Page 100 of Silent Betrayal

I quickly step back from him, wondering if I can out run him or his gun. I’m pretty sure shooting me in the back isn’t part of his plan. Butnow I’m not sure what his plan is. How does killing Helen help him blame the murders all on me?

“Ah, I can see you’re confused. You went and blabbed, it won’t work to pin the murders on you anymore. Mother, however, is a perfect scapegoat. She’s been moving around, just as you have, but she’s actually old enough to have committed all of them. Besides, she doesn’t have control of you anymore, so she’s worthless to me.

“So… you’re not going to kill me?” I ask hopefully.

He laughs. “Maybe, a week ago, I would have kept you. But now… now I need you out of the way so he can see that I’m the only one he needs after all.”

I have no idea what he’s talking about, and I’m not planning on sticking around to find out. “You’re insane,” I whisper, trying to figure out which way to run.

“Maybe,” he says with a shrug. “I know it’s wrong to want my sister, even if we’re only half siblings, but I can’t help it. You’re so perfect, and you were made for me.”

Not wanting to find out where this is going, I turn and try to run, but he tackles me to the ground, knocking the wind out of me.

He rolls me over, then straddles me, holding my hands to the ground beside my head as I struggle beneath him, my body hurting where I hit the ground.

“Mmm, yes, this is going to be fun,” he says, his eyes trailing down my body.

“Get off of me!” I screech, trying to buck him from my body to no avail.

He tosses the gun aside, far out of reach, then collects both my hands in one of his, holding them to the ground over my head, while his otherhand runs down my body, squeezing my breast on its way, making me whimper in fear.

I’ve been here before with him touching me, and I had always stayed silent, letting him touch me, knowing he would leave quicker. But now, I know there’s no reason to sit in silence any longer, and as he shifts his weight and rips my skirt away, I let out the loudest scream my exhausted body can muster, making Simon flinch.

I try to pull my hands free, but his huge hand holds my wrists in place with ease as his free hand starts touching me over my panties, and I scream as loud as I can, “ATLAS!!”

He chuckles. “Oh, little pet, nobody is going to save you. They don’t even know where you are.” This time, I’m the one to grin, and his face falls into confusion. “What have you done?”

“They’re tracking us right now, and when they get here, they’re going to fucking kill you!” I scream at him as he presses his whole palm against me harder, making me gag as I try not to vomit.

“Well, I guess I better speed this along then,” he says with a grin. He grabs my panties and literally rips them off me, making me scream again as I struggle to get free. My erratic movements manage to get one hand free and I claw at his face.

“Bitch!” he growls as he tries to grab my flailing hand.

The sound of a gunshot goes off at the same time blood bursts from the center of Simon’s head and covers my face. I close my eyes tight and feel the weight of him slowly tilting to the side until I hear him hit the ground. I lay there, frozen as I try to breathe, then I slowly open my eyes and see Simon laying on the ground beside me, his dead eyes staring at nothing.

“Mina?” I look up and my eyes widen when I see my dad standing there, gun still raised.

“Dad?” I ask, as my lower lip wobbles, the tears close to the surface.

Suddenly, he’s tackled from the side, making me gasp. I turn my head and see Atlas holding him down.

“Atlas, no! He saved me!” Atlas looks over at me, then sees Simon’s body. He seems to put two and two together and nods, helping my dad to his feet.

“Mina!” Ben and Max come running into the clearing as a sob catches in my throat. Max checks to make sure Simon’s dead, as Ben runs straight to me, helping me sit up.

“Oh my god! Shit! Fuck, fuck. What has he done? Baby, are you okay? Jesus.” I realize what I might look like right now, sitting here with no pants on, covered in blood as tears pour down my face, but I cling to him, trying to calm my breathing.

We hear the sounds of other people, and Max jumps in front of us, drawing a gun, pointing it in that direction as Jasper and Tucker come running through the woods. He quickly lowers his gun, and the others come running over to me.

Tucker grabs my face. “Sugar, are you okay? What did he do to you?”

Jasper kneels beside me. “This is a lot of blood. Is it yours? Where are you hurt?”

“I—I don’t think I am, nothing serious.”

“Kitten,” Dom whispers, dropping to his knees at my side. His hands hover over my hips like he’s afraid to touch me, and his pain-filled eyes turn to mine.

Atlas drops down beside him, taking in my lack of clothing on my lower half with a pain filled whimper.

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