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8
MONTY
Well, what a damn crazy turn of events.
Kayla frowned at me, but I couldn’t stop laughing as the pieces started coming together in my head. But seriously, who would have thought this was the reason she was mad at me all this time?
Beau Harrison was an old friend of mine. We were from the same town in Mississippi and had bonded while we were in the Marines. When I got out of the Marines, and my life imploded, he invited me to stay with him for a few days. He had known from personal experience how difficult it was to go back to the real world after a long deployment like mine, especially since I worked in Special Ops. I had accepted his invitation, figuring I had no reason not to. He lived on a large compound in Mississippi, in one of the most peaceful parts of the country, surrounded by nature. To give me something to do, he even offered me a job working security for him. I initially accepted until I found out what the job was really about.
It took me a few days and talking to a few of his employees—other military men like me. Turned out they did provide security, alright, but what he didn’t tell me was that most of his money came from providing security for less-than-honorable men and that we had to turn a blind eye to a lot of criminal activity.
Once I found out, I backed off and left his compound altogether. Since then, I roamed from place to place, not staying in a single place for too long. I still own a home in Mississippi, but I’m barely there and had some thoughts of putting it up for sale at some point.
After our ordeal, Beau and I remained friends and checked in with each other once in a while. Despite being significantly wealthy, the man had always seemed lonely for the most part, and out of respect for our long friendship, I couldn’t exactly leave him behind. All I asked was that he did not tell me anything about his business. Otherwise, I would have to do something about it. He had agreed and assured me that while some of his clients were less than ideal, his security team were not hitmen, and they only provided protection against gangs and the like. I didn’t know why, but I chose to believe him.
Beau had spoken a lot about his estranged wife and daughter, with whom he no longer had any contact. A few nights, over drinks, he mentioned how much he regretted letting them go, and years later, he reached out to me to find his daughter who had escaped him, although he didn’t have a picture of her, only a faint description. I hadn’t anticipated ever finding the girl, and to be honest, I didn’t try very hard. I assumed that whoever she was, she had a good reason for staying hidden.
And now she was in front of me. It was Kayla, and she was still glaring at me.
“You think it’s funny?” she scoffed. “Well, I’m glad you think it’s funny, but I can tell you, as a lone woman in this world, it’s terrifying being hunted down by a glorified thug just because he wants to own me.”
“Hey, easy on the accusations, sweetheart. I’m no thug. And neither is your father.”
“I’m not your sweetheart,” she challenged in a similar tone. “And I know what I saw. I caught him ordering his men to rough up some man, then saw them threatening another one. His place has more security in it than a damn drug house. If he’s not a thug, then I don’t know what the fuck he is.”
I shrugged. “Well, he’s not exactly a model citizen or anything, but a thug is too far-fetched.”Thug-adjacent would be more accurate.
“Whatever semantics you want to use doesn’t matter to me,” she said.
“Furthermore, I don’t work with your father,” I continued. “He asked me to find his daughter, yes, but I wasn’t looking for her when I found you. I didn’t really look for her at all.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Well, he didn’t give me a lot of information to go off on. I told him I would try, but I also had a few more projects that were taking up my time. Trust me, dear, you were the last thing on my mind when I walked into that bar.”
“I don’t believe you,” she stubbornly said.
“Doesn’t change the fact that I’m telling the truth.”A half-truth but a truth nonetheless.
She eyed me suspiciously as an awkward silence descended. I could tell I had taken the wind out of her sails a little with my admission, and despite not wanting to believe me, she suspected I was telling the truth. The problem now rested on the fact that, while my story was in question, she herself could not deny the plausibility that I was a father, and there was no chance I wasn’t going to be in my child’s life.
“I want some kind of custody arrangement,” I said immediately.
Her expression was an immediate rejection, but I continued, “I could take you to court over it, but I would rather not. I want us to co-parent amicably.”
Her lips squeezed together, and her hand wrapped protectively around Hunter. She could probably tell that I meant every word I said. I wouldn’t enjoy doing it, but I would take her to court to ensure some relationship with my child.
The child in question began to squirm in Kayla’s arms once more before letting out a short cry. She rocked him in return, making soothing sounds.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked.
“Nothing,” she replied too quickly. “He just hasn’t had his nap time.”
I nodded. “Then we better get him home so he can take a damn nap.”
I gestured to the car. She looked behind her as if hoping for rescue, but none was forthcoming. She gave me one last searching glance before she started for the vehicle.
“Where do you live?” I asked after I got into the driver’s seat.
