Page 44 of Ruined

He wasn't wrong about Dusk Bay. Reuben controlled most of the city. Almost everyone who lived here worked for him, directly or indirectly.

Still, strutting around would draw further attention to us and that would have people talking. We didn't need the scrutiny or speculation. Reuben's presence in town would generate enough of that.

"Maybe you stink?" Gianni teased. He ducked to the side as Hunter took a playful swing at him.

I rolled my eyes and turned my back on them.

"Who is this contact?" Mina caught up to me while the other three were joking around. Her gaze seemed to be everywhere, taking everything in, while focused on me at the same time. How much of that was training and how much was a result of the trauma?

She was hyper-vigilant all the time. I suspected she slept with one eye open.

"Her name is Clarissa, but I don't think that's her actual name," I said. "She runs a vegan grocery store." I waved in the general direction of her business. "We're meeting her out the back."

I led them through an alleyway and around to the rear of the block of shops. In the back was a car park and several large skips. Heavy iron doors indicated entrance to each of the businesses.

The vegan grocer itself was nestled between a gymnastics school, and a shop selling musical instruments and music lessons.

The back door was open and Clarissa herself leaned against the door frame. As tall and sturdy as me, she regarded us all, unflinching. If I had a fistfight with her, I wasn't sure I'd back myself.

"Look what the cat dragged in," she drawled. Her voice was a deep rumble. "Damon Riviello and…friends."

She glanced around me, curious but not intimidated. She offered her hand and shook mine in a grip that made me wince.

"Nice to see you too," I said sarcastically. I shook out my hand and briefly introduced Clarissa to everyone.

Her eyes lingered on Mina before taking in Gianni and the twins.

"I've heard about you two," she said to Hunter and Parker. "Don't touch anything." She waved a thick finger at them.

Both twins raised their hands.

"We wouldn't dream of it," Parker assured her.

She squinted at him, but stepped back inside, gesturing for us to follow.

Mina glanced at me, but followed me over the threshold.

"Nice place," Gianni said.

The storage area was neat, lined with shelves and shelves of boxes. Most would contain stock for the grocery store, but it wouldn't surprise me if some contained guns or other contraband. Where better to smuggle things like that?

Clarissa grunted and picked up a phone from the desk in the corner. She turned on the screen and held it out in front of her. "I got this message two days ago."

Even before she started playing it, Mina's body stiffened.

Instinctively, I moved closer to her, as did Gianni and the twins. A protective wall of muscle between her and the ghosts of her past.

A male voice echoed through the space, tiny from his surroundings and ours.

"Hey, Clarissa, it's Leon. I have a delivery arriving in Dusk Bay in three days and need you to intercept. I'll text you the details." The call ended.

Mina's face was drained of colour. "That's him. I know that voice."

"Did he send you the details?" I asked.

Clarissa's gaze lingered on Mina again, but she tore her attention away and tapped on the phone again. "Just a time and location." She held the phone out to me.

"Any chance he's sending some bacon?" Hunter asked.

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