Page 27 of The Wolf and the Monarch

I don’t know what you’re talking about. I did take the job but I didn’t reroute the money to myself. That would be foolish.

From there, it seemed they went back and forth with each other for a while longer about where the money was. Milo was relentless and whoever it was talking with him wasn’t budging. That was until about a week later, per the dating.

I found who rerouted your money so you can stop harassing me. My son, Andi, was the one who did it. He knows where it is.

Aren’t you the father of the year telling me this? Aren’t you supposed to keep your children safe?

He put us all in danger. He’s a liability.

Us? That’s intriguing.

That doesn’t matter. If I give you his location, will this be over with?

Yes. You and the others you apparently care about will be left alone. I just want my money.

Confusion filled Sawyer’s head. Benji’s father had deliberately called him Andi… Was it all a set up? But why? For what?

Standing up from the desk, he ran his fingers through his hair while he shut down the computer once again. He made sure he put the notebook back exactly where he found it, along with everything else, before he quietly opened the door and left again with the supplies he had come upstairs to gather in the first place.

He had some things to talk to Benji about…

Chapter Fifteen

Andi

“You still haven’t heard from Spence?” Andi asked Travis, wringing her hands together. He just shook his head and she could see him swallow. “Well…then we go and find him. We go and find Benji.”

“It’s not in our protocol to do that until it’s been seventy two hours. You know that, Andi.” Matthew chimed in with a sigh.

“It’s damn near it though! It’s been like seventy!” She shouted, “You can’t just sit there and not be worried about them.”

“I didn’t say I wasn’t.”

“Well you’re damn well acting like you’re not! You’ve just sat there and carried on with business as usual when my brother and your son said things weren’t right! We should have left right that instant!”

“And put all of us in danger? What good would that do us, Andi?”

“That shouldn’t matter! They’re our family!”

Matthew just sighed and shook his head while he rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his palm. “We’re not talking about this anymore.”

Andi’s bottom lip quivered as she just stared at her father. She knew the protocol. They had all agreed to it. They wouldn’t intervene or start searching until seventy two hours had passed. It was for the safety of them all. But that was all conjecture because there had never been a time when people had gone radio silent for days. That never happened.

Without another word, she grabbed her coat and walked out of the main office. She needed some air. Throwing open the door to the garage, she walked outside and took a seat on the curb, wrapping her arms around her knees once she had put her coat on.

She thought about what Benji had written to her about three days ago.

I don’t feel good about this.

Something isn’t right.

I’ll be okay. I love you.

Tears immediately welled in her eyes which she just aggressively wiped away. Crying wasn’t going to do anything. She knew that but what else could she do? Their dad wasn’t budging on the stupid protocol and she barely had any time to even think about what to do. Their dad had assigned her so many jobs. Probably to keep her mind off things but she could say with full certainty, it hadn’t helped. There was only one person she could see convincing him to start the search. Pulling out her cellphone, she dialed their mom and placed her phone to her ear. A few short rings later, the familiar voice of Meredith Madison came through. “Andi? What’s going on? You never call me at work…”

“I-I know… I’m just thinking about Benji.”

She heard a soft sob just from his name. “I know, baby.”