Page 30 of Break

“Peek your head in the rooms I showed you and choose one.”

She points at the door she’s standing in front of, and says, “This one will be fine. Thank you for your hospitality.”

I nod, giving her a small smile before turning to Ethan. “Can you go get her some clothes? And maybe some toiletries too?”

Ethan turns to go down the stairs but pauses. Spinning back around, he asks, “What size should I get you?”

She winces when she chews on her lip again, releasing it quickly. “I’m not really sure. Maybe medium? Or bigger? I’ll need something loose for my arm.” There’s no way this woman needs something larger than a medium. Medium would most likely be loose enough to work with a sling. I really want to ask her why she doesn’t know what size she wears, but I bite my tongue.

“I’ll find something comfortable. Anything else you need? Want?” he asks her with an endless amount of patience.

Shaking her head, I watch as more of her hair comes free from the loose tie she has holding half of her hair back. “Nothing, thank you.”

A short nod from him has me holding back a laugh. If he were to direct that at me, it would have been a grunt or a growl. He’s watching himself with her, which is great. Normally, he doesn’t interact with our victims much. He’s the one that stands guard and organizes any additional security our ‘clients’ may need. Holding out the ream of paper, he waits for her to take it from him. “Here.”Ahh, there’s the grunt.

She takes the paper from him like she’s unsure what it’s for but doesn’t question him. I’ll ask him about it downstairs. Looking back at Mina, I can see how exhausted she is. “Do you want to rest? I’ll make something to eat, and you can come down when you feel up to it. I’ll leave the bags outside your door when Ethan gets back with your stuff.”

She nods, not saying anything else except a barely there “Thank you.” She turns to open the door to her new room and as I watch her go, my mind races with thoughts of how I can help her feel more comfortable in my home.

Heading back downstairs, I call Walt from where he’s sitting, staring at the closed door. I follow Ethan as he makes his way to the front door. “What’s with the paper?” I ask before he leaves.

Grunting, he doesn’t stop to answer me. He simply waves me off before he heads out to get our new house guest something to wear besides the hospital clothes they shoved her into before spending hours at the station.

Whatever.

I make my way to the kitchen and busy myself with making food. I try to distract myself from the dark thoughts I’m tempted to sink into over my mom and comparing Danny to my worthless father.

How did I not see the signs in Danny? And how the fuck am I going to face him again while trying to pretend I don’t know what he’s done?

Or that I’m hiding his wife from him?

Chapter 15

What an Asshole

Vincent

I had every intention of going over to Max’s place last night, but I ended up having to stay late for my shift and finish up some reports. Thankfully, Ethan sent me a text to let me know they settled her in.

He added that she hadn’t come down for dinner and when they checked on her; she was deep into a recovery sleep from the events of the previous night. I’m sure she’ll be sleeping a lot over the next few days. Which is convenient, since she won’t need to go anywhere when Danny gets released.

Because heisbeing released within the next twenty-four hours, and I just know I’ll be hearing from him. To keep the perception that we know nothing about where she’s at, I accept that I’ll have to communicate with him at some point.

Today is my day off, so I take a quick shower and inhale some cereal before throwing a bag together. I have no idea what kind of condition or emotional state Mina is in today, but I want to be prepared to hang out over there in case they need some help. Plus, we need to discuss what our next move is going to be.

I’m barely out of my neighborhood when my phone rings. Seeing the incoming call is from Max, I answer through my Bluetooth.

“Hey Max, what’s going on?” I ask him, flipping my turn signal to change lanes for the on-ramp to the highway.

“Danny called,” he says, whispering into the phone.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel. “What’d he say? And why are you whispering?”

“I’m in the living room. Mina just came down and is in the kitchen. I didn’t want to worry her. Vince, he asked me to come pick him up. He’s getting released on bail.”

“Goddamnit,” I mutter under my breath. I figured he’d be getting out, but I didn’t think it’d be less than a day. We were supposed to have a little more time.

There’s noise through the phone like a shutting door. His voice grows louder as he continues, presumably moving to a different area in the house. “I told him I couldn’t come to pick him up because I was in the middle of something for work, so he asked if I’d get you or Ethan over there for him.”

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