Page 91 of Shattered Silence Duet

“Yeah, I’ve got everyone on the call. There’s more movement—her mom just left. She got in her car and drove off by herself, she was moving quickly like she had to get somewhere important.”

“Fuck, I’m going in there,” I say with a growl. They all start talking at once as we pull onto her street. My phone buzzes in my pocket, so I pull it out. My eyes widen when I see her name.

“Quiet! Mina’s calling me!” I yell, and everyone shuts up instantly. I quickly answer and put it on speaker phone.

“Malishka?”

The heart-wrenching sound of her heavy sobs shatters me.

“What is it? Are you okay? Tap for me, Malishka,” I beg, praying she’s okay. But my worry only grows when she coughs, and it sounds like she’s struggling to breathe.

That’s when I hear the most heartbreaking and beautiful voice in the world.

“Help.”

Holy fuck! She spoke!

It’s barely a whisper, but the desperation I hear instantly makes my eyes grow blurry as I rub away the moisture there. We’ve never heard her speak before, we didn’t even think she could. It must have taken great effort for her to say that one word after not speaking for so long. What’s happening to her right now to make her speak? Is Jeff hurting her?

“Are you in danger?” I ask frantically. There’s no response, no noise at all.

“Malishka?” I glance at Tucker, who looks as horrified as I feel.

“Did you guys hear all of that?” Tucker asks.

“We’re going in,” Dom says instantly, not missing a beat. “Tucker and Atlas, you’re with me through the front door. Jasper, Gideon, and Max, you come in through the back. Ben, you stay in the car and watch for any movement. Make your best judgment on what to do.”

Pulling up in front of her house, I switch the engine off and quickly jump out, running to the door with Dom and Tucker on my heels.

“Do we knock?” Tucker asks as we approach the door, but I don’t hesitate. I try the handle and find it unlocked. I throw it open and we rush inside. Since I’ve been here once before, when Dom and I posed as repairmen for the electrical company, I’m familiar with the main floor layout. The kitchen is to our right, so I quickly move through it, towards the living room. As we enter, a man jumps up from the couch, staring at us in shock.

“Who the fuck are you?!” he yells.

“Where’s Mina?” I growl, my fists tightening at my sides.

“Who?” he asks, looking confused. I know he’s lying, we’ve seen her enter this house numerous times.

“The young girl who lives here. Where is she?” I step toward him, and his eyes widen in fear. I move quickly, giving him a right hook across his jaw, and he collapses instantly.

“Fuck, I must have hit him too hard,” I swear, staring down at his body.

“Tuck, you watch him—” A bang from further in the house interrupts Dom, and we brace for a fight, but relax a bit when the twins and Gideon enter, having come in from the back door.

“You three go up. Tucker, you watch him, Atlas and I will go down,” Dom tells them, and they take off up the stairs as we round the corner to the basement door. Dom grabs the handle, but the door doesn’t budge. It’s locked.

“Why would they lock this?” Dom asks, and the horriblefeeling in my chest intensifies. I glance around and miraculously spot a key sitting on the edge of the kitchen counter.

“Here!” I yell, quickly grabbing the key and passing it to him. “Try this.” As soon as he places it in the lock and turns it, we hear the click of it disengaging, and a small amount of relief fills me. Dom wastes no time throwing the door open as we rush down the stairs.

“No!” Dom yells a second before I lay my eyes on her.

She’s lying on the cold cement floor, blood covering her everywhere.

“Mina!” I roar in fear as we rush to her. Her skirt’s been torn off, and her panties barely cover her. My fingers hover around a knife embedded in her shoulder, wanting to remove it but not sure I should in case she bleeds out. I’m surprised she hasn’t yet, considering there’s so much blood and it’severywhere.

I try to assess her, but I don’t know where to look first. Her legs are covered in blood from what looks like multiple cuts, and large amounts of blood covers her shoulders and stomach, making me think she’s been stabbed multiple times.

“Fuck, is she still alive?” I ask, as I desperately watch for her chest rise.