Page 17 of Silent Betrayal

“Well, our girl here has agreed to live with us. Based on what we saw at her home, she has nothing of her own. You’ll need to get her room ready and get her supplies.”

Max’s eyes light up with excitement. “Oh, yes! We can deck her room out for her with everything she’ll need, cozy bedding, a big bed…”

I roll my eyes and look at Jasper for help. “Please make sure she has the essentials. You know… clothing and personal care products, stuff like that?”

He smiles as we look at Max, who’s still listing things off to himself. “Lots of pillows, some slippers, a tv…”

“Don’t worry, Dom, I’ll make sure to get what she needs to be comfortable.”

I nod in thanks, then my gaze moves back down to my little Kitten. I don’t think she understands exactly what she means to us yet. What we want from her, what we want to give her. I’m not prepared to just be her friend, not anymore.

I’m still reeling from the fact that she’s twenty-one. She never seemed seventeen, but I’ve been holding back mostly because of that fact. Not to mention the whole serial killer case.

That was still a big problem. We haven’t figured out who the killer is yet. And we haven’t made any headway in the case since she’s been in the hospital. In fact, we’ve taken a huge step backwards. Nobody was willing to go to school while Mina was lying unconscious,so Gideon and Tucker were reprimanded. The twins could technically go back if they needed to, but it probably looks suspicious that all four of them were off for the same period of time.

We need to figure out the best way to solve the case, and I still have a feeling that Mina holds the key to this all, she just doesn’t know it. We can’t press her for answers while she’s healing. A concussion like hers is serious and her brain needs time to heal. It’s part of the reason why we’ve agreed to not get physical with her until she’s fully healed and has her stitches taken out.

What I’m itching to know is if she has a stalker, and I’m hoping now she’s starting to actually tell us more about herself, that she will tell us if she’s been running from someone. I’m not sure that particular question can wait until she’s healed.

Knowing her mother has done such violent things to her, and this wasn’t the first time she hurt her, makes me see red. It also paints Helen as our prime target. For some reason, she hates her daughter, blaming her for their father’s departure. So if she is targeting girls who look like her, it fits the MO. I’m just not sure why she was sexually assaulting them too. Maybe Mina’s dad hurt Helen in that way. That didn’t feel right, though.

Sometimes you couldn’t rationalize a murder’s motive for killing. We just had to figure out who it is before any more bodies show up. At least now we could keep Mina safe. I was so relieved she agreed to live with us, even if she thinks it’s just temporary, I’m convinced she’s our missing piece and belongs with us for the long haul.

I knew what we wanted with her was unconventional. Seven men and one woman… But if anyone deserved to be cared for by so many people, it was Mina. I already knew she was attracted to all of us, the way her cheeks turned pink from a simple look, a soft caress or a few words, from any of us. But building a relationship with all of us would be more difficult. I knew her heart was big enough for us all, and we were all willing to try to make this work.

While she laid here in a coma, we talked about it at great length. That we all felt a deep connection forming with her and wanted to pursue things further. Before now we had tried to keep things PG-13 because of her age.

But now we know she’s truly into her adulthood, it’s changed things a bit. But that didn’t mean I could dive in and kiss her the moment she woke up, as much as I wanted to.

We’re going to have to tread very carefully with her. I’m not sure what sort of abuse her mother has done to her, besides what I can see with my own eyes. Her trauma could run deeper than we know. And despite being twenty-one, it seems like there is a decent chance she hasn’t had any sexual experience yet, and I don’t want to push her into anything she isn’t ready for.

So, we all decided to take this slow and try to take it at a pace she’s comfortable with. Although, I have a feeling that she won’t initiate anything, she’s too submissive for that.

“Holy shit,” Ben whispers, drawing my attention. I only now realize the twins have left as well, leaving just Ben, Mina and me in the room.

“What? Did you find something?” I ask him curiously.

He lifts his gaze to meet mine, his eyes wide in shock.

“I—I found her,” he says, still sounding surprised.

“That’s great, why do you look so shocked though?”

“She’s been reported missing for the past fifteen years… by her father.”

Chapter eight

Iwake up feeling warm and comfortable, but my body still hurts. I look around and see all the guys are still here with me, making me smile.

Dom, noticing I’m awake, helps sit me up and turns me in his lap so my back is against his chest again. He must be tired of sitting with me, but I’m not going to waste my voice on complaining right now.

Everyone notices my movement and puts away their phones quietly.

“How are you feeling, Sugar?” Tucker asks, coming to sit on the side of my bed, brushing a stray hair out of my face. I worry it’s greasy as I haven’t cleaned myself in two weeks. I must look and smell terrible.

“Sore,” I whisper, my voice still raspy. Ben comes to sit on my other side and holds a straw to my lips, which I take eagerly.

“I’m glad to see you’re awake, Mina, because I have some news I wanted to share when we were all together,” Ben says to me, before he looks around the room.

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