Chapter Seven
I was almost finished breakfast when a knock sounded on the front door.
Reuben put down his knife and fork and pushed to his feet. “That will be Mimi.”
“Mimi?” I repeated.
He nodded. “My sister. I texted her earlier to bring some clothes over for you to wear. She’s about your size.”
He might have an eye for women’s sizes, but I doubted very much the other woman wore loose clothes to conceal a pair of wings.
He stalked to the door, unlocked it, then pulled it open. A brunette with high cheekbones and loose hair that fell to her waist burst inside. The handle of a canvas bag crammed to the gills with clothes was slung over a shoulder.
Reuben grinned. “Thanks for coming over so quickly.”
She ignored him, her stare immediately pinpointing me. “So this is the woman everyone is talking about.” She tossed back her hair, her eyes flashing sharply. “You're not concerned she’ll bring all her troubles to your doorstep? Six men are missing, Reuben. That’s not normal.”
My heart plummeted. I was meant to disappear, not be the talk of the town.
The walls around me suddenly closed in, my breath hitching as the air turned to ash in my lungs.
But of course Adam and his underlings were still searching for me.
The dead bodies I’d left behind were a trail leading straight to Reuben’s front door.
The reality of it all hit me, cold and hard, like a blow to the head.
I’d never meant to involve Reuben in any of this.
And I’d never hurt anyone before, not intentionally. People had always hurt me. Used me. Broken me.
Until now.
“Good to see you too, Mimi,” Reuben muttered drily as he shut and relocked the front door.
Mimi snorted. “Whatever, Reuben. You can’t expect me not to be intrigued by your latest woman, one who hasn’t yet been kicked out of your bed or your home. And if the gossip is to be believed, this one is dangerous.”
His exhale was loud and disbelieving. “Her attackers would say that when—“
“She definitely doesn’t look dangerous,” Mimi cut in, ignoring him. “Though she’s pretty enough, I suppose,” she added with a sniff.
I stood, tightening the belt on my bathrobe as I stared right back at the woman trying to tear me down. “Are you always this welcoming to people your brother helps?”
Mimi gaped, flipping her long hair before spinning to face Reuben. “Is she serious?”
He shrugged. “You started it.”
“And I’m about to finish it,” she snapped. “I’m happy to take myself and my clothes out of here. I’m beginning to think your friend would happily watch you fight wearing nothing but her birthday suit.”
I frowned. Why was a conversation about me happening like I wasn’t even there? I cleared my throat. “You couldn’t be more wrong.”
She swung back around, her bottom lip curling. “And yet you were found in nothing but your underwear.”
“Not by choice,” I said, lifting my chin.
She blinked, her stare softening ever so slightly. “If you’re in some kind of trouble—“
“If she is, it’s none of our business,” Reuben cut in.
Her stare didn’t leave mine as she asked him, “So it doesn’t bother you that someone is looking for her? That helicopter sweeping our neighborhood wasn’t a coincidence.”
Reuben snorted. “Clearly not. But you once told me trouble follows me around.”
“So you’ll invite more into your life?”
I sighed. “If either of you actually asked, I’d tell you—I don’t intend sticking around. I’ll be gone by the morning.” I held Reuben’s gaze. “That is...if you’ll allow me to stay here one more night?”
“You need to even ask?” He pushed a hand through his already spiked hair. “Stay a week and you’ve got yourself a deal.”
I was tempted, so very tempted. But my freedom was everything to me and I couldn’t risk getting caught just because I’d grown comfortable. “I—“
“A week!” Mimi interrupted. “You never let women stay here. Not for longer than a night. Your motto is fuck ‘em and forget ‘em, remember?”
He flinched as though the truth bothered him now. “I never made a secret of it,” he said quietly. “Not to any of the women I’ve been with.” He shook his head. “Why this sudden interest in my sex life?” He looked between us. “Bella and I are nothing but platonic.”
“So far,” Mimi said, her gaze bouncing between us. “But a blind man could see there is more than friendship brewing between the two of you.” She huffed out a breath. “Whatever. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Reuben crossed his arms, something sharp building in his stare. “Warn me about what?” he asked.
“About her breaking your heart.” She lifted her chin, her eyes flashing. “She’s not who you think she is.”
Tossing the canvas bag of clothes onto the two-seater sofa, she flounced to the door, unlocked it, then saw herself out.
Reuben shut it behind her and leaned against it, holding my gaze. “Well, that was...unexpected.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Is she always so judgmental?”
He grimaced. “Only when she listens to her intuition.”
“Intuition?”
He nodded. “Mimi has extraordinary psychic abilities. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a vision about you and me the second I asked her to bring clothes.”
I blinked. “Humans have this...ability?”
I supposed they must. Even in the facility, not all of us assets were created the same. Some had wings. Some didn’t. Some were stronger than normal, some weaker. Some of us had instincts that reached beyond ordinary, while others were barely awake to theirs.
The one thing we all shared was a high mortality rate.
I’d dodged every bullet. And my health, my power, only kept growing. No wonder the scientists had been reluctant to let me go. And they hadn’t even been aware of my echolocation ability. Good thing I’d kept that to myself or not even Adam would have been able to acquire me.
“Humans?” he queried, catching my odd phrasing. “I believe we all have intuition in some shape or form, though most of us ignore it until it withers away.”
“Mimi nurtured hers?” I asked.
He smiled faintly. “I’m not sure she had a choice. Mimi’s been having visions and dreams since we were kids.”
Something twisted in my chest, sharp, dark, and unexpected. He’d experienced having a family, even if it had been a dysfunctional one. “Sounds like she was lucky to have you as her brother.”
He smiled, his face softening. “Half-sister. My loving father cheated on my mother, and Mimi was the fallout. Thankfully, she had a mother who actually gave a damn.”
The breath caught in my throat. “She’s fortunate to have had a mother at all.”
His gaze sharpened, then softened. “You didn’t?”
I almost winced. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Years locked in a cell had made me forget how to keep thoughts to myself. Silence had never been kind to me. I’d filled it with words, even if no one else was there to hear them.
I nodded. “I never met her.”
“I’m sorry,” he said gently.
I was grateful he didn’t press for more. Instead, he glanced at the clock and said, “Why don’t you get dressed while I clean up? We need to head out in ten minutes.”
I nodded, managing a small smile. Whatever came next, I had a feeling it was going to change everything.