Page 34 of Ruined

"Either we have a leak, or he was watching on the occasions we left the house," Reuben said.

"We checked the ice cream parlour for cameras," I said. "The only one present was CCTV and we destroyed the footage. The car park was the same. If the house where we found Frank had cameras, we'll never know, since the place exploded."

"If I was going to keep a woman against her will, I'd have cameras on her," Caleb said slowly.

"Sounds like you're speaking from experience," Gianni said. "But there were no cameras in the basement. Not in the rest of the building except outside. We dealt with that one too."

"I know you don't want to hear this, but is there any chance Mina is working with him?" Caleb asked.

I wasn't aware I was about to move, but I leaped out of my seat and grabbed Caleb by the front of his suit to haul him out of his.

"If you ever fucking say anything like that again, you'll be breathing out your ass," I growled.

To his credit, Caleb looked unruffled. He was fully aware I wouldn't kill him unless Reuben ordered me to. No matter how tempted I was.

"Like I said, you wouldn't want to hear the suggestion, but that doesn't mean it didn't need to be said," Caleb said evenly. "I'm no student of psychology, but Stockholm Syndrome is a thing. We both know people can be made to do all sorts of things with the right level of brainwashing. Isn't that Gianni's specialty? Convincing people that what they think is true, isn't it?" He grabbed my wrists and pulled them off the front of his suit.

I glared at him before stepping back to the other side of the room. If I was too close to him, I might do something I'd regret.

"I have considered the possibility," Reuben admitted. "If that's the case, then she wouldn't be acting on her own choice. What Kurt did to her left her traumatised. Every time she's reminded of him, she looks ready to slice off her own skin and step out of it. When she first saw me, she thought I was going to have her killed. She was relieved. She would have preferred to die than stay there."

Caleb nodded and reclaimed his seat. "I trust Daisy Lasalle when she says her and her boyfriends aren't involved. She worked for me for years. She's never spoken highly of her brother. Now, she seems more inclined to make him breathe out his ass." He nodded at me to acknowledge his use of my wording.

"I trust the twins," Reuben said. He steepled his fingers and pressed against his lips. "What are we missing?"

His brow was furrowed with measured thought and a dose of annoyance. He didn't like it when he didn't know things. When he wasn't fully in control.

"It's possible Kurt was guessing," Caleb said. "You know he was operating behind your back. He would have known you'd come for him at some point. Someone got Mina out of that basement. He might have put one and one together and actually managed to come up with two."

"He could have been fishing for information," I conceded. "But I don't think so. Everything he said seemed calculated. Like he knew exactly what he was going to say. He was sure he knew all the right buttons to press."

"He was very sure one of us would be in the room with her," Gianni said. "I know for a fact there aren't any bugs or cameras inside this house. Not unless we control them."

His words bounced around in my mind for a few moments before they bumped into a firm idea.

I stood up straighter. "Can you excuse me please, boss?" I slipped out of the room before Reuben could even acknowledge I'd spoken.

I slipped down the corridor and down to the last place I saw Mina. The place she seemed the most comfortable, apart from her bedroom.

I stopped in the doorway of the library. Sure enough, she was sitting on a chair in the corner, reading some kind of sports romance. I didn't realise rugby romance was a thing, but then again my knowledge of the romance genre was limited.

"How do you get into buildings undetected?" I asked.

She looked up at me and frowned. "How do I—" My question sank in. She seemed reluctant, but finally said, "I have a device."

"Where is it?" I asked. "Where is this device?"

She slipped the bookmark into her book and set it aside. "In my bedroom, why?"

"I need to see it." I should have guessed it was something like that. After years of speculation, I had an answer to one of the more interesting mysteries. I'd take some time to think about it later. In the meantime, there were more pressing matters.

Still looking uncertain, she stood. "Okay."

I followed her upstairs, vaguely aware Gianni, Reuben and Caleb stood outside Reuben's office watching us in confusion.

In spite of that, they were behind us when she reached into a drawer, pulled out a jumper and unfolded it.

Inside was a small, black device with a screen on the front.

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