Hell Breaks Loose (Devil's Rock #2)(42)

“You have no idea.” She wrenched her arms free and took another pull from his beer. “Why did your friends kidnap me?” she demanded, leveling her gaze on him.

His look turned wary at the sudden change in subject. “They’re not my friends.”

She snorted before taking another drink. “Whatever.” She waved a hand dismissively. “I’m guessing they took me because they want to get to my father, hurt him in some way? I would have thought they wanted ransom money, but since they’ve made no efforts there—at least I think they haven’t.” She sent him a questioning look, took his blank stare as confirmation. “Didn’t think so. So clearly my father pissed off the wrong person . . .” She let her voice fade deliberately, waiting for him to fill in the silence with an explanation.

Nothing. That was telling enough as he stared at her, his expression even more wary than moments before. That muscle ticking in his jaw showed he wasn’t unaffected.

She finished the bottle and then moved to the refrigerator. Grabbing another beer, she faced him again. “No comment?”

He watched her like she had sprouted a second head or was simply crazy—and maybe she was. She just declared to her abductor that he could kill her and no one would care. Well, much. Probably not the smartest thing to tell the guy holding you hostage. “Hey, I’m worthless and it doesn’t really matter what you do to me” probably wasn’t the best thing to say.

Still. She couldn’t stop vomiting words. Tears burned the backs of her eyes and it was either this or break down and cry. She’d never been big into letting people see her cry, so there was only this over sharing.

She leaned forward as though about to impart something confidential, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial pitch. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. My father is not the perfect man that forty-seven percent of the country think he is.”

Reid angled his head. “Only forty-seven percent?”

She nodded. “Last polling. Horrible, right? Especially heading into reelection. Although I’m guessing he’s rating higher right now. Personal tragedy wins empathy.” She waved her bottle in a little circle. “This is probably doing wonders for his campaign. Bet there is a lot of back-clapping the moment he gets behind closed doors.”

“Stop it, Grace. Your mother looked wrecked.”

Grace looked away as she took another drink, shrugging. Her mother loved her but not as much as she loved her husband. No, her mother would love no one more than she loved him. Secretly, Grace had always thought that’s why she never had more children. She suspected her mother never felt enough of a connection to her to have another child.

The reminder of her relationship with her mother only fueled her self-pity. “Suffice to say, you don’t know shit about me or my life.” She tilted her head and took another drink, gulping in an unladylike way that would have horrified her mother.

Something passed over Reid’s features before a wall slammed down on his face, killing any sympathy that might have been there for her. “I can see what’s in front of me well enough.”

“Yes? And what do you see, Yoda?”

His nostrils flared. “A spoiled little princess who didn’t like what she just saw. Daddy wasn’t crying enough for you and now you need petting.” He waved an arm at the TV. “The whole f*cking country is leaving roses for you, but that’s not enough—”

She hissed a deep breath. Her eyes stung at his razor-sharp words and the kernel of truth they held. “Shut up—”

“You still want more. Being the center of the universe isn’t enough? Your ego needs more—”

“You don’t get it . . .” He didn’t. Ego was the last thing she possessed. She didn’t need or want to be the center of the universe. Every time Charles dragged them out to dinner, she wished they could have just stayed in and ordered pizza. Reid was wrong. She wasn’t that vain creature he was describing. The only thing she wanted was acceptance from her parents. Love. She’d done everything they ever wanted, shelved her own dreams, hoping to have that from them.

The world couldn’t mourn her? They didn’t know her. This was the same world that voted her unlikable in the polls last month. So what if they were leaving flowers for her now? They weren’t her family. Her father was supposed to love her. Above anyone else, a girl’s father should want to tear the earth apart to get her back safely. He should care about her life above all else, right? She was his daughter. He shouldn’t expect her to marry someone for the sake of his campaign. And he should be wrecked that she was missing.

Staring at Reid, she imagined that felon or not, he would care if someone close to him was in trouble. If someone belonged to him, he wouldn’t quit until that person was safe. The idea was faintly compelling. And dangerous. Her gaze skimmed the strong line of his shoulders, the way his biceps pushed against his snug thermal shirt. She remembered the strength in those arms. The power. This guy would move heaven and earth for—

She crushed the thought. She would never be that person to him.

“That’s right, princess. I don’t know you. You know who would leave flowers for me? Fucking no one.”

She stifled a flinch. No. She would not feel sorry for him. “Big shock there,” she flung out instead, reaching for the memory of him chasing her down and slinging her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. No hugs for him.