A hotel. Really? A hotel? She couldn’t believe this was where he was taking her. Okay, yes, she could. It made perfect sense. She almost made a smart-aleck comment about whether the place charged by the hour. Luckily, she restrained herself. She didn’t even want to think about what happened in hotels by the hour. That might actually break her character.
The valet zoomed off with his car, leaving Reid alone with Devon.
He smiled brightly at her. “Nice surprise, right?” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in close. “I missed you so much, Dev.”
Devon stepped out of his embrace. “I can’t go upstairs with you, Reid.”
“Why?” he asked, his eyes hardening.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” she said, trying to remain strong.
Waiting for Reid’s reaction was like turning the handle to a jack-in-the-box, knowing it was going to pop in your face.
“You haven’t seen me in two-and-a-half months. I get us a nice hotel room in the city, and I’m excited to see you. And you don’t want to go up with me?” he asked. “What’s wrong with you, Devon? What’s changed since you left?”
Devon sighed and looked down at the ground. What was wrong with her? Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad. They had a lot of stuff to talk about, and it’s not like they could stand outside the hotel all night.
“Are you seeing someone else? Is that what this is about?” he asked.
She heard the tension in his voice, and she tried to remain perfectly calm. If she reacted at all to her thoughts of Brennan, it would be bad. She couldn’t let Reid know. She had to keep that one thing from him. She was safe as long as Brennan’s identity was kept safe.
“No, I’m not seeing anyone,” she said softly, staying as calm as possible. “I just feel like we’re rushing.”
“We’ve been together for three years. How could we possibly rush this?” he asked, reaching out for her.
“You know what I mean,” she said with a shrug.
“Just hear me out, Dev,” Reid said softly. He cupped her chin and lifted her face to his. “I love you so much. I’ve missed you something fierce. If you feel like I’m rushing you, then I’m rushing you. I want to talk. I want to spend time with you. It’s been too long since I’ve gotten to be with you. Just come upstairs with me.”
Devon bit her lip and stared up into the face of the man that she had thought for years was her greatness, her true love. Something in his pleading seemed to weaken her resolve. Maybe it would be different. If he loved her, maybe it would be different.
“Please come with me, Dev. I’ve been a mess without you.” He planted a tender kiss on her lips.
“Alright,” she said softly, breaking the kiss. “We’ll go upstairs and talk.”
He smiled like he had won a prize, and then he took her hand and walked her into the hotel. They took the elevator, and after they reached the floor and found their room, Reid slid the room key into the slot. Devon walked in before him and heard him push the lock over to bar entrance. She swallowed and looked around. It was nice enough with a small living area and a king-size bed. She didn’t even bother looking in the bathroom. The last thing she wanted was to see another one of her nightmares.
Devon decided to take a seat on the chair in the living space. It faced the door and away from the bed. She wanted a clear view of the exit, and she wanted to avoid the bed at all costs. That was the way she wanted to handle this, focusing on a clear escape route.
“Okay…” Reid walked up behind her and began to massage her shoulders.
When he touched her, she tensed up, and he just rubbed harder. She was so on edge. She didn’t know what was going to happen.
“You said you wanted to talk, so let’s talk.”
“Um…alright,” she began.
“Let’s talk about how you lied to me. Or we could talk about how you ran away to Chicago. How about we talk about how you’ve been acting all night or how scared you looked when I found out that you were lying? Maybe we should just talk about the bartender,” he said, his voice thick with venom.
Devon felt like she had stopped breathing. Not Brennan. They couldn’t talk about Brennan.
“Ah, so it is the bartender then,” he said like he had stumbled upon something.
“Reid,” she gasped out, trying to find air.
“You said you wanted to talk. I think we can talk about him first. Did you fuck him?”
He pushed into the muscles of her shoulders so hard that she tried to jump away from him, but he held her tightly in place.
“Reid, that’s not why I’m here,” she cried. “Stop! You’re hurting me!”
He only held her more firmly. “Sometimes, I don’t think you listen to me unless I force you, Devon.”
“I’m listening!” she spat in frustration, trying to wrench herself away from his grasp.
“I don’t think you are because you haven’t answered my question yet. Did you fuck him? It’s a yes or no question, Devon.”
She swallowed. She couldn’t talk about Brennan. How did Reid know? She had done everything she could to keep Reid from finding out, yet he had still figured it all out. She wanted to break down and cry, but Reid didn’t deserve her tears.
“No answer, Devon? You lost your voice somewhere? I’ll just assume that means yes.” He let go of her shoulders and walked around to the front of the chair.
She tried to stand, but he pushed her back down to a sitting position.
“You were here acting like a whore while I was in St. Louis missing you. Doesn’t really seem fair to me, does it?”
He was acting completely insane. She needed to get out of there. This was going nowhere fast. How had she let him manipulate her so perfectly? He had preyed upon her weakness and her desire to make him happy. Even when she was desperate to get rid of him, it was hard to break old habits. For so long, the thought of being without Reid put her in an agonizing state of self-doubt and fear, but now, she realized she had only projected what it actually was like when she was with Reid on to what she assumed it would be like without him. Living without Reid had led her to Brennan, and when she was with him, she had neither self-doubt nor fear.
“You wanted to talk, but I’m doing all the talking,” he said. “Don’t you have anything to say for yourself?”
He grabbed her arms and hoisted her out of the chair he had just thrown her into. His hands circled her bicep and squeezed, pulling her face-to-face with him. The pressure on her arms was agonizing.
“You want to know why I left?” she asked. “This is why I left. I was tired of you hurting me.”
“If you didn’t hurt me so badly, I wouldn’t have to do anything. Why do you want to hurt me, Devon?” he asked. He shook her forcefully. “Explain it to me. Why would you leave me, lie to me, cheat on me?” he yelled.
A tear ran down her cheek, and there was nothing she could do about it. “Reid, please,” she said, blinking back tears. “Don’t hurt me.”
“I shouldn’t hurt you?” he asked in disbelief. He slammed her back into the wall. “I shouldn’t hurt you? After what you did to me, you think I should just let you go? You think I should let someone else get his grubby hands on you? You’re mine, Devon!” he yelled into her face. “You’re mine!”
Reid threw her on the ground, and her head collided with the corner of the side table. She saw spots through her vision while she heard ringing in her ears. She was sure Reid was saying something, but she wasn’t sure what it was. Her breath came out in gasps as tears poured down her face, and then the shock of the fall hit her. She tentatively reached her hand to the back of her head and felt the lump that was already forming. It was too tender to even touch lightly with her fingertips.