42. Mina
Chapter forty-two
M y 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.
“I found it!” Ben yells, as he comes running down the stairs towards where we all sit, eating breakfast at the table.
“I found it!” he says again, his eyes alight with excitement. “I found the logo!” he says when we look at him in confusion.
“Really?” I ask in surprise .
“Well, I think so. It wasn’t the logo of a hotel like we thought—it’s the logo of the shampoo company. Took me a while to narrow it down, but I tracked it to two places. Both use that brand in their rooms, and they’re in completely opposite directions from each other, Carlington and Ajax.”
Relief washes over me. My description wasn’t useless like I feared it would be. I might have actually helped us find a lead on this case.
“Alright,” Dom says, immediately taking charge. “We’ll have two teams go and stake out the two locations to look for Simon or Helen. If either of them shows up, we regroup and make a plan. Jasper and Tucker, you’re team one, you head to Carlington. Gideon and I will take Ajax. The rest of you stay here, keep comms open, and be ready for anything. Everyone clear?”
“Clear,” everyone echoes, voices confident and ready.
As the room buzzes with preparation, Ben takes my hand and tugs me upstairs to his room. He’s grinning when he pulls me into his lap after sitting down at his desk.
“You get to stay here with me, Princess,” he says, his voice full of warmth.
“What about Atlas and Max?” I ask, leaning sideways into his chest, finding comfort in his arms.
“They’ll be here soon. Atlas will secure the house after the guys leave, and Max will probably run around making sure we have drinks, snacks, and charged phones.”
I can’t help but smile at the thought of them all knowing their assigned tasks. “I guess this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this, huh?”
He chuckles, a sound that makes my heart feel lighter. “Nope,” he says, tapping my nose with his finger like I’m a kid.
He turns to his computer and starts typing.
“Ben?”
“Hmm?” he answers, his fingers typing away.
“Do you think, in the future, that I will be able to be a part of the team, too?”
He immediately stops typing to look at me. “Mina, you’re already the most important part of the team.”
“But, like, will I have my own job? Like you do tech stuff, and Atlas does security, something like that?”
“I’m sure with your memory, we’re all gonna need your help. But you’re also the one that is going to be able to help calm us down and keep us centered.”
“Really?”
“Of course. I don’t think you have any idea how much we all care about you.” He tilts my chin up and kisses me deeply, setting my body aflame.
For the first time in a while, his energy feels different—lighter, happier. I think it’s because we finally have a lead, but deep down, I like to think it’s because we’re in this together.
Stakeouts are boring. I sigh heavily as I lay on the floor in Ben’s room, moving my arms and legs back and forth on the carpet .
“Malishka, what are you doing?” Atlas frowns down at me as he comes in.
“Making carpet angels,” I tell him like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. He narrows his eyes at me as Max laughs from where he lounges on the couch.
“Atlas?” I ask more seriously, as I sit up and look at him properly.
“What is it, Malishka?” he asks, bending on one knee to bring his face closer to mine.
“What did one flag say to the other?” He just blinks at me, so I finish for him. “Nothing, it just waved.”
He stares at me, so I bring my hand up in a slow wave, then he tackles me onto my back, making me squeal, and starts to tickle my ribs and stomach. I cry out, “stop, stop! Mercy!”
“No, no, baby girl, you asked for this by telling that terrible joke. No mercy to be had for you!”
I squirm and kick, trying to get away, but he’s just so big.
“Max! Max, save me!” I yell out to him.
“Hmm, I don’t know, Sweetheart. That was a pretty bad joke.”
“Pleeeease!” I beg. “I’ll do anything!”
“Anything?” he asks, sounding intrigued.
“Yes! You name it, and it’s done—Eeeee!” I squeal as Atlas finds my armpit.
“Deal!”
I notice Atlas struggling a little and see Max clinging to his back. Max doesn’t seem to be having much effect, though, and Atlas continues his assault, giving me his mischievous grin.
“Ahh, Malishka, it’s me you should’ve made the deal with.”
“Okay, the deal’s yours—whatever you want, just please stop!! Ahhh!” I scream as his fingers find another sensitive spot.
“Okay—deal,” he says, sitting up with Max basically hanging off his back. Atlas gives me his hand, and we shake. I tilt my head to look at Max, who smiles at me, then jumps off Atlas and rubs his hands together.
“Alright, Sweetheart, I think I’ll take my reward now.”
“Uh—the deal was you save me. You didn’t save me.”
“The deal was I try .”
“No. Nowhere did we say try . We said save .”
He opens his mouth, then closes it again, frowning as he realizes I’m right. His bottom lip sticks out in a pout, and he crosses his arms over his chest. He tilts his head at me and asks expectantly, “consolation prize?”
“Deal,” I say immediately, wanting to make my happy man smile again. It works as he beams at me.
“What prize do you want, Atlas?” I ask, turning to my giant teddy bear.
We’re interrupted by a phone ringing, grabbing all of our attention as we watch Ben answer.
“Hello?” Ben answers.
“We’ve got eyes on Simon,” Jasper says through the phone. I gasp and cover my mouth. I can’t believe they found him already.
“Okay, let me patch in Dom.”
“Ben?”
“Yep, I got Jasper on the call. He’s got eyes on Simon.”
“Fuck yes! Good job. We’re on our way, no sense in staying here. Jasper, you and Tuck stay there. See if you can spot Helen too, and watch what Simon does. If he leaves, follow him discreetly, but by no means are you to confront him. Remember, we don’t arrest the bad guys—we just find them. I’m gonna hang up now and call the chief. With any luck, he’ll be arrested by the end of the night.”
Everyone hangs up, and Max cheers, scooping me up and spinning me around, before kissing me.
“I can’t believe this is happening so fast!” I tell him.
“I know! Let’s go start making dinner, okay? We need a good meal to celebrate tonight.”
I look at Ben in question.
“I’m gonna stay here and keep the lines open in case something happens,” he tells us, and I nod. Max leads me downstairs, holding my hand in his with Atlas ahead of us.
The three of us pull out ingredients and start chopping and prepping a lasagna with a Caesar salad and garlic bread for everyone.
A little while later, I hear a single beep and look around, wondering what it is. “That’s the security system by the garage door. Not sure why it’s doing that, it’s not the alarm going off. I’ll go check,” Atlas tells us, drying his hands on a towel on the way out.
Max and I continue preparing the meal until we hear a knock at the door. “Who would that be?” I ask.
“I don’t know, I’ll check. You stay here and mix this,” Max tells me, pointing at the salad stuff.
I hear him open the door, and then a muffled noise that sounds like something dropped on the ground.
“Max?” I ask tentatively as a shiver runs up my spine. I quietly move around the counter, straining my neck to see the front door. But the sight makes me gasp with fear. Max is lying on the ground unconscious, with my m— Helen standing over him, holding a gun aimed at me.
I inhale to scream, but she cuts me off. “Make one noise and I will shoot you, then I’ll shoot him. Or come with me right now, and I’ll leave him alone. I didn’t shoot him, just hit him in the head. He’ll be fine if you leave with me right now.”
My body shakes, and my eyes are wide with fear, but I march my ass right up to her because there is no way I’ll let Max get shot by my psychopathic mother.
“Glad to see you actually do as you’re told for once,” she says sharply, grabbing my arm and pressing the gun to my temple as she pushes me to jog with her to her car that’s idling in the drive.
She opens the trunk and motions towards it.
“Get in, one wrong move and I’ll shoot you in the foot.” I do as she says, knowing that she would follow through on her threat. As I climb in, she whacks the gun into the back of my head and when I fall forward onto my stomach, she slams the trunk shut, plunging me into darkness.
I hear the car door shut as the car quickly starts moving.
Dammit, how am I going to get out of here? I roll to my side and try pressing on the lid. Will the guys even know what happened?
Then, a voice cuts through the roar of the car starting to drive away.
“Malishka!!”
“Atlas!” I yell, banging my fists on the lid of the trunk, but I know he won’t hear me over the noise of the engine and I’m pretty sure we’re already on the road. My head throbs, and I touch it, my fingers come away wet. I’m bleeding where she hit me.
I remember reading that all newer cars have a release handle in the trunk so people can’t get locked inside. I feel around the edges of the trunk but can’t find anything, maybe this is an old car, it didn’t look like it was in very good shape .
My vision gets a little blurry, and I can feel myself getting lightheaded. I try to take a deep breath, but I can’t seem to get air. I’m having a panic attack.
No, Not now! I can’t afford to black out. I close my eyes tight and picture my guys. I imagine their faces, how it feels when they hug me, when they sit me in their lap, when they carry me around, when they tell me how much they love me.
Those thoughts allow me to pull in a deep breath of air and slowly, I’m able to push back the panic attack. This is the first time I’ve ever been able to pull one back on my own.
Helen, because I refuse to think of her as my mother anymore, is driving like crazy. She stops sharply, causing me to roll into the back of the seats hard, and when she takes off from a stop, I roll the other way, smacking into the front of the trunk.
I keep feeling around, hoping to find something, but the trunk is empty. I feel around to see what I have on me, and I cry in relief when I realize I’m wearing the watch Ben gave me. Not only is it a GPS tracker, meaning they can find me, but it’s a phone. I press the side button to make the screen light up, press call and touch the first name I see, Atlas .
“Mina?” he answers instantly, in a panic.
“Atlas!” I cry.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the trunk of a car. It was Helen. She hit Max with a gun and threatened to shoot him if I didn’t go with her,” I whisper, my voice catching with fear.
“Don’t worry about Max, he’s okay, he’s just worried about you. You hold on tight. I’m following you now. I’m tracking you. I’m close, and the others aren’t far behind me. ”
“I’m scared, Atlas. I can’t survive her or Simon again.” My voice is trembling so bad I can barely whisper out my worry.
“Baby, I need you to listen to me. You’re going to be okay. No matter what happens, I will always come for you. We will always find you. No matter where you go or how far you are, we will never, ever stop looking for you. You belong to us, with us, and we will stop at nothing to get to you. Now, I’m going to claim my favor you owe from the deal we made earlier. Whatever happens, you will not give up. You will fight as hard as you can to stay alive, safe, and come back to us. You will NOT give up. Do you understand me, Malishka?” His calm, commanding tone helps to stop my frayed edges from unraveling, and I answer quickly.
“Yes.”
“Baby, promise me you will fight to stay alive for me.”
“I promise. I love you, Atlas!” The car stops, and the engine switches off.
“Atlas, we’ve stopped. She’s coming!” I whisper, fear consuming me.
“Okay, don’t let her see your watch, pull your sleeve to cover it, quickly now!” he tells me, and I do as he says, just in time before the trunk opens, and Helen is there, pointing the gun at me again.
“Get out.”
I climb out, trying to keep my distance from her as much as possible.
“That way,” she says, motioning to the side, and I finally look around. We’re parked at the side of the woods, with nothing around, and she motions towards the trees. I don’t even see a trail. She backhands me across the face, making me whimper, then pushes me towards the trees. I stumble, but catch my footing and head that way. I need to stall as much as possible, so I try to move slowly.
If she wanted to kill me, she would have done so already, so I don’t know what she has planned for me. She presses the gun into my back as we walk through the trees. I stumble a little, and she keeps telling me to move faster.
As we trudge along, the sun starts to set, and I take a deep breath, trying to remain calm. Atlas’s words ringing in my head.
No matter what happens, I will always come for you.
He’s coming. They’re all coming. I just have to survive.
After what feels like thirty minutes, we come to a small clearing in the woods, and I gasp at the sight.