Page 174 of Relentless

“If he’s suspicious, the first place he’ll go is the guest rooms,” I explain. If I weren’t panicking so much, I might be second-guessing walking Mav into Reid’s inner sanctum, but what’s the other option? Hiding in the basement? Yeah, that’s not happening. I’ve done my time down there.We both have.

“I guess,” Mav muses.

We spill into the room as a deep, familiar, blood-curdling voice pierces the air.

“Shit,” I hiss, darting forward faster.

Mav closes the door behind us and follows me in.

If I were to look back, I suspect I’d find him studying the bare space curiously. I know I did the first time I came in here. It’s luxurious and comfortable, sure. It looks like what I imagine a fancy hotel to look like. But there is nothing personal. If you didn’t know the room belonged to Reid then there is nothing—literally nothing—that could indicate that. No photos or childhood achievements, no mementos of anything. Yeah, it’s a nice room, but it’s also kinda… sad, I guess. It has no heart, no life despite the very real man who resides in it.

“This is…” Mav trails off.

“Yeah, I know. I guess I should have expected it. Downstairs isn’t much different.”

He’s right. There are also no happy family photos, but there are paintings and ornaments, other things that clearly mean enough to Reid to have them on display.

It’s the total opposite of the home Mav and I have created. I might be a little biased, but that home is full of love and life. Photos of our five years together cover the walls and sideboards, and mementos from trips we’ve taken fill each room.

It’s home. It’s ours and it’s one hundred percent us. I love it.

I miss it.

“You okay, Doll?” Mav asks, stepping up to me and placing his large hands on my hips, tugging me closer.

“I—” I start, but he cuts me off when he rests his brow against mine and holds my stare with his dark eyes.

“Breathe, Doll,” he whispers in a calming voice he’s had to use on me one too many times over the years.“He has no reason to believe we’re here. No one outside these walls knows where you are, and—”

“What about you? What if he’s been to where Devin and Ezra ‘hid’ you? What if he knows he’s being played and—”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this but… You need to trust Reid.”

I nod, but his words don’t help relax me.

“Doll?” he urges, his eyes begging me to calm down.

“I’m okay,” I eventually breathe, my voice barely audible.

But from the dark, concerned look in his eyes when I risk glancing up, I’m not sure he believes me.

“He’s probably just coming for coffee with golden balls.”

I shake my head, unable to find any humor in his attempt at a joke. Mav might think that Reid believes he’s better than everyone else because of his surname, but it’s just not true. He’s proven that today already by allowing Mav in on the planning, by keeping us in his home, cooking for us.

“I’m not sure they have that kind of relationship,” I confess before an idea hits me. “But I think we can probably find out.”

“What are you doing?” Mav asks when I twist out of his hold and scan the room for the TV remote. I find it on Reid’s bedside table. The thought of him lying out here watching me downstairs with that fucking vibrator inside makes my stomach burn with fury just as much as it heats my blood. It was frustratingly hot.

“This entire place has cameras,” I say, pointing the remote at the giant screen and waiting until it comes to life. “We just need to figure out how to find the room they’re in.”

“Motherfucker.” Mav growls the second an image emerges on the screen.

Safe to say, Reid probably hasn’t watched it for a few days. My old cell looks stark and cold. The cot in the corner is unused, with no evidence it’s had two occupants recently.

“Probably the least of what you need to be worrying about,” I mutter, pressing the menu to try and figure out a way to change the camera to one a little more useful.

It takes longer than I’d like, but eventually, I manage to find out how to change the camera. All the while, Mav mutters his irritation about the fact Reid was sitting up here watching me while I was suffering in the basement.

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