Monk held back the sigh threatening to escape. His fucking father. Bringing amotherand her child to the castle. Whether he knew about Kendall didn’t matter—no single parent should be lured into the things that happened in the dungeon.
But none of that was anything Kendall needed to hear. “You cold?” he asked, lifting his chin toward her. Her clothes looked clean but thin, and the top, by design, left her midriff bare. Another judgment he wouldn’t pass on her mom, although he wondered about the appropriateness of it for a twelve-year-old.
“A little,” she admitted, wrapping her arms around her body. Another sign of vulnerability.
“Let’s get you a sweatshirt. And some food,” he said, turning and heading toward the staircase. He didn’t wait for her—wanting her to understand she had choices—but he kept his ears tuned. He did allow a tiny bit of relief to ease his worry when her light footsteps fell in behind him.
“You grew up here?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“Must have been wild. It’s an actual fucking castle. I heard people say it was brought over from France.”
“Italy,” he corrected, opting not to police her language. If dropping an f-bomb every now and then gave her the illusion of some control, some maturity, who was he to argue?
“Did you like it?” she asked.
“The castle’s all right. Didn’t make me popular with the kids in town.”
“Everyone assumed you were a rich asshole?”
He inclined his head as his feet hit the landing of the ground floor and he started toward the tasting room. Dulcie had picked up a few items of clothing for him from one of the chain stores in town. The sweats and sweatshirt would be huge on her, but better than the thin cotton she had on now. He’d give her a pair of socks, too.
“Pretty much. Didn’t help having a father who liked to flash the money around. Made him popular with a certain set—and all the nonprofits he donated to—but kids are a different story. Here,” he said, tearing the tags from the clothing and handing them over. “They’ll be huge, but you can roll them. If you need a belt, Roger probably has one we can punch a hole in for you.”
She took the clothing and cocked her head. “You call your dad by his first name.”
He considered glossing over his relationship with his father, but if he wanted information from Kendall, he better be willing to offer the same. “My father was a shit human being. When I was not much older than you, he put me in situations that no one, especially not a child, should be in. I left the day after high school graduation. Didn’t come back until after he died. This”—he lifted his arms, indicating the castle and everything in it—“is now all mine and as you can imagine, I’m conflicted about it. There’s a lot of family history here going back several generations. And a shit ton of money. But there are also bad memories and things I’d rather not be reminded of.”
Her dark eyes studied him with a wisdom she shouldn’t have at her age. She might not know the exact things that had happened to him, but she got the gist.
“You gonna take the money and run, as they say?”
His lips twitched. “If only things were that simple.”
“What’s not simple about that?”
“Go get changed. I’ll make some food since it looks like my arrival home might have interrupted your dinner. We’ll talk more when you get back. I’d point you to the bathroom, but you probably already know the way.”
The imp grinned at him, then darted out.
When he heard the bathroom door close, he pulled out his phone, texting Mantis as he headed to the kitchen.
Monk:New development, there’s fucking kid living here. She’s been here two weeks. Her mom was one of my father’s party “guests” and left her behind. Name’s Kendall. Can you see if Leo can find out anything?
Then he added a brief description of her. He wished he had a picture to send, but he didn’t want to creep Kendall out by taking one.
Mantis:Done and she okay?
Monk:TBD, tough, but weren’t we all?
Mantis:A place we all know too well. Let us know if we can help
Monk:Getting Leo on it is all I need for now. Will update you when I know more
Setting his phone on the counter, he opened the small fridge. He’d gone through most of the cured meats and cheeses, but he’d spotted another industrial fridge/freezer in the laundry room so decided to look there.
Hoping she wasn’t vegan or vegetarian, he snagged a packet labeled “Asian Bites” and headed back to the kitchen.
