Page 53 of Silent Betrayal

“No!” I yell, cutting Atlas off and giving him the stop motion with my hand as he tries to stand up. “That was the worst moment of my life. And you were there. Yousavedme, and you didn’t even know!Ididn’t even know. I’m angry that it happened and mad that—I’m mad that I’m mad at you!” I yell angrily.

Dom and Atlas move at the same time, and this time, I let them. They jump to their feet, grabbing me and pulling me into their arms between them. Their strength surrounds me, and the dam breaks as I start to cry against them. My emotions are all over the place. I’m grateful and mad at them at the same time, and it makes me cry even harder. Nobody says anything as they hold me and let me cry.

Silently, I’m thankful for them letting me get this all out. Being able to yell my frustrations out at the people I’m mad at is a completely new sensation for me, and I love that I’m able to do so and feel safe, not having to worry about the repercussions of my words.

Through my tears, I notice the others standing silently. Tucker stares, his face pale and stunned. They all look like they’ve seen a ghost.

As my cries begin to settle, Atlas gently cups my face in his hands, his voice soft but steady. “You should have told us. We can add that to the list of charges against Jeff. You can bet he’s going away for a long time.”

“What?” I blink up at him, confusion swirling in my mind. “It—it wasn’t Jeff. It was Simon.”

“Who the fuck is Simon?”

Chapter twenty-two

“Who the fuck is Simon?” I ask angrily. Someone had tried to rape her and he wasn’t behind bars? I grind my teeth at the thought of someone like that still walking around out there.

“He-he’s my brother,” she says as she looks up at me with wide eyes.Her brother?

“I-I’m sorry. I honestly try to forget he exists. Thinking about him causes panic attacks.” She looks at me with worry in her beautiful green eyes.

My eyes widen in realization.Fucking shit.

“Your brother is the one who’s been sexually assaulting you?” I ask angrily.

She nods as a few tears leak out. “He’s the worst one.” I want to ask more about that but instead I hug her tightly to me.

“Baby, I need you to know I am not mad or upset with you at all. I understand why you didn’t mention him. I’m just angry that he did that. He was your brother and he should have been the one to protect you.”

“How long was this going on?” Ben asks softly as he rubs her shoulder.

“Since my dad left.” I squeeze my eyes shut tight and will myself not to throw up. She was six when he left. Her brother has been hurting her for fifteenfucking years?!

“I’ll kill him,” Atlas growls, mirroring my thoughts.

Ben scratches his head as he asks, “how did I miss a brother?” I can’t believe any of us did. But she never spoke while she was at school, and we haven’t asked her any questions since she’s been with us, because of her injuries, so it’s not a total surprise that there is still more we don’t know. I can understand why she wouldn’t want to mention him.

It’s also obvious that her brother is now suspect number one for these murders. A male fits the profile much better than Helen.

“I think the storms stopped, I’ll go check the panel, if you guys want to move this up to the living room?” Gideon asks before exiting the room. We use our phones to light the way upstairs, and sure enough, everything looks lighter, and the rain has passed.

I move Mina over to the couch and sit down with her. I place my arm around her shoulders and I pull her into my side. She rests her head on my chest and shoulder as I rub her arm. The lights turn on overhead and Gideon returns at the same time Ben comes down the stairs with his laptop.

“Okay, Princess. I need you to tell us everything you know about him. What he looks like, when he was born, where he’s lived, anything, can you do that for me?” Ben asks, his fingers hovering over his keyboard.

She sighs as she looks at him. “He’s the killer, isn’t he?”

“You don’t sound upset or surprised by that,” Jasper says.

“I’m definitely not surprised. It makes more sense than my mom,” she tells us. She wiggles around beside me before asking, “Dom?”

“Yes, Kitten?”

“Can I lie down here?”

“Of course, get comfortable. I’ve got you.” She gives me a tight-lipped smile and I can’t help but hope she hates us a little bit less now. Maybeknowing everything we’ve been doing to watch over her and keep her safe will help her understand how much we care.

As she lays her head in my lap, I stroke my fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp, as she tells us what she knows.

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