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His eyes are wild. His usually rich brown orbs are as dark as the night as he glares at me. His chest continues to heave, and much to my surprise, his hand trembles as much as mine.
I've yet to witness this side of Reid Harris. And I’m unsure if it’s more or less terrifying than any of his other sides.
He’s about to snap. And I have no idea which way it’s going to go.
20
REID
There aren’t many times in my life that I haven’t felt completely in control.
Most of those times have been at the hands of my father.
He always knows how to disarm me. He’s the only one who can see beneath my armor and really hit me where it hurts. It’s one of the reasons why I hate him so much.
He trained me into the soldier I am now. He molded me how he wanted me. Which means he knows exactly how to pull my strings when he wants to.
But I’m quickly learning that he might not be the only one with that magic power. The girl with the blonde hair and haunted blue eyes seems to be able to reach inside me and find the one untainted, soft part of me, squeezing it until I completely lose grip on everything around me.
And that is exactly what happens when her warm hand gently presses against my back.
I act on instinct, my body jumps into action, and before I know what I’ve done, I’m staring into her terrified eyes as my fingers tremble around her throat.
Blood trickles from my palm, dropping onto her chest and running toward her white tank.
She swallows roughly, making her tendons tighten beneath my hold.
My head spins as the words she said in the kitchen continue repeating.
“She was sold, Reid. My father, yours, Mav’s. They’re running—or at least involved in—some kind of human trafficking ring.”
Blind fury grips me in its hold as I fight to grasp control.
If I can’t. If it continues to linger just out of reach, then I don’t know what I might do.
“Reid?” she whispers, her face red with lack of air, her eyes wide.
Up until now, she’s barely shown an ounce of fear. It hasn’t mattered what I’ve done, what I’ve said. She’s held my eyes and kept her head high.
But right now, I can see it all.
I just don’t know if it’s the memories from her past that are putting it there. Or me.
I should release her, find out the answer to that question.
But I can’t.
No matter how much I tell myself to back up, my body doesn’t listen.
If anything, it inches closer.
The lure of her sweetness, the heat of her body. It’s all too much.
My head is too fucked-up with everything she said, with the knowledge that all this time, I’ve been searching for something more. It’s been right under my nose.
Human trafficking. Child abuse.
How could that be happening right under my nose, yet I have no idea?
