Page 91 of Silent Betrayal

Her eyes widen a bit when she realizes what I’m doing. When I’m finished cleaning them, I wrap my arm around her, watching her face carefully.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so distant from you. I’m sorry for everything that’s happened. You are too kind and too sweet for the likes of me, but I’m honored that you’re willing to share yourself with me. Are you—” I cut myself off, feeling like a school boy all over again. “Will you be my girlfriend, Mina?”

“I love you, Gideon, and yes, I will,” she says, the words igniting a fire in me.

“I don’t deserve you, but I love you, too,” I say, kissing her temple before wrapping her in my arms and closing my eyes, finally feeling content for the first time since I met her.

Chapter forty-one

Idump the last bag of garbage on the curb as I look at the empty field across the street and take a deep breath of the crisp fall air. There was a strange feeling in the air tonight. Like the calm before a storm. Knowing that Gideon and Mina had patched things up brought me an insane amount of relief. That was the last missing piece of our puzzle.

Now all seven of us were fully in with her, I wanted to start thinking about building our life together. But there was a storm on the horizon that has remained calm for too long now… Simon.

Everything in my gut was telling me that he hadn’t moved on. Even though it had been his MO in the past, he no longer has access to Mina, and I’m surprised that nobody besides Brad has ended up dead since she came to live with us.

What is he planning? Is he waiting for her to make an appearance? Is he out here, right now, waiting for her to be left alone? Luckily, that’s never going to happen. All our protective instincts are growing stronger each day we haven’t solved this case.

We’re still surprised the FBI hasn’t stepped in yet. There’s been multiple murders in this town alone, and we have a prime suspect. But when Dom spoke with the police chief earlier today, he said without any recordof Simon’s existence, they couldn’t just take Mina’s word and start a manhunt for him. Which meant it was up to us to solve this case.

I head inside and the smell of dinner cooking makes my stomach rumble. I head into the living room and see Mina sitting on the couch alone, and make my way over to her.

“Hi, Sugar,” I say with a smile.

“Hi Tucker, are you gonna sit with me?” she asks timidly, making me smile.

“Of course, Sugar. I always love sitting with you.” I flop onto the couch beside her and drag her into my lap sideways. She tilts her head against my chest, playing with the buttons of my flannel shirt.

“What are you thinking about?” I ask her. She bites her lip like she’s deciding what to tell me.

“A lot of things. My mind is a bit of a jumble right now.”

“Are you worried about something? Or do you have questions about something?”

“Umm… it’s both, I guess.”

“Okay, let’s start with one thing at a time. Are there any questions I can answer?” She looks up at me, and a slight blush stains her cheeks. It’s adorable.

“Yeah, umm… I was wondering if—only if you want—if it was okay if… I… uh…”

“You are freaking adorable right now, you know that? Now, come on, spit it out, I won’t bite… unless you ask me to.” I give her a wink, and successfully break a little of the tension surrounding her as she giggles.

“Would you sleep in my bed with me tonight? You and Gideon? I feel like I haven’t had as much time with you guys as I have with the others, and I miss you. I also… uh… don’t like sleeping alone anymore.”

I tilt her chin up and kiss her gently. “Oh, Sugar, I would absolutely love to sleep with you tonight. Even if it’s just to hold you while you sleep. I’d consider it an honor.” She seems to deflate a little in relief at my answer.

“As for the sleeping alone thing—is it because you’re worried at night? When you’re alone?” She looks into my eyes with a sad expression.

“No, I’m not worried, Tucker. I’m terrified. If I can’t feel one of your arms around me when I wake up, I’m terrified it’ll all be a dream, and I’ll wake up back there.”

She presses her face to my chest, and I wrap my arms tightly around her, soothing her. I had no idea she was so scared, she does such a good job at hiding her pain that sometimes I forget everything she’s been through. Her whole life has been full of pain and torment. But she’s so sweet and kind that it’s easy to forget where she came from.

“I imagine that’s a perfectly normal feeling after everything you’ve been through. And the good news is, with seven boyfriends, you’ll never have to wake up alone again. Have you given any thought to speaking with a therapist? They might be able to help ease some of your worry.”

She shakes her head. “Not yet. I—Can I wait and think about it after you’ve solved this case?”

“Of course. I think it would be good for you to go, but none of us will ever force you to.”

“Even Dom?” she asks, trying to hold in her smile.

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