Page 20 of Ruined

I eased open the lid and looked inside.

In the centre lay a phone. The battery was flat, but I decided I could spare a few moments to charge it until the screen turned on. The passcode was simple. There was nothing on the phone but a single app.

I pressed on the screen to open it.

My stomach turned. I felt as though my whole world was tipped upside down. My entire body started to tremble. In my mind, I was right back in the cage, the chain on my ankle.

I slammed the box, shoved it back under the bed and fled out into the night, right before I threw up my last meal.

CHAPTER 8

DAMON

I frowned at my phone as I stepped past Mina's room. It was only a matter of time before Reuben or Gianni moved her into theirs, or stayed with her.

The idea set off a flare of anger inside me. Not just because she was a distraction, although she was.

The real reason… I wasn't ready to admit it to myself. My feelings for Reuben, Gianni and Mina were complicated.

I didn't do complicated. I didn't like complicated. I liked my life straightforward, carefully planned.

The message on my phone threatened to disrupt that planning.

A sound from inside her room did the same.

The door was ajar, as it often was. I presumed she didn't want to sleep in a fully enclosed space after what she'd been through.

I peered through the gap. A hint of light shone between the curtains, illuminating a single form on the middle of the bed, wrapped in blankets.

Also nothing new. She was fucked up. Who wouldn't be?

I shoved my phone into my pocket and pushed the door open.

"Mina?" I whispered. If she was asleep, I didn't want to wake her, but I sensed she was awake already. That was confirmed when she startled so violently she almost rolled off the bed onto the floor.

I lurched forward and grabbed her at the last moment.

She whimpered and flinched away, pushing the blankets off and retreating to the head of the bed, where she curled into a tiny ball. Her whole body shook, eyes wide, staring at me as if she'd never seen me before.

"Hey." I sat down far enough from her to give her some space. Close enough to… I didn't know what.

I considered calling for Reuben or Gianni, but couldn't bring myself to move. "Rough night?"

She'd had nightmares since we found her, some nights screaming in her sleep. Others crying out and thrashing before falling still. This felt like something else entirely.

"What happened?" If Reuben or Gianni did anything to her…

I mentally shook my head. If they did, it wasn't on purpose. They were both gone, as far as she was concerned. They'd cut their own throats before they lay a hand on her in a way she didn't want them to.

Who then? The twins weren't here and they wouldn't touch her either. Reuben wouldn't hesitate to put them both in a shallow grave. Blood ties only went so far.

Her face was as pale as the first time I saw her. In the light, her freckles would stand out. In the gloom, she looked like death.

"Bad dream," she said softly. "I was back in the cage."

"The thing about spending all my time around criminals and liars is that I can pick a liar from days away," I said slowly. "Something else happened. What was it?"

She slid a hand under the blanket near her foot. For a moment, I thought she was going to pull out a weapon.

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