41. Tucker
Chapter forty-one
I dump the last bag of garbage on the curb as I look at the empty field across the street and take a deep breath of the crisp fall air. There was a strange feeling in the air tonight. Like the calm before a storm. Knowing that Gideon and Mina had patched things up brought me an insane amount of relief. That was the last missing piece of our puzzle.
Now all seven of us were fully in with her, I wanted to start thinking about building our life together. But there was a storm on the horizon that has remained calm for too long now… Simon.
Everything in my gut was telling me that he hadn’t moved on. Even though it had been his MO in the past, he no longer has access to Mina, and I’m surprised that nobody besides Brad has ended up dead since she came to live with us.
What is he planning? Is he waiting for her to make an appearance? Is he out here, right now, waiting for her to be left alone? Luckily, that’s never going to happen. All our protective instincts are growing stronger each day we haven’t solved this case.
We’re still surprised the FBI hasn’t stepped in yet. There’s been multiple murders in this town alone, and we have a prime suspect. But when Dom spoke with the police chief earlier today, he said without any record of Simon’s existence, they couldn’t just take Mina’s word and start a manhunt for him. Which meant it was up to us to solve this case.
I head inside and the smell of dinner cooking makes my stomach rumble. I head into the living room and see Mina sitting on the couch alone, and make my way over to her.
“Hi, Sugar,” I say with a smile.
“Hi Tucker, are you gonna sit with me?” she asks timidly, making me smile.
“Of course, Sugar. I always love sitting with you.” I flop onto the couch beside her and drag her into my lap sideways. She tilts her head against my chest, playing with the buttons of my flannel shirt.
“What are you thinking about?” I ask her. She bites her lip like she’s deciding what to tell me.
“A lot of things. My mind is a bit of a jumble right now.”
“Are you worried about something? Or do you have questions about something?”
“Umm… it’s both, I guess.”
“Okay, let’s start with one thing at a time. Are there any questions I can answer?” She looks up at me, and a slight blush stains her cheeks. It’s adorable.
“Yeah, umm… I was wondering if—only if you want—if it was okay if… I… uh…”
“You are freaking adorable right now, you know that? Now, come on, spit it out, I won’t bite… unless you ask me to.” I give her a wink, and successfully break a little of the tension surrounding her as she giggles.
“Would you sleep in my bed with me tonight? You and Gideon? I feel like I haven’t had as much time with you guys as I have with the others, and I miss you. I also… uh… don’t like sleeping alone anymore. ”
I tilt her chin up and kiss her gently. “Oh, Sugar, I would absolutely love to sleep with you tonight. Even if it’s just to hold you while you sleep. I’d consider it an honor.” She seems to deflate a little in relief at my answer.
“As for the sleeping alone thing—is it because you’re worried at night? When you’re alone?” She looks into my eyes with a sad expression.
“No, I’m not worried, Tucker. I’m terrified. If I can’t feel one of your arms around me when I wake up, I’m terrified it’ll all be a dream, and I’ll wake up back there.”
She presses her face to my chest, and I wrap my arms tightly around her, soothing her. I had no idea she was so scared, she does such a good job at hiding her pain that sometimes I forget everything she’s been through. Her whole life has been full of pain and torment. But she’s so sweet and kind that it’s easy to forget where she came from.
“I imagine that’s a perfectly normal feeling after everything you’ve been through. And the good news is, with seven boyfriends, you’ll never have to wake up alone again. Have you given any thought to speaking with a therapist? They might be able to help ease some of your worry.”
She shakes her head. “Not yet. I—Can I wait and think about it after you’ve solved this case?”
“Of course. I think it would be good for you to go, but none of us will ever force you to.”
“Even Dom?” she asks, trying to hold in her smile.
“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 thin k—”
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 watch The Office and 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.