Chapter 24

MINA

"I don't like it when people attack me." Reuben's gaze scanned the office.

I stood near the door, Gianni beside me. Damon and the twins were near the window.

"None of us does, boss," Gianni said. He leaned against the corner of Reuben's desk, his palm on the dark wood.

"None of us like being attacked, or none of us like it when Reuben is?" Hunter asked. "Just for clarification."

"Both," Gianni said. "I'm sorry I didn't make that clearer for you."

Hunter grinned. "No problem."

Reuben cleared his throat. "I don't like it when people attack any of us."

"There's been no further sightings of Kurt," Damon said. "Not before we saw Frank and not after the attack. To the surprise of no one, Frank has disappeared off the face of the earth. Whatever his real name is, is anyone's guess."

"I'm guessing it's not Gustav," Gianni remarked. "When I said that name, he gave me a blank look. If he was actually Gustav, he would have at least twitched."

"That narrows it down," Damon said sarcastically. "We can rule out a couple of thousand men."

"Does it matter who he was?" Parker asked. "He was probably just a random dude in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I don't think his resemblance to Kurt was a coincidence," I said softly. "It might be, but they might be related."

"We should check with Daisy Lasalle to see if they have a relative with a resemblance to that prick," Damon said.

Reuben nodded. "Do it."

"I find myself conflicted," Hunter said. "Frank might be his twin. On one hand, twins are cool. On the other, Kurt is an asshole."

"It's possible to be a twin and an asshole at the same time," Damon said pointedly.

Hunter turned to Parker. "I think he's talking about us."

Parker squinted at Damon. "I think so too."

In unison, they flipped Damon off.

He flipped them off in return.

Both twins grinned.

"I don't think Kurt has a twin, but I can speak to Daze," I offered. I'd welcome the chance to spend more time with her. Even if it meant talking about him.

"All right," Reuben agreed. "You and Gianni go to Dusk Bay and speak to her. She should know about the attack. Kurt clearly has more resources than we previously assumed. But wait a few days. Let things simmer down. We'll give Damon's contacts time to keep looking for him and how he organised the attack. I don't want you going anywhere without me being sure you won't be ambushed."

"I don't want that either," Gianni agreed. "Not that we can't take care of ourselves, but I'd prefer not to be dealing with eight attackers when there's only two of us. Six or seven maybe." He gestured his hands back and forth. "But not eight. Especially not without Damon and his car smashing skills." He jerked a thumb towards the other man.

"You could crash a car if you had to," Damon said. "Knowing you, you'd enjoy it."

"You're so sweet," Gianni told him.

Damon rolled his eyes.

"They should just kiss and get it over with," Hunter whispered loudly.

"Maybe I should shoot you and get it over with?" Damon suggested.

Hunter grinned. "We all know you won't do that. Parker and I are too useful."

"Is that what they call it these days?" Damon asked. "Useful?"

"I think he's insulting us again," Parker said.

"Enough." Reuben's voice was low, but forceful. "In case you've forgotten, we could have been killed last night. Let's focus on the matter at hand. You can insult each other on your own time."

All three of them fell silent. The twins even looked slightly apologetic. Reuben was right, we could have died. Kurt was the enemy here, not each other. There was no animosity in the banter, but it wasn't going to help us find him any faster.

"I'll keep in touch with my contacts," Damon said. "Someone has to have seen something, even if they got paid not to see. We have people looking at the financials of any of his known associates, or anyone who might have come in contact with him in the last few years. If he's paid any of them to pretend they didn't see him, we'll pin them down."

"I don't care who you have to bribe, threaten or kill, I want him found," Reuben said. "That is our priority. That and keeping our interests running. No doubt he'll try to fuck with them in some way, at some point. If he's getting desperate enough to send people after us, there's no telling what shit he might try to pull."

"Consider everyone bribed, threatened or killed," Damon said. "He can only hide from us for so long. At some point, he's going to make a mistake and we'll be right there, ready to pounce."

Reuben scrubbed a hand over his face. "We may have to consider approaching Samuel Bell. If we pool our resources, that should make it easier to find Lasalle."

"That's a good idea," Hunter said surprisingly quickly. "I definitely think the Brantley and Bell families should work together. Don't you Parker?"

"Definitely," Parker said with just as much enthusiasm. "I mean, the two families have been at each other's throats for so long. And for what?" He spread his hands. "No one even knows anymore." He gave an awkward laugh.

Reuben narrowed his eyes at him. "If you're so enthusiastic, you can talk to him."

The twins exchanged a glance.

"He'd probably have us killed on sight," Hunter said.

"That sounds accurate," Parker agreed. "A phone call might be safer."

"I'll consider it," Reuben said. He clearly thought they were up to something, but it wasn't something he was going to get into right now. "You all have jobs to do. Go and do them. Mina, stay here."

I stood aside to let them all out the door before closing it behind them. I caught a glimpse of Gianni grinning before it clicked shut.

Reuben stood and moved around to the other side of the desk, ice blue eyes on me. At first, he said nothing. He was silent for long enough to make me uneasy.

"Is something wrong?" I asked. Apart from all the other things I already knew were wrong in my life right now.

"No, nothing," he said, his gaze still intense. "I like to understand everyone and everything around me. It helps me to keep things in order. But you… I can't figure you out."

I struggled to remain still and calm. "There's not much to figure out. I'm just Mina DiMarco, sister of a famous rock star, a university professor, and a woman who knows how to dispose of suspicious body parts. You've known me for most of my life."

"And yet, I don't think I know you at all," he said. He shook his head and stepped back. "I think I underestimated you. Of course you know how to use a knife and gun, and stay calm in a crisis. We were all raised with those skills."

"You thought maybe I was going to wilt after what I've been through?" I asked.

That was a logical assumption. Alone at night, I did wilt, but I forced myself to keep going when the sun rose. I had to. If only so I could see this through to the end.

"People have gone through less and been thoroughly destroyed," he said. "Gianni has broken people by threatening to torture them. The suggestion of a few horrific methods has them begging for mercy and telling him everything they know. Some people are stronger than that. But you, you're stronger than any of them."

He slowly raised his hand and touched the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair. I didn't move while he lowered his mouth, lightly brushing his lips over mine.

Gradually, he deepened the kiss, his tongue dipping into my mouth, holding my hair in his fist.

Reluctantly, he pulled back and let his hand slip from my hair.

"You're mine," he whispered. "One day, I will show you how much."

"One day I'll be ready," I whispered back.

"Don't take too long," he said. "I want you." His eyes were dark, his expression heated. At the same time, fully in control. Contained. He wanted me, but he needed me to be ready to give myself fully. I needed the same thing.

I would have liked to be able to assure him I wouldn't, but I had no guarantees. No timeline.

I took both of his hands in mine and laced our fingers together.

"I'm yours." That was the only promise I could make right now.

The whole house was silent and in darkness.

I slipped past everyone's bedrooms and down the stairs. At the bottom, I took a moment to be sure no one knew I was up. I heard no sound, no indication anyone was awake. Nothing but Gianni's distant snores.

Smiling to myself, I slipped over to press the buttons on the keypad which would turn off the alarm system for a short time. I'd be back before it re-engaged.

I eased the door open and slipped out into the predawn gloom. It wasn't far, just a five or ten metre brisk walk.

My mind turned over and over with each step. There was no guarantee everything was still in place. Someone might have found or destroyed everything at some point in the last five years.

To my relief, the small house was still present, empty as far as I could tell. Just the way I left it.

I slipped around the back and counted the bricks just above ground level.

"Five. Six. Seven. Eight." I crouched down and eased the eighth brick out of its slot. I slid my hand inside and felt around. My fingers connected with cold metal. I grabbed onto it and pulled out a long, wide box. I placed it on the ground and opened it.

Smiled.

Everything was still here.

I pulled out the phone and connected it to the portable charger I borrowed from Gianni. It took several minutes for the phone to charge enough to turn on.

I pressed in my passcode to enter the home screen. It took a few moments longer to remember my bank password, but I entered that to check my funds.

"Nice," I whispered. Interest had accrued over the last five years.

I closed the bank app and opened another to reach out to my contacts. It would take time to hear back from them.

I opened a third app, and followed a series of prompts and passwords to reach the area I wanted.

The screened read, 'Sparrow,' in red.

Underneath that, I changed 'inactive' to 'active.'

'Sparrow' turned to green. A few minutes later, job offers started to pop up on the screen. Some I'd accept, others not. The first job was finding Kurt and ending him.

Then I'd get back to work doing what I was good at.

The Sparrow, one of the most efficient and deadliest assassins in the world, was reactivated.

I slipped everything but the phone back into the box and back under the house. Carefully, I put the brick back in place and stood.

I needed to get home before my family woke.

Thank you for reading! The story continues in Ruined.