Page 92 of Silent Betrayal

“Even Dom,” I agree, kissing her head, then I ask, “what else is bothering you?”

“Something’s bothering you, Angel?” Jasper asks as he joins us, along with the rest of the guys. Jasper and Gideon greet her with kisses, making her blush, and Ben and Max bring in trays of homemade pizzas.

We all dig in as I try to continue our conversation. “Mina, do you want to tell us what’s on your mind?” I ask gently.

She takes a minute to finish her bite of pizza, contemplating what she wants to say before she finally speaks. “I just feel like there must be some way I can help you find Simon and my m—Helen. There must be something I know or something at the house that can help,” she says, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

“We checked out the house already, as did the cops, and there was nothing there. Not even a sign of Simon living there. And nothing to show where Helen might be,” Dom tells her, and she sighs.

“I mean, they aren’t living in the woods. They’re probably at a motel or hotel, right? There can’t be many of those around here, can there?” she asks, her eyes bouncing between us all.

“In every other city where someone has been killed, you and your mother stayed a few towns over. At this location, we have seven possible towns and a total of twenty-two motels and hotels. We don’t have the resources to stake them all out,” Ben explains.

“What use is a photographic memory if I can’t help catch him?” she says in frustration, staring at her pizza. I kiss the side of her head and wrap my arm around her waist, offering her my silent support, where she’s still perched in my lap.

“I know you didn’t get out of the basement much, but you said that last time he took you upstairs. Did you remember seeing anything up there? Like a brochure or paperwork? Maybe he left something lying around?” I ask, rubbing her back with my free hand.

She’s quiet as she thinks about it for a minute. “When he… He made me shower…” She gulps, and I glance at the other guys. I don’t recall her telling us about showering when he was there. “I think—”

She cuts herself off, shaking her head rapidly. “No, I can’t! I don’t want to think about it. It’ll bring back all the memories!” she says, panic lacing her tone as she hides her face in my chest. Her fingers grip my shirt tightly as she starts to cry.

My heart aches at seeing her upset. I hug her tightly as I try to soothe her. “Shh, shh. It’s okay, Sugar. You’re here with us now, you’re safe.”

Gideon, sitting beside us, reaches out to wipe a tear from her face, then grabs her hand.

“Love, I don’t want you to think about anything that makes you upset. But… you’ve never told us about anything happening in a bathroom before. And we’ve all noticed you only take baths. Are those two things related?” She nods, looking at him nervously.

“I know it will hurt, but maybe it’s best to get it out now, so you can put it past you? We’re all here to help you through it. Only if you want to, of course.”

She thinks about it as he hands her a glass of water. She takes a few sips then passes it back to him to set down on the table.

She stares at her fingers as she starts talking. “H-he wanted me to be clean, as I had only ever washed myself in the sink before. So he took me to the bathroom upstairs and made me strip and get in the shower.”

I swallow the lump in my throat as I exchange a look with Gideon, not liking where this is going. She never really explained how close he might have been to raping her or the details of that event at all.

“The shampoo and conditioner bottles were really small. I thought it was kinda weird but was too freaked out to give it a second thought. They were green with a little logo on them. It was three leaves or petals with two circles underneath.”

“That’s something. They might be from a hotel he was staying at. I can check out the motels and hotels online to see if any around here have that as their logo,” Ben tells us. “Good job, Princess. You don’t have to go on if you don’t want to,” he adds.

I can see the tears in her eyes, as her whole body trembles, already losing herself to the memory.

“Let it out, Sugar. Tell us what happened next. You’ll feel better after,” I say, stroking her back.

“He—he choked me, held up my face to the water. I felt like I was drowning. And he—he wrapped the shower curtain around me tightly but left a hole for the water to pour into. I started drowning as the water had nowhere to go. It was awful. I always wanted to know what a shower was like, but now I hope I never have to have one again.” She manages to say all of that without breaking down, and I’m so damn proud of her.

“Kitten, I’m so proud of you for telling us that. Good girl.” Dom says, mirroring my thoughts, and I pepper her head and face with kisses, pulling a giggle from her.

“What do you say we watchThe Officeand relax while Ben does his research?” Jasper asks, and we all agree.

Mina snuggles up between me and Jasper as we finish our pizza and watch the show.

Chapter forty-two

My skin feels like it’s buzzing. I’m so relieved to have cleared up everything with the guys and feel like I can finally trust them all again. It’s been a difficult few weeks, but I’ve realized I’d take these weeks over any of the ones before I met them, hands down. My worst day with them is still far better than anything I’ve experienced in my past.

Last night I slept between Tucker and Gideon and I felt so warm and safe. Gideon didn’t press me for anything, even though he’s the only one I haven’t slept with. That level of comfort made me feel even closer to him. Cuddling the guys is my new favorite thing to do, and since they don’t seem to mind, I always seem to seek out someone’s lap to sit on.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been starved for positive affection my whole life, or maybe it’s just because these guys are so kind, sweet, and incredibly hot. Either way, I love living here with them. But I’m ready to put my past behind me and move on with my life. Something I feel I couldn’t do until Simon and my mom were caught.

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