Loving Vin (Barretti Security Series, #1) (2 page)

Vin left his bedroom and walked down the hall to Mia’s room – no, not Mia’s room. His room. They were all his rooms, he reminded himself. At some point Briego had ditched him but since he’d closed the door to his bedroom, he knew the dog had had help. He wasn’t sure if it bothered him more that Mia had felt comfortable enough in his home to open the door to his private sanctuary or that he hadn’t even fucking heard the door open or felt his dog leave his side. As a former SEAL, his life had depended on his ability to respond instantly to any danger and sheer exhaustion wasn’t an excuse to ignore that training, especially when there was a virtual stranger living in his house.

The bedroom Mia was using was empty when he entered. The first thing he noticed was there was no door. He’d been all prepared to play the polite – albeit temporary – host and knock before entering, but not only was the door open, it was completely gone. Removed from the hinges. The door that led to the private bathroom was also gone, as was the one for the walk-in closet. He stepped into the bathroom and studied the dual mirrors over the his and her sinks. Both were covered with large towels. Confused, he left the bathroom, intent on finding his unwelcome guest and calling Dom.

“Asshole!”

Vin nearly jumped at the high pitched shriek coming from the other side of the room. His eyes widened at what he saw – a huge white bird with dark, beady eyes watching him from a perch in the corner of the room.

“Asshole!” it screeched at him again as it shifted anxiously from one foot to another.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Vin whispered as he approached the bird. It stilled as he neared it, then flapped its wings and said “Asshole,” again, more quietly this time. Vin could tell there was something wrong with one of its wings because it didn’t open as far as the other when the bird stretched them. A bird cage sat in the other corner of the room.

The bird fell silent and watched him warily. Vin shook his head and then turned his attention to the phone in his hand. He hit the speed dial and moved to the window overlooking the backyard.

“Hello?” he heard a sleepy voice say and Vin recognized it as Logan, Dom’s lover.

“Put my asshole brother on the phone!” Vin said.

“Asshole!” the bird shouted again.

“Vin?” Logan asked and then he heard shuffling, presumably as Logan tried to wake Dom up.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he said tiredly. He heard Logan say Dom’s name, but before he could say anything he felt sharp claws dig into his calf.

“What the-” he shouted as he looked down and saw a kitten clinging to his lower leg.

“Vin?” he heard Dom say into his ear.

The kitten started crawling up his leg, its sharp claws digging into his skin. Two more kittens were playing with the frayed fabric on the hem of his pants leg. Vin grabbed the kitten hanging onto his thigh and carefully pulled it free and cradled it against his chest.

“Vin? Are you there?”

“Get your fucking ass over here right now!” Vin yelled into Dom’s ear as the kitten dug its claws into his chest.

“Asshole!” the bird shouted.

“Shit,” Dom said. “Are you home?” he asked warily.

“Yes! Now climb off your boyfriend and get your ass over here!”

“Vin, I texted you to call me before you went home,” Dom began lamely.

Another kitten began climbing his leg and Vin winced. “Sorry Dom, as soon as I get the cat that’s climbing me like a tree off, I’ll call up the phone guys and tell them to make a phone that will survive a fall down the side of a mountain as terrorists are firing their AK-47s at my ass!”

The second kitten made it to his thigh and he tucked the phone against his shoulder so he could grab it too and hold it next to its brother or sister against his chest.

“A lot’s happened, Vin,” Dom began.

Vin stared in stunned silence at the sight just outside the window. He ignored the third kitten that was precariously close to his groin and snapped into the phone, “You’ve got a whole lot to explain Dom, and it better start with why there’s a fucking pig running around my backyard!”

M
ia Hamilton took in a long, deep breath as the smell of damp earth and wet grass greeted her as she stretched her body out and stared at the clouds above her. She felt Bane drop his head against her abdomen and she automatically reached out to stroke him. Briego was following Georgie around the yard, but she knew the dog wouldn’t hurt the little pot-bellied pig. The dog seemed to have taken it upon himself to act as bodyguard for the black and white pig and rarely let the animal out of his sight as Georgie explored the expansive backyard. She often wondered if whatever breed of dog Briego and Bane were included some type of herding gene because Briego always hustled Georgie back if he strayed too far.

She sighed as Bane shifted against her and lifted his head for a moment before dropping it back down on her stomach. She knew she would miss the animals most when it was time for her to leave and after the chilly reception she’d received last night, she had no doubt that time would be here soon. Not that it would have mattered – there was no way she could stay in this house any longer now that its owner was back. It was a shame too, because for the first time in a long time she finally felt safe.

Water seeped into her hair and through the back of her shirt, but she didn’t move. There’d been so many days that she dreamed of this – of being outside. Even now she spent more time outdoors then she did inside even though the cold, rainy March weather usually left her shivering by the time she forced herself back into the house. As big and beautiful as the place was, it would never give her the same feeling of exhilaration as when she was outside. And now that the big, good-looking homeowner was back, the place would once again become like a prison if she let it.

His name was Vin – that much she remembered from her interactions with Dom and the man she assumed was his partner, Logan. Last night it had taken Vin much longer to recognize her than it had for her to realize who he was. As much as she wished she could forget the day she killed her father, it was etched forever in her brain, as was the man who’d forced her to give up the weapon she’d used to end the life that had made hers a living hell.

She hadn’t known when she’d bashed her father’s skull in that he was a serial rapist and murderer, but it hadn’t surprised her. What had surprised her was finding two innocent people tied up in his shed. A woman had been unconscious on the ground, a teenage boy next to her yelling at her father to leave them alone. She’d heard a young woman’s voice on the phone begging and pleading with her father not to hurt them and something inside Mia had snapped and the terror she’d been holding at bay from the moment she escaped her room drifted away.

She wasn’t even sure where she’d found the metal pipe that had ended up in her hand or where she got the strength to crack open her father’s head with it. He’d managed to say her name once and the sound of sheer surprise in his voice had removed any doubt she’d had as she brought the pipe down over and over on his twisted, cruel features. The satisfaction at seeing the shock in his eyes the second before he realized that she would be the one to end his life had been like a balm to her soul. She wasn’t sure what that said about her – that beating him to death had come so easy to her and even now she didn’t regret her decision for even a second. But any relief his death had brought had turned out to be short-lived as the true nature of his depravity came to light. If she had just found the strength to do what she’d done years earlier, who knows how many women would still be alive – how many families would still have their loved ones? But she was the same thing then that she was now. A coward.

***

“A
pig, Dom – a fucking pig!” Vin muttered, stepping over one of the kittens as he filled his mug with his third cup of coffee.

“I think it’s technically a pot-bellied pig,” Logan offered as he shoveled the omelet Dom had prepared for him into his mouth. Vin sent him a dark look.

Dom and Logan had arrived only a few minutes earlier and Dom had seen to feeding his lover before doing anything else. It helped that at least Vin’s omelet was up next.

“Riley said his name was Georgie,” Dom said as he dumped the finished omelet on Vin’s plate and set it down at the kitchen table. Vin took a bite, then cursed when he felt tell-tale sharp claws digging into his leg. He reached under the table and pulled the kitten off his calf and deposited it in his lap and stroked it in hopes that his touch would settle the animal down. He was rewarded with a slap of a paw followed by razor sharp teeth closing over his thumb.

“I don’t care what its name is. I want to know what it’s doing here. What they’re all doing here,” he said, motioning to the two kittens that were playing with Logan’s shoestrings.

“We thought Mia might like to foster a few of the animals from the rescue group that Riley volunteers for,” Logan said.

Dom sat down next to Logan and gave him a brief kiss before he began working on his own breakfast.

“Where is Mia?” Dom asked.

He’d checked the security cameras a few minutes earlier and had seen her laying on her back in the grass. “Backyard,” Vin snapped. “Start talking Dom.”

Dom sighed. “After you left the hospital that night, Mia was admitted to treat the infection from the collar.”

Rage went through Vin as he remembered discovering the cruel torture device he’d had to cut off of her.

“The fever broke the next day and she finally woke up. But she wouldn’t eat or drink. She wouldn’t talk – we’re not even sure she can,” Dom said sadly.

“She can,” Vin said.

“She spoke to you?” Logan asked. Vin nodded.

Dom leaned forward and asked, “What did she say?”

“She told me not to shoot my dog,” Vin said with grim amusement. “Not in so many words though.”

“Shoot your dog?” Logan asked in confusion.

“Long story. Continue,” he said to Dom.

“Police showed up to question her, but she wouldn’t speak to them. Doctors had to insert a feeding tube but she pulled it out.” Dom’s voice dropped off.

Vin stiffened at what his brother wasn’t saying. “Did they restrain her again?” he asked with a snarl. He’d made Dom promise to not let the staff at the hospital use restraints on her like they had the first night she’d arrived at the hospital.

Dom shook his head sadly. “They didn’t have a choice. Even with sedation she still fought everything they did to her.”

The food in Vin’s mouth suddenly felt sour and he had to force himself to swallow. He dropped the fork to the plate and then carefully put the kitten that was in his lap back on the floor. Agitation went through him as he remembered the sight of Mia tied to the hospital bed that night. He’d released her himself and had nearly come to blows with the staff who tried to intervene. Only Dom stepping in had kept the situation from escalating further. Vin stood and moved around the kitchen, too wound up to sit any longer.

“Keep going,” was all he said.

“They moved her to the psych ward.”

Vin muttered a harsh curse and saw Logan grab Dom’s hand. He could see that his brother felt guilty for what had transpired with the young woman and he sighed as he realized he was being a prick. Dom would have protected Mia with everything he had – if she’d been restrained and sedated, it was clearly something that had been necessary to save her life.

“Did Reynolds turn out to be her father?”

“Yes,” Dom said.

Police had taken Mia’s blood the night of the killing to test it so they could find out if Sam Reynolds – aka Cyrus Hamilton – really was Mia’s father as they’d suspected. Vin had hoped it wasn’t true, but the cops had found evidence that Mia had been with Sam for many years, well into her adulthood, so it wasn’t a complete surprise to learn they shared blood.

“Her mother?” Vin asked.

“No idea – there weren’t any signs of anyone else living in the house,” Logan interjected.

“How long was she in the hospital?”

Dom sighed. “A month.”

“How did she end up here?”

“The case made international headlines after they started digging up the bodies,” Dom began.

“How many?” Vin asked.

“Twelve.”

“Jesus,” Vin whispered as he ran his hand through his hair.

“The press were all over the place – they followed us,” Dom said as he motioned to himself and Logan. “Riley, Savannah and Eli too. One reporter even snuck into the psych ward to take pictures of Mia and try to talk to her.”

Vin gnashed his teeth in frustration.

Logan picked up where Dom left off. “Dom went to see her a couple times, but she wouldn’t talk to him. But after the reporter showed up, he knew she wasn’t safe there.”

“So you brought her here?” Vin finished.

“Vin, I had no choice. She was dying in that place, but I knew she’d never make it on her own with the press watching her every move, harassing her. There’s speculation that she knew what her father was doing all these years – that she protected him.”

“That’s complete bullshit,” Vin nearly yelled.

“She wasn’t comfortable around me or Logan. There was no one else. I told her she’d be safe here. The press never connected you with the case so we knew they’d give up pretty fast when they realized you weren’t even in the country. Your place is a fucking fortress between your security system and the dogs so we figured as long as she stayed on the property, the press wouldn’t get wind that she was here.”

“She agreed to this?” Vin wondered.

“She didn’t disagree. We’ve kept our distance, but Kayla agreed to play intermediary for us and bring her food and check in on her. She was the one who told us how well Mia was doing with Bane and Briego so we came up with the idea to have her foster some animals for the rescue group Riley volunteers for in the hopes it would draw Mia out...get her to be more comfortable with us.”

“And is she?”

“No,” Logan said. “But she looks a whole hell of a lot better than she did two months ago so we must be doing something right.”

Vin didn’t miss the growing anger in Logan’s voice and he knew the younger man was tired of Dom needing to try to justify the decisions he’d made.