Page 39 of Possessive

"I'm not sure if giving his heart to me is something Reuben plans on doing," I said.

She laughed again. "Whether or not he planned it, you already have it. I'm guessing he hasn't said anything, but it's obvious to anyone watching. He's head over heels for you."

She shook her head. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Reuben Brantley madly in love with Mina DiMarco. It's like something out of a romance novel."

Was he madly in love? It seemed like a stretch. Caring about someone and being in love weren't always the same thing.

"Gianni looks at you the same way," Daisy added. "Damon keeps his cards close to his chest, but it wouldn't surprise me if you four ended up like me and my guys."

"They're just protective," I said. "And pissed off at Kurt for stealing from them. That's all it is."

She stared at me in a way that was disturbingly like her brother. "That's not all it is. They care for you very much. I know after what you've been through, you're not ready to rush into anything. I saw that they know that too, or they'd be wearing their balls as necklaces right now. Before I leave, I'll give you my details. If they ever overstep, you're welcome to contact me and I'll fly up and deal with them." She seemed completely sincere.

"Did I mention I killed a woman?" I asked flatly.

She grinned. "So you did. I'm sure you're capable of making them eat their own nuts, but if you need help, I'm here for you. So is Ric. He'd be hating himself right now for what happened to you. We trusted Kurt and his associates and we shouldn't have."

"You should be able to trust your brother," I said. I trusted both of mine, more or less.

Okay, I trusted Asher. Dane tended to look out for his own ass. He used to, anyway. Maybe he'd changed. Maybe he hadn't.

"If Ric hadn't looked into things, I wouldn't be here. I'm grateful to him."

"Still, it's his job to make sure shit like this doesn't happen. Caleb was pissed at him. If there's anything Caleb doesn't like, it's losing money. Reuben doesn't like it either, but Caleb is worse. I think it comes with being the second oldest brother. He always has to prove himself. Or maybe he just has a really small cock." She grinned.

I actually let out a small, choking laugh at that. "I suppose that's possible. I guess I should be grateful to Caleb too, for pushing Ric to keep looking."

"Do yourself a favour and never tell Caleb that," Daisy said. "If he thinks you owe him something, he'll hold that over you. He'll want something in return. Whatever that something is, it's bound to be a thing you don't want to give."

I recoiled. "He wouldn't want?—"

She grimaced. "No, not sex. Who knows what it would be, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to try that with someone Reuben is interested in. He'd be too scared Reuben would take all his power away from him. Which is exactly what Reuben would do. No, Caleb would ask for something else. It's best you don't let him put you in that position. Trust me, I worked for Caleb for years. I see him all the time. He's always got an angle he’s working. And he wants to use everyone around him to his own advantage."

"That doesn't sound different to anyone else in my life," I said. "Everyone wants something." Which led me to wonder what she wanted.

"Ain't that the truth," she said with a laugh. "Some of us just want what's best for you. Including me. I can't even imagine the things you've gone through. Hearing about it was enough to make me want to puke." Her smile had faded to an expression of regret.

"You must be a lot stronger than me, because there's no way I'd survive five minutes down there, much less five years."

"You might have found a way out," I said. I'd tried more times than I could count but failed and eventually gave up. In the end, the only hope I had was for death. Even that seemed like too much to wish for.

Daisy fixed me with a firm look. "If there was a way out of there, you would have found it. I know Kurt, he wouldn't have left even the smallest opportunity. He was always like that. He thought everything through, every scenario, every possibility. That was exactly why he got past us for so long. He's intelligent and meticulous. I'm coming to realise he might be a sociopath. The point is, not being able to get away from him is not a reflection on you or your abilities. You did what so many other people wouldn't be able to do. You survived and walked away. I don't think you have any idea how incredible that really is."

"I just…" I didn't know how to respond to that. All I did was take it one minute at a time. Count the bars around me and the lines on the ceiling. Survive when Kurt came to give me what meagre food he bothered to drop into the cage. Switch off as best I could when he used my body. Was that really so incredible?

"I did what I had to do," I said finally. "I switched off my feelings and focused on breathing and not what was happening around me. I listened to my heartbeat and counted them to calm myself. I took myself out of there, in my head." I curled and flexed the fingers of one hand as I spoke.

Daisy gave me a searching look, but nodded. "See what I mean? You're stronger than you think you are. Switching off the world around you and focusing on one thing is difficult to do without practice."

In that moment, I felt like she could see right through me. Like she fully understood me and all my darkest secrets.

I lifted my chin. That was all. Not a word of warning, no threats. Just a short, silent motion.

She lowered hers. She understood and wouldn't say anything to anyone. This was between us and us alone.

"My friends call me Daze." She held out a hand to me.

I took it without hesitation and squeezed before letting it go again. "Mine used to call me Mina Sunshine, but now I'm just Mina." I used to go by another name, but we wouldn't talk about that. Not now. Maybe not ever.