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The fog cleared from her head, and she looked up, locking with those baby blues. “How is what possible?”
“I shouldn’t be this hard after we just…”
She cupped his face. “Nothing is normal when it comes to us,” she said just before his mouth descended and made her forget her own name.
Desire spiraled into her, but they were in the middle of an important conversation. He was finally opening up to her, telling her his secrets that he had held closely for so long. She wasn’t going to let him distract her with sex, no matter how good the sex was.
She reached deep, finding the strength to place her hand on his chest and hold him at bay.
“Tell me more about your past.”
Chapter 20
His lips parted, but he didn’t speak. He’d been guarding the information for so long, shoving it down deep, refusing to let it surface, that it took several attempts to let the words flow freely.
He sat on the edge of the bed and took a deep breath, preparing to let Allison in to a life he’d tried to bury for so long.
“I joined the force as soon as I could. I was twenty-one when I got my badge. Within a few months, I was working to take down the mob. Particularly my father. He foolishly thought I joined so he would have someone on the inside.”
“Why did you join? I mean, why were you so determined to end your father’s reign? Did you not have a good relationship?”
“That’s the thing. We did. He was there for me when my mom died. Comforted me, raised me, made me want for nothing. He was front row at my high school graduation. He bought me a brand new Mustang for my first car and taught me how to drive.”
“Then what changed?”
“I found out what he did. Who he really was.” Silence spread between them, and Reid inhaled, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “Remember how I told you my mom was killed in a botched robbery?”
“Yes.”
“I found out it was meant to look like a botched robbery. It was really a hit put out by my pops.”
Allison gasped, her hand landing squarely over her lips.
“See, Mom had been Pop’s mistress for years, but he had another wife. Still, Mom was loyal… until she wasn’t. Pops kept swearing he’d leave his wife even more so after I was born, but when the promises continued unfulfilled, Mom’s loyalty started to waiver. She began seeing someone else. That someone else just happened to be a rival of Pops. And she started talking. Sharing insight and all that. My pops killed my mother in cold blood while she was walking home from the grocery store. He might not have pulled the damn trigger, but her death is on his hands.”
“How old were you when you found out the truth?”
“Nineteen.”
“I’m sorry, Reid.”
“It’s the past.”
“Just because it was the past doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt like hell.” She took his hand and squeezed, and the gentle gesture shot heat to his heart, melting the ice that had been there for so long. “What happened to you after your mom was killed?”
“Dad took me in. His wife couldn’t have children, so she was happy to step in as my stepmother. She raised me, acted as if I was hers, and we were the happy family my mom always wanted and never got.”
“What happened to her?”
“When Pops got pinched, she knew it was me who ratted. She threatened to kill me if she ever saw me again.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“The funny thing is, as angry as she was, as hurtful as her words were, I knew she was just as hurt. As fucked up as the whole situation was, I knew she loved me, and truly thought of me as her son.”
“Have you tried to reach out?”
He shook his head. “Even if she doesn’t kill me, word would get out. I’d be back on the radar for too many who want my head on a platter. When I left Boston, I had to cut ties with everyone.”
