Page 79 of Silent Betrayal

“Yeah?” Atlas asks, looking up at him in hope.

“Of course, it’ll be fun, I love camping!” Tucker says with a smile.

“I don’t think it’s wise to be camping with Simon out there right now, anyway. It’s something we can do once he’s finally behind bars, where he belongs,” Dom adds, making me nod in agreement.

“Okay, if you’re sure?” Atlas asks, pushing himself off the wall to look at me in question.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay, I have to go get something, don’t leave without me,” he demands as he heads up the stairs.

A minute later I hear laughter right before the twins and Mina emerge, descending the stairs as she laughs at something Max says, making me smile at seeing her so happy.

“You ready, Princess?” I ask, holding my hand out for her, grateful when she slips it into mine so easily.

“Yeah, where are we going? The twins just told me to dress warm enough to be outside all day.”

“I could tell you… or you could be surprised when we get there?” I ask, letting her make the decision.

“Hmm… Surprise me?” she asks, looking up at me with her beautiful green eyes.

“No problem. We’re actually turning it into a double date, Atlas is going to join us.”

“He is?” she asks, her eyes searching the room for him.

“Yeah, is that okay?”

“Of course, where is he?”

“He’ll be down in a minute. Why don’t you say bye to everyone else while we wait?” I suggest. She goes around hugging each of the guys.Tucker doesn’t settle for a hug, dipping her back to kiss her so deeply it makes my cock jump in my jeans, seeing her melt against him like that.

She hugs the twins and they both give her a quick kiss on the lips. She hugs Dom, and he kisses her head before pushing her towards Gideon.

Every one of us can see how awkward the two of them are together, making me almost cringe at the sight of them nervously standing there, two feet apart and avoiding each other’s gazes. I’m not sure what’s up with him, but he needs to figure his shit out before she gets the idea that he’s no longer interested in her.

Her little hands clench into fists before she darts forward, hugging him so quickly, he doesn’t even have a chance to return it before she pulls away and bolts in my direction.

“Why don’t we go wait on the porch? I have something I want to give you before we leave,” I tell her. She nods, waving to the guys as we move outside.

Chapter thirty-five

Ben looks handsome in his lightweight blue jacket, white t-shirt, and blue jeans as he leads me onto the porch and shuts the front door. We move over the railing and lean against it sideways, so we’re facing each other.

“You said you have something to give me?” I ask, filling in the silence as he stares at me silently.

“Oh, right. It’s just that first…” He licks his lips, pulling my hand up to hold between his. “I need to apologize.”

I take a deep breath and listen. There has been a lot of this lately. And every time one of them apologizes for what they’d done, I’m given a little insight into the circumstances around it. And each time, it made me see that they didn’t have bad intentions. And as much as finding out had originally hurt me, I’m starting to appreciate that they still seemed to seeme, even with the case hanging over them.

I still don’t think it makes what they did okay, but I understand why they did it now. I was more upset with the twins, Dom and Atlas, for pursuing something intimate with me before telling me the truth. That hurt. It was why it was easier to forgive Tucker than it was the twins. But I appreciated that without me even having to say anything, Jasper and Max just knew they had more tomake up for.

The way they refused to give into their own pleasure last night, making the whole evening about my enjoyment, had meant a lot and gone a long way towards me forgiving them.

Looking up at Ben right now, I know that whatever he has to say will be honest and heartfelt, and that, in my own way, I’ve already forgiven him, without even needing to hear his reasoning.

“Mina, I’m so sorry for how everything played out. Even though we couldn’t break our cover at the beginning, I should have voiced my opinion more with the others to tell you the truth straight away. I pride myself in being smart, and I should have seen how our actions would be perceived by you. We should have told you in the hospital room, as soon as you woke up, who we were.”

“Thanks, Ben. That means a lot.”

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