Hell Breaks Loose (Devil's Rock #2)(58)

He pulled back and whispered against her mouth. “You have no reason to have that kind of faith in me.”

“I’m a good judge of character.” The moment she let go of that knife between them, she had placed her faith in this man. She wasn’t wrong.

“Maybe you’re just an idealist.” His fingers played in her hair as he gripped her head, his fingers lost in the wild tangle.

“Am I wrong about you?” she challenged. Again, another long moment passed as she swam in the storm of his eyes, waiting for his response.

“No,” he admitted, sounding almost reluctant to confess this to her. “I’m not guilty.” He laughed once, low and rough. “Every criminal says that, though. I don’t expect you to believe me.”

She nodded once, a smile tugging her lips. “I believe you. I think I knew from the start that you were an innocent man.”

“I didn’t say I was ‘innocent.’ Only that I’m not guilty of the crime I was convicted for.”

“There’s a difference?”

He nodded. “I’m not innocent. I’ve done bad things. Before I went to prison and then, once I was in there . . . well, no one stays clean on the inside.”

“But you’re not a cold-blooded killer. You’re not a rapist,” she declared matter-of-factly.

He looked a little unnerved. His hand flexed in her hair, and she felt the strength in that hand, the power of his body pulsing beneath her. She knew that power firsthand, the stamina and intensity his body could inflict. Her girl parts kicked into gear again, turning warm and quivery. “And you knew that from the start, huh?”

She nodded, bumping his chest with her chin.

“How?”

“That first night in the house. You saved me. You could have hurt me and abused me in the worst way, but you didn’t. You weren’t like the others.”

He settled back on the bed, sliding one hand under his head, revealing the delicious underside of his muscled bicep. “It feels like I’ve fought all my life to not be like those men. All I do is fight.” He sighed, his hand tensing in her hair. “Eleven years and all I know is how to use my fists . . . how to break people. I don’t think I’m that different from those guys. Not as much as I want to be, but I don’t know how to be anything else. How to exist out here without being like that. God, I don’t even know this world anymore. Or me in it. Guess it doesn’t matter since I’m going back.”

She swallowed a sudden lump in her throat. She didn’t want him to go back to prison. He didn’t belong there. He was innocent of murder. He shouldn’t be in prison.

“So tell me what happened?” She threaded her fingers over his chest and resettled her chin over them. “How did you end up in prison for a crime you didn’t commit?”

He took his time answering, as though formulating his thoughts. “After my grandfather died, I pretty much ran wild. Did petty crimes. Stupid shit. After high school things got more serious. I led a group of guys and we attracted the attention of Sullivan. He was rich, respected.” He snorted. “He started hiring us to do things for him. Nothing too serious at first.” He sighed, and she felt the heaviness of that sound drag through her.

Reid continued, “Then we started roughing up people for him. Knocking heads. Running drugs for him . . . and doing other stuff that didn’t sit right with me. I could see what was happening. We were basically his thugs and things were spiraling. It was only going to get worse. I didn’t want to go down that road. I told him I was pulling out. With my brother.” Another pause followed, and she smoothed a hand over his chest. “He didn’t like it, but seemed okay. Asked me to do one last job.” He shook his head. “I should have been smarter.”

“You were twenty years old.”

He shook his head as if that was no excuse. “When I showed up, the security guard was dead, shot with one of my guns. Then the police were there before I could slip away. I was f*cked.”

“He set you up,” she breathed, outrage and hurt dripping through her like acid. Rage filled her for this man she didn’t even know.

He nodded. “Easy as that.” His jaw locked and she knew he was thinking about his time in jail, all the years Sullivan had taken from him.

“So what are you going to do?”

Reid had escaped. He was out. Grace knew he wanted to see Sullivan, that’s what he had been demanding from the start. A sick feeling rose up inside her, and now she knew why. She knew what he wanted.

“I’m gonna end him.”

She swallowed against the sudden lump in her throat. Fear lanced through her. Fear for Reid. “I understand why you feel like that—”

“Do you, princess?” he snapped.

Stung, she started to pull away, sliding her hand off his chest and lifting up.

He snatched her hand back and put it where it was on his chest, holding it there. “Don’t.”

“You want to do this thing. Fine,” she bit out. “But I don’t have to pretend that I think it’s a good idea.”

“I’m sorry. You’re right. You have every right to tell me what you think.” He pressed his hand on the small of her back, urging her back down against him. His bright gaze locked on her, and her heart squeezed at the need she read there. Need for her. “You just can’t understand, Gracie. You can’t.”