his lap. “It’s not. He had no soul. None. I’ve never met anyone so deranged. He felt nothing.”
“If he’d touched you…”
My hands went to the sides of his face. “Navarro kept his distance. He was a psychopath. Until I welcomed him into my bed, he said, he would not touch me. But he knew…he knew I wouldn’t try to escape because of the threats to those I loved. Killing all the adults. Taking the children in my life and selling them.”
“Son of a bitch,” Hastings muttered.
Though the Monroes were part of the mob, they were completely different. They were decent at their core. Yes, they had done questionable things, but I never imagined them killing innocent people.
“I should’ve never left.”
After being in Navarro’s presence for hours, I felt like I understood him a little more. Maybe I could help Garrick understand, too. “At some point in our lives, he would have tried to take me. He was just waiting. Willing to wait for years if needed, it seemed.”
“What else happened? Why was Vivian there?”
I closed my eyes for a second as the scene replayed in my head. Though Vivian had been terrible to me—put out a hit on me—I still hated that she’d died. To me, all people were good at their core. It took time and patience to peel back the layers. “Vivian had put out a bid for a contract on my life.” They swore. “Navarro intercepted the contract and paid her for it. Then he hired her to track down Carrie. She was under the impression Navarro would kill me. She was upset I was alive. When she pushed and threatened me, Navarro killed her.”
It had truly come at us from all angles. I filled them in on everything else I could remember about the night. In the end, Navarro had underestimated the lengths Garrick would go to. I was glad he was dead. His arrogance cost him in the end. For all the grief he’d caused, it seemed like a just sentence.
Hastings’ and Garrick’s phones vibrated. After a moment of reading, Hastings explained, “There’s been no activity at anyone’s residence. News would have traveled by now about Navarro’s death. The house fire still hasn’t been contained by the fire department.”
Nervously, I asked, “Will anyone be able to identify you?”
“There were no witnesses left,” Hastings replied.
Of course not. So many lives. All avoidable.
There were still some unanswered questions. “What about the heiress thing?”
Garrick’s phone rang. “This is Joe. Let me take it.” I waited on pins and needles as he connected the call. “Joe? Yes. You got her. Great. Yes. Call Dr. Ivy. Have him see her. I’m glad it’s working out all around. I will have someone notify Arnold.” I breathed a sigh of relief. After he ended the call, Garrick announced, “Haley is fine. They’re taking her to the doctor.”
“Thank goodness.” Another problem taken care of.
Hastings rubbed under his eyes. “Can I talk to Mom and Dad about the heiress thing? They’re the only ones I can imagine having any type of answers. I’ve never heard of Duncan Allaway.”
“Yes. I just want answers.”
There was another knock. “Come in,” Garrick said.
One of the men walked in. “Sir, we found Mickey Rapier. She’s dead. It appears to be a staged break-in. There doesn’t appear to be any evidence left. She was shot three times.”
I gasped. “Navarro. He ordered this.” All eyes swung to me. “After Navarro killed Vivian and spared Carrie’s life as his ‘wedding present’ to me”—I held up air quotes to make my point—“he called someone. On the phone he said, ‘Take care of the other nuisance. Make it look like a break in.’ He had to have been talking about Mickey.”
Garrick looked at me. “What time was this?”
“Maybe thirty…forty-five minutes before you arrived.”
The security guard looked at Garrick. “That would correlate with the time of death.”
Mickey had never had a chance of surviving. What had truly happened with her and Navarro?
Hastings ran a hand through his hair. I asked, “What did she say on your date?”
“Nothing. She refused to talk about any of it. And after that, she wouldn’t see me again.”
Navarro had gotten to her. My heart ached. How much pain and loss would this man inflict before everything was said and done? He was dead, but what had yet to be revealed?
I had reached my limit. Turning to Garrick, I said, “I think I’m ready for bed.”
This time it was only Hastings’ phone that vibrated. “Mom and Dad are here. Do you want to see them? It’s fine if you want to go to sleep.”
“No, tell them to come up. I know they’re probably worried sick.”
“You sure?” Garrick asked, worry etched in his eyes.
Letting out a yawn, I said, “Yes. I don’t want to discuss the heiress thing this morning, though. I’ll let you do it later.”
“I’ll discuss it with them afterward,” Garrick said.
Garrick grabbed his phone. “Evelyn and Ricardo Monroe will be at the elevators. Escort them to the study.”