Page 25 of Ruined

The anticipated waves of hate and threats of violence didn't come. No suggestion I should go back down into the basement.

"Kurt deserves what we're going to do to him," Reuben growled. "Nothing you've said makes you any less ours. Any less mine."

His expression was more intense than I'd ever seen on him. He was the thundercloud, but he wasn't coming for me.

This was the man people were scared of. The one who decided who lived or died with barely a second thought. The one whose absolute certainty that I was his made my clit throb and my heart flutter.

What was it Gianni said? Some people thought love made us vulnerable, but it made us stronger. We were a family, no matter what any of us did.

"If anything, it says you belong here even more than we thought you did," Gianni said. "You're a fucking assassin. You fit in perfectly."

I finally let myself lean into him and start to relax. "Then you'll understand I have contacts I've reached out to. Contacts who are looking for Leon Graves as we speak. He's next on my shit list. When I find him, I should be that much closer to finding Kurt."

"When we find him," Reuben said. "You're not doing this alone. Between us, we have the resources to find both of these pricks and deal with them appropriately."

"I don't know," I said lightly. "Damon might be a distraction."

Our conversation and connection were surprising, as was the intimacy of his kiss on my fingers. They were all distractions, but they were distractions I needed. For their resources and for them. They'd become my safe harbour in an ocean of crazy.

Damon barked a short laugh. "Fucking touché. Doesn't matter though, you need us. Who else knows who you are?"

"Just Daze and Kurt," I said. "My father did. And the people who trained me. If anyone else knows, I'm unaware of them."

"That debt." Damon's forehead creased.

"I still don't know what it was," I said. "Why my father would drug me and give me to him." I was relieved to get all of this off my chest, but that still hung over me. Would I ever get an answer as to why he did that to me? If I didn't, it would linger in my mind for the rest of my life.

"I'm glad I had him killed," Reuben said darkly. "All right, Leon Graves. Anyone else?"

"Not that I can remember, yet," I said. "I'm hoping Graves will shed some light on them." I explained how I got the information on him from Stefan. Including the way I'd surprised him, literally with his pants down.

Gianni laughed. "Taking out a guy while he's jacking off. That's fucking awesome. I love you, Mina ‘The Sparrow’ DiMarco."

"My middle name is actually Jasmine," I said. "But I love you too, Gianni Covino."

He pulled me closer and wrapped his arms around me. He nestled his face into my hair and laughed softly. "A fucking assassin."

CHAPTER 10

MINA

I sat down on the bench beside Reuben and looked back at the house.

The light was on in the kitchen. Terry moved back and forth every couple of minutes. The night was still, except for the distant hum of traffic, the rustling of birds and sounds of crickets somewhere in the bushes.

"Why aren't you angrier that I lied to you?" I kept my voice low, not wanting to disturb the quiet.

"Because I understand why you did it," he replied after a few moments of pause. "Self-preservation is one of our strongest instincts. The ability to trust is difficult. It often leads to disappointment."

He turned to me. "You trusted Kurt? Before all of this happened. When he was training you to defend yourself."

"I suppose I did," I said reluctantly.

I placed my hands in my lap and leaned back against the trunk of the tree behind us.

"My father trusted him to teach me. Kurt gave me the creeps, but I never had much reason to question my father's decision. Back then, I was still under the misguided belief that parents do what's best for their children. I trusted my father to do that."

"Two people you trusted, betrayed you," Reuben said. "It would be an inconceivable stretch for you to trust me after we'd just found you. Why would you? After everything you went through, why would you trust someone like me? No one who endured that, would be immediately forthcoming. I wouldn't have. That's why I'm not angry. However…"

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