Page 61 of Lethal Attraction

My whole frame tenses. Something unpleasant and nasty grips my psyche as my breathing picks up. For some fucking reason, the bitter words my mother always drilled into me circle my mind as I get lost in a day terror I haven’t had in years.

“Did you really think he cared about you?” My mother crooned over me as I knelt in the grass outside our home, my heart shattered and ripped from my chest, and my whole body shaking with my sobs.

Everything melted together—the dirt beneath me, the sounds escaping unbidden past my lips, and the shattering of everything I thought I knew twinkling around me like shards of glass. My fingers dug into the earth, ripping the soil up as the pain pierced me so deep I knew I wouldn’t recover.

“Oh, stop your fucking crying,” she bit with venom. “You knew better than to trust another soul, much less a man, Thalia. Maybe now you’ll understand what I was saying all along.” She crouched down, making me recoil before she snatched my hair tightly, causing pain to lick across my scalp. “You’re nothing more than a pretty face to them.”

A hand covers mine over the steering wheel, ripping me violently from the horror of that night. Reed’s thumb brushes over my knuckle tenderly as my heart slams so loud I can hear my pulse racing in my ears. I focus on his appendage, letting the fear leech from me as an unsettling calm fills the car.

“Just breathe,” he coos. “You’re okay. I’m here.”

He has no idea what just happened to me, or maybe he does since he’s a professional, but he’s comforting me after everything I’ve done tonight. And I hate to admit it, but it’s working. His presence, his calming demeanor, his voice. It makes all the noise quiet until I can finally speak without tripping over my words.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Don’t apologize,” he says. “We all have our moments—”

“No,” I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry for everything tonight. I’m…I’m not used to having anyone there for me besides my brothers and Alana. This is hard for me.”

He hums thoughtfully, still offering me a comforting touch. “And what would make it easier?”

I shrug, shaking my head. “I don’t know!”

“Okay,” he nods. “I can work with that. Pull over.”

“What?”

“Pull over, Thalia.” He orders like he’s handling something fragile as he guides my hands to the shoulder of the road.

Chapter sixteen

Thalia

Idon’t know why, but my heart drops. I grab his wrist, my whole being locking with the fear of him leaving.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he says quickly. “We’re switching seats.”

“Why?” I ask, my voice wavering as I finally slow to a stop with relief sweeping over me.

He isn’t leaving.

Calm down.

He takes his seatbelt off before opening his door and walking around the hood with long strides. Cars pass on the main road, and he waits until there’s a break in traffic before opening my door and taking my hand in his.

“Let me take care of you,” he says softly.

The words hit harder than they should, causing heat to spread across the back of my neck. My pulse flutters wildly as I allow him to take control. The whole time he guides me to the passenger side, a mantra plays in my head.

He’s safe.

He isn’t them.

He’s Reed.

He’s gentle with me as he helps me ease down into the seat and buckles the seatbelt across my chest. I watch him the whole time, spellbound by how someone as big and burly as him could be so delicate. It feeds my delusions, of course. The darker side of me is outright fucking kicking her feet and giggling.

Once he’s content with his work, he shuts the door and rounds the hood before settling next to me. He gives me a small smile, but there’s so much meaning behind it that it feels profound.