Page 23 of Ruined

I kissed her soft, warm skin. A jolt of electricity passed all the way through me, but I made no move toward her. This intimacy was enough, for now.

"You're still a distraction," I teased.

She managed a faint smile. "You're still an asshole."

"Absolutely correct," I said. "I hear Terry in the kitchen. Reuben and Gianni will be up soon, if they're not already. If you're not down in the kitchen for breakfast, I'll tell them without you."

CHAPTER 9

MINA

Reuben flipped through the photos, his expression quietly thunderous. He seemed determined to look at every one of them. Not because he wanted to see them, but because he needed to know what I went through. So I wasn't alone in this. He needed to understand, no matter how difficult it was to see.

Finally, he rose from his seat far enough to hand the phone to Gianni, who nodded.

Gianni carried the phone over to the kitchen benchtop beside the stove. He opened a drawer, pulled out a meat mallet and smashed the phone screen with it.

Terry, who stood stirring a pot, grunted. I presumed he approved. He met my eyes for a moment, inclined his head slightly and went back to his cooking.

"You could have deleted the photos," Damon pointed out.

"Chances are, there's a tracking chip in here," Gianni said. He went on smashing the phone until it was nothing more than a mess of plastic and broken glass.

There wasn't, I'd looked. There was nothing useful on the phone, just the photos and video. Seeing Gianni destroy it was almost as cathartic as doing it myself. He would have let me if I asked, but I didn't want to touch the phone again. Not even the scraps of it.

"Damon was right," Reuben said. "About you being a distraction. I was so distracted, I didn't see what was right in front of my fucking face. You're an assassin."

His whole body was tense with anger, but much of it was directed at seeing those photos. The rest, I suspected, was directed at himself. None at me.

"That's the point of me being the Sparrow," I said softly. Part of me was relieved all of this was out in the open, but in some ways, it complicated the situation even further. "Who would have thought I'd be a cold-blooded killer?"

Gianni raised his hand. "I thought it was possible. Not necessarily cold-blooded, but a killer. All the best people are."

Damon snorted softly. "And some of the worst."

Gianni pointed a finger gun at him. "Good point. But in this room, it's the best."

Reuben ignored them both and kept his eyes on me. "You didn't mention this until you had to. Until Damon figured it out."

"No, I didn't," I agreed. I wanted to look away, but I forced myself not to.

"How did Kurt Lasalle end up with the Sparrow chained and caged?" Reuben asked. "You have skills."

I took a few moments to collect my thoughts and figure out the best way to articulate them. In the end, I decided the best was to jump right in.

"As far as I can tell, my father slipped something into a drink he gave me. When I woke up, I was in that house. Kurt was there with the woman from the ice cream parlour, Stefan and a couple of others. I remember them talking, then Kurt jabbed a needle into my arm. When I woke up, I was in that cage."

Sticky and sore, with no doubt of what Kurt did to me.

"He left me there for three days before he came back to give me something to eat."

He'd taunted me, laughed at me and told me how much he enjoyed fucking me. Reminded me of what I did that night and why I deserved to be there. Guilt kept me from responding, or accepting any food. He'd thought that was hilarious.

"Fucking asshole," Gianni muttered.

"He was obsessed with you. He took the opportunity to have you in a place he could keep you," Reuben said.

"I gave him the opportunity," I said reluctantly. They had most of the story, they might as well have the rest of it. If they turned their backs on me now, I'd manage on my own. I had money and contacts and, like Reuben pointed out, skills.

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