Page 42 of Shattered Silence Duet

The strange thing was, I was pretty sure all seven of us were feeling it, and I wasn’t sure how to bring it up to them yet.

“This all paints a good picture for it being Helen. But we need actual evidence besides fake IDs,” Dom says, bringing my mind back to our current conversation.

I realize that nobody is even considering the fact that the killer could be Mina anymore. She’s too young for the earlier murders,but she could be helping in some way, except we just know… she isn’t.

“What’s Helen’s connection to the victims being high school girls? Why them? They’re being sexually assaulted—she must have a motive for doing that,” Tucker asks as he paces the room.

“Maybe she was assaulted when she was young?” Jasper asks.

“Maybe. Or someone close to her was, and she takes it out on others,” Gideon suggests.

I feel the air thicken as we realize the teenage girl who is closest to her.

“You think Mina was assaulted, so her mom is taking it out on others?” Max asks with obvious worry in his voice.

“It would explain why she is so overprotective of Mina,” Gideon adds. “Why she doesn’t want her talking to boys and why she wants her to stay under the radar.”

“Fuck,” Jasper says, running his hands through his hair as he paces back and forth. Fuck indeed. The thought of someone having assaulted her as a child made me sick to my stomach. I hate to admit the theory does explain her demeanor.

“No, it doesn’t fit,” Tucker adds firmly, and we all turn to him. “First of all, there’s the fact that most of the victims were reported to be dating a male in college. And secondly, if Helen was the killer, and wanted people to pay for something that happened to Mina, she wouldn’t target girls who look like her.”

I consider that. “You’re right. I suppose there could be a male helping Helen do the murders, but their target wouldn’t be girls who look like Mina. It’s more likely that they are running from someone who is targeting Mina.”

“A stalker,” Dom adds.

Everyone is silent as we consider the possible theories. The stalker one makes a lot more sense than it being Helen. But it means, either way, that Mina is in a lot of danger.

“But why wouldn’t Helen move again, now there have been several reported murders in town?” Ben asks, staring at her fake IDs.

“It might not be that easy to up and move, maybe she’s already in the process of getting new IDs and a place to live,” Gideon suggests with a frown.

“I still don’t know why she’s enrolled Mina in school now, but never before,” Max says.

“We don’t know that for a fact, she might have been in school before and we just can’t find the evidence,” Ben points out.

“I don’t like any of these options,” I mutter, crossing my arms in frustration. “They all point to Mina being at the center of this whole thing, whether she knows it or not.”

“Me either,” Dom adds. “Our only option is to keep her close.”

Chapter 28

Mina

Istare at him in shock and fear. I can’t believe he’s here. I haven’t seen Simon for months and was hoping he didn’t know where we’d moved to. I’ve never wanted anyone in this world to forget me as much as I wish he would. Somehow, in all my thoughts about escaping my mother, I didn’t think about what Simon would do if he found out I ran away.

He smiles at me manically as he steps towards me. “There’s my little pet! It’s been a while, I’ve missed you,” he says with a huge grin, his familiar pale blue eyes sparkling with humor. I wish we didn’t look so much alike, then I could pretend we weren’t related. I don’t want to believe I’m anything like him. We have the same brown wavy hair, only his is cut short. He’s a fair bit taller than my five-foot-three frame and looks thinner than the last time I saw him.

“Don’t you have anything to say to your big brother?” he asks, smirking at me. He knows damn well I don’t talk. Not since the day he sat back and watched my mother try to drown me in bleach.

“Come give me a hug, pet.” I hate that name. He’s been calling me that since my earliest memories. But worse than the name is the revulsion of touching him. I don’t want to hug him, I don’t want to goanywhere near him.

My hands shake as I try to take deep breaths. I learned long ago to keep my panic attacks under control around him. After regaining consciousness from a panic attack with him touching me, I vowed to always keep my guard up when he was in the house.

I stand there, staring at him with fear lodged in my heart, afraid to move. Past experiences have told me he’s more likely to grow tired of me if I don’t react. When I was younger and would resist or scream or try to get away, it always spurred him on more and resulted in more… touching. In the end, I learned to just let him do what he wanted, and he’d be gone quicker. But dammit if I don’t hate it.

“No? No hug for me today?” he asks, sounding both disappointed and amused as he pouts his lips at me. “I bet you’ll want to hug me after I tell you the good news!”Good news?Nothing he has to say would be good news for me, I was sure of it.

“Mom said you can stay with me tonight in the room upstairs, for the whole night!”