Loving Vin (Barretti Security Series, #1) (3 page)

Vin sighed and returned to his seat. “You did the right thing, Dom,” he said with a sigh and began picking at the food again. And it was true. He couldn’t have imagined how he would have done anything different for the girl and they owed her everything – she’d saved not only the lives of Riley and Eli, but the countless lives of Sam’s future victims. “I’m sorry for coming down on you so hard – it’s been a rough few days,” he said.

“Unfortunately there’s more,” Dom said on a sigh. “We think Sam had help,” he said.

Vin stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“He wasn’t smart enough to pull all this off alone. Hiding his identity for so long,” Dom explained, then hesitated. “And the collars...”

“Collars? There was more than one?” Vin asked.

“Most of the bodies the cops found had the same type of collar that Mia did. They were shock collars like you thought and they were linked to an invisible fence around the property. But they had a modification that the cops don’t think Sam would have had the knowledge and skill to make.”

“What kind of modification?” Vin asked warily.

“They were modified to include a small charge-”

Vin reared back and shook his head as he realized what Dom was saying.

“Forensics said the charge in the collar could be activated by a remote trigger like a cell phone or if the collar crossed the invisible fence or was removed.”

Vin stood up so fast his chair nearly fell over. He managed to catch it before it fell on the kittens that had fallen asleep near his feet.

“Fuck!” he yelled. “I took the collar off of Mia without thinking-” he said in shock. “Jesus Fucking Christ!” he shouted as he moved around the kitchen. His oversight could have killed her – blown a hole in her neck that would have taken her life instantly. Nausea swept through him as he grabbed the edge of the counter for support.

Dom stood and grabbed him by the arm. “The charge in Mia’s collar was a dud. Whoever built it missed something. If it had been working, it would have been triggered when she crossed the fence between the house and the shed. She would have felt warning shocks though as she got closer to the perimeter. We don’t know if she knew about the charge.”

“I knew.”

All three men whipped their heads around at the sound of Mia’s soft voice. She stood in the entryway to the kitchen, the ever present Bane pressed against her leg. Vin noticed her hair was damp and she was wearing the yellow dress he’d first seen her in. He would have thought someone would have had the sense to burn the thing instead of just laundering it, but apparently not.

Dom and Logan were both staring at her in stunned silence, clearly shocked that she’d not only appeared out of nowhere, but had spoken as if she’d been doing it from day one.

“If you knew, why did you cross the fence to get to the shed?” Vin asked.

Mia studied him for a moment, then stepped forward and handed him a piece of paper. “Would you please give this to Riley? I wrote some notes about each of the animals – it might help when it’s time to find them permanent homes.”

He took the note from her and watched as she turned and left the room. Bane and Briego followed her and Vin glanced at Dom. Before he could say anything, he heard the front door open and close, then the dogs were whining and he could tell they were scratching at the door.

“Shit,” Vin muttered as he left Dom and Logan and hurried after Mia. Bane and Briego were standing by the door anxiously and the second he threw it open, they darted after Mia as she walked determinedly down the driveway towards the front gate. It took him only seconds to catch up to her, but when he grabbed her arm to stop her, she ripped out of his grasp and raised her fisted hands defensively.

“I just want to talk,” he said as he took a step back and lifted his hands, palms open so she could see he was no threat to her.

She closed her eyes as if trying to get control of her reaction. He used the opportunity to study her and was alarmed by the surge of desire that went through him. The T-shirt she’d been wearing last night had hidden her figure, including shapely hips and full breasts. Once she gained a little more weight, he suspected men would be drooling over her curves. He felt a flash of jealousy go through him, but pushed it away and focused on her face.

Full, pink lips with the upper lip just a little more plump then the lower one. Pale, but flawless skin. A small, pert nose and softly arched brows. Her hair was insanely long and looked soft, though the stark contrast from auburn to black was odd. The fiery red tint to her hair was definitely more suited to her. When she finally opened her eyes, he felt a stab go through his chest at how truly remarkable they were. From a distance, her eyes might pass as brown, but up close they were a combination of brown and gold with a circle of dark brown along the outer edge. Near the pupil, the brown mixed with copper to create a striking shade of amber unlike any he’d ever seen.

He realized he was staring at her and shook free the completely inappropriate attraction he was feeling towards her. Not only was she way too young for him, he was absolutely not in the market for any woman, let alone one as damaged as she had to be considering the hell she’d lived through. She’d remained silent through his perusal and her expression was blank so he had no clue if she was even aware of the lustful feelings that were even now causing his cock to harden painfully behind his pants.

“Where are you going?” he finally managed to ask. She didn’t respond and he felt a flash of annoyance. “It’s not safe for you out there.”

She actually rolled her beautiful eyes at him, then turned and began walking again. He didn’t try to stop her this time, just fell in step beside her.

“Fine, you don’t want to talk to me, you can listen,” he muttered. “Truth is, I don’t want you here anymore than you probably want to be here,” he admitted.

No response.

“But I suspect you don’t have a lot of options,” he said.

Still nothing.

“You have money? A change of clothes? ID?”

She just kept walking.

“Dom said that a reporter managed to get your picture – hundred bucks says it’s been plastered all over the news. How long do you think you’ll last out there before the reporters find you? Or the cops? Or the psycho who helped your father kill all those women?”

He was satisfied when he saw her eyes narrow in anger. It was preferable to the utter lack of emotion. He took a risk and grabbed her arm again.

“Why’d you cross that fence?” he asked.

She didn’t fight his hold and he struggled to ignore the flash of electricity that surged under his skin where his fingers pressed into her upper arm. Her steps slowed and then those eyes were grabbing his, holding him.

“I didn’t hear them in the shed until after I crossed the fence,” she whispered.

“You mean Riley and Eli,” he responded. She nodded. It finally dawned on him what she was saying and before he realized what he was doing, he was drawing her closer. He needed her to admit what he already knew to be true, though he wasn’t sure why it mattered. “Tell me why you crossed the fence.”

She pulled her gaze from his and looked past him towards the gate at the end of the driveway. He still had a hold of her arm and felt a tremor go through her.

“I wanted it to go off,” she finally said quietly, her tone even and firm.

“Why?”

“Because I knew it was the only way I’d ever get away from him.”

“And after? The hospital? You refused food, water,” he reminded her. She shrugged and finally pulled free of him, but he was pleased that she didn’t start walking again. Her hand went up to her throat and she began stroking the scar absentmindedly. “Give us time to figure some stuff out,” he said. “To help you figure some stuff out,” he corrected.

He knew his choice of words were the right ones when she glanced up at him. She needed whatever happened to her to be her decision. He suspected she hadn’t been able to make her own choices in quite a while, if ever.

“At least give me time to try and win back my dogs’ affection,” he joked as he glanced down at the dogs that were once again pressed up against her.

He saw a ghost of a smile pass over her lips and he wanted to shout out in victory. It made no sense why it should matter to him, but it did.

M
ia clasped her hands in her lap as Dom eased around her and deposited a plate in front of her. Upon her return to the kitchen with Vin, the other men were cleaning up their dishes and Dom had immediately asked if she’d eaten. A shake of the head had resulted in the huge omelet now sitting in front of her and three large men trying to pretend they were unconcerned with whether or not she ate it. She forced in a deep breath to calm her raging nerves and reached for her fork. Vin was still working on his own breakfast when Dom returned to the seat across from her, his hand intertwining with Logan’s. Being around two men who were clearly together was new to her, but the way they spoke to each other with silent looks and intimate gestures brought her an odd sense of comfort.

“Damn it,” she heard Vin mutter next to her and then he was standing and pulling the kittens that had been playing at his feet off the floor. He dropped one in her lap, handed the other to Logan and kept the third on his own lap as he returned to her seat. She hid a smile as she took a small bite of the food. It was delicious, but she was careful to eat slowly since her stomach still wasn’t used to so much food at one time.

“Mia, can we ask you some questions?” Dom asked.

She really wanted to say no, but knew that she was well beyond the point where she could deflect this conversation much longer. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed help rebuilding her life and for whatever reason, these men seemed to want to help her to do that. She nodded.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-one,” she said.

Vin stiffened next to her, though she wasn’t sure why.

“Were you in school?” This from Logan.

She dropped her eyes and forced another bite of food down. “I finished two years of college before...” she said, then hesitated, not sure how to finish the thought. So she hedged and said, “I hadn’t picked a major.”

“Before what?” Vin asked.

It figured the man wouldn’t let that part of her statement just slide by. This was why she never should have spoken when she’d come down earlier and heard them talking about her and what had happened that day.

“You finished two years of college before...” Vin said. When she didn’t answer, Vin leaned back in his chair and studied her with those dark, knowing eyes. His perusal had a strange, warm sensation pooling low in her stomach. “Before your father made you a prisoner?” Vin finally finished for her.

That warm feeling dissipated and turned into sour humiliation and she put her fork down, afraid she’d embarrass herself physically if she tried to eat anything else.

“Can you tell us what your life was like growing up with him?” Logan asked gently.

She forced herself to focus on him as she spoke, the kindness in his light blue eyes comforting. “I didn’t see much of him when I was little,” she began. “My mother and I lived in a small house just outside Portland and he traveled a lot for work. He’d be gone for weeks at a time and when he did come home it wasn’t for more than a few days.”

The kitten in her lap shifted and she automatically put her hands on its small, warm body. It arched up against her fingers and she smiled softly as its rough tongue ran over her skin. She wasn’t sure how long she sat there like that for, but a quick glance up showed three sets of eyes on her and she stiffened.

“But then he lost his job and he was home all the time. He inherited the house in Summer Hill when I was fifteen and then he started working in Seattle so we moved and it was just me and Mom again most of the time.”

“When did he start abusing you?”

***

V
in watched Mia tense at his question. He’d been prepared to just listen to her story, but when she’d deliberately left out any details about how her father had treated her, he’d felt the need to force the issue. Anger flashed across her features and he saw her walls go up a second later. Her voice was flat and emotionless as she continued.

“My mother got sick while I was still in high school and by my sophomore year in college she was bedridden so I cut my class load to just a couple of classes a week so I could take care of her. I came home one day and found her dead in her bed. My father knew I had only stayed for her so he locked me in my room. He put the collar on me and showed me what would happen if I tried to leave the property.”

“How did he show you?” Dom asked warily.

“He demonstrated how the collar worked using a stray cat that used to hang out around our house.”

“You had restraint marks on your wrists and ankles when we found you,” Vin pointed out.

Her cold eyes fell on him. “He had chains set up in different rooms so I could still do chores. If I did something that really pissed him off, he’d lock me in a closet with my hands tied behind my back.”

Vin watched with growing concern as Mia easily rattled off the torture that had been inflicted upon her. She may as well have been reading off a grocery list for all the emotion she showed. The only hint that she wasn’t completely unaffected was the way her hands reflexively opened and closed over the small, furry body in her lap. She seemed to catch herself every few seconds as her hands tightened on the kitten and stopped herself before the animal noticed.

“Mia, did you ever hear anything unusual? See evidence...” Dom began awkwardly.

“That he was a rapist and a murderer?” she asked acidly, her eyes pinning Dom. “No.”

Vin knew she was on the verge of shutting down completely. “Why didn’t you speak in the hospital? Or to Dom or the cops?”

“Speaking never did me much good in the past so what would have been the point?” was all she said before standing. Vin handed her the kitten from his lap as she passed and Logan did the same. He watched her walk out of the kitchen and sighed in relief when he heard the dogs clicking their way up the stairs after her – at least she wasn’t running again. Not at the moment anyway.