Hell Breaks Loose (Devil's Rock #2)(20)

Reid kept twisting, placing his mouth close to his ear. “I don’t know who the f*ck you are, but you don’t touch what doesn’t belong to you.”

“What? You tapped her and now she’s yours?” he blustered, his face flushed with pain.

“Pete!” Zane shoved him in the shoulder, freeing him from Reid. “Go sit down. This don’t concern you.”

Pete staggered away, clutching his injured hand close to his chest, his gaze shooting daggers.

Zane looked at Reid, glanced at Grace, and then looked back at Reid. It was a familiar look. His face might have hardened and matured beyond boyhood, but with his brows drawn tight with concern, he was achingly familiar, even if Reid hadn’t seen him or the worried expression in years. He remembered his brother’s young face as he crouched in the corner, watching wide-eyed as Reid took a beating he thought would kill him for sure. Reid used to think he would die. He used to wonder if maybe he didn’t want to. One more blow, one more of his father’s raised fists, and he’d break, shatter in half. Thankfully, his father only blew in and out of his life sporadically. If that had been their lives day after day, he might not have made it.

“You got this?” Zane asked.

“Yeah. I’m taking care of it. Taking care of her. Like I said.” Reid shook his head with what he hoped sounded like a casual huff of breath. “Some of your boys need to learn a little respect.”

“Man, they don’t know you, bro, that’s all. You been gone a long time.”

Yeah, and he didn’t want to know them. His brother’s crew had taken a hard nosedive since he’d last seen them, years ago. They’d always been rough, but this was a new low.

He felt another stare on him. Deep and scouring. He looked up and his gaze collided with Rowdy’s, from where he sat at the kitchen table. The guy jerked his chin upward in a single nod of acknowledgment.

Zane slapped a phone and wad of cash into Reid’s hand. “Here’s a burner and some money. I’ll be in touch after I talk to Sullivan again.”

Reid tore his gaze away from Rowdy. “You do that. I want to talk to Sullivan. Get me a meeting.” The man kept himself as guarded as the pope. Reid knew he couldn’t just go after him. Surrounded by bodyguards, they’d stop him before he could even get within fifty yards. Reid wanted—needed—to look the man in the eyes. He’d only have one chance, and he couldn’t mess it up.

“Yeah yeah. I’ll tell him.” His brother clapped him on the back. “I’ll let him know. What you’re doing now will go a long way with the ol’ man.” Zane hesitated, looking concerned. “You up for this?” He nodded toward Grace. “You were never one to rough up the girls.”

Reid ignored the stab of guilt at deceiving his brother. Zane was lost to him. He wasn’t his same kid brother anymore. He served Sullivan now. Reid held Zane’s gaze. “Prison changes a man. I’m back. Sullivan wants this done, then I’ll get it done.”

“Yeah?” Rowdy released a harsh bark. “For how long? You’re a wanted man. An escaped convict. How long you expect to be around? You can’t just slide back in here and be one of Sullivan’s top men again.”

“Why not? Afraid I’ll make you look bad, Rowdy?”

Rowdy’s smile slipped. Even Zane looked uneasy. Rowdy uncrossed his booted feet from where they rested atop the table and dropped them heavily to the floor. He propped his elbows on his knees, his deep accent more pronounced as he said, “I ain’t afraid of shit. Least of all you.”

Reid shrugged and moved to the door, still holding onto Grace Reeves by a f*cking leash and hating himself for it. But then that was just more reason to hate himself. The list was long.

He opened the door and guided her through it. Pausing, he looked back into the house. “I’m here now. Getting things done. Tying up your loose strings.” That jab hit the mark.

He jerked his head toward Grace, waiting on the porch. “Get me in with Sullivan.” He looked back and forth between Rowdy and his brother, hoping he conveyed his seriousness—a seriousness that would be expressed to Sullivan.

He needed that meeting. He needed to get face-to-face with the man. After that, he didn’t care what happened. It would be over. It would finally be over after all these years.

Reid stepped out onto the porch and his brother followed.

“No worries,” Zane said. “We’ll have you back on top like you used to be.” At the edge of the porch, his brother clapped him on the back. “It’s good to have you with us again. I know it didn’t end well . . .” His voice faded and he looked decidedly uncomfortable. Yeah, talking about how Sullivan f*cked him over wasn’t an easy topic, especially considering Zane now worked for the * like none of that mattered.

“Yeah. It didn’t end well.” Reid nodded and tried to keep the bite out of his voice. He had to appear different. Like one of them. “I went to prison.”

“Well, this was how it was supposed to be.” Zane forced a smile and clarified, “How it was always meant to be.”

Reid only hoped Sullivan felt the same way and forgot how pissed off he’d been when he went to prison. At his sentence hearing, he might have flipped a table, cursed Sullivan and accused the judge of being in his pocket. Hopefully, Sullivan thought he had put that anger behind him for good and would see him.