Page 10 of Ruthless Ends

He pulls in a sharp breath and runs a hand along the bottom of his jaw. Quieter, he adds, “I never asked for this, Valerie. I never had a say in any of it. You are the only thing in my life that I have ever chosen for myself.”

I sink onto the edge of the bed, no longer able to hold myself up, and swipe the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand. “Why is she here?” I whisper.

“I don’t know.”

I do the math. Seven years younger than Reid…so she must be eighteen now, or close to it. She’s a goddamn child. But it’s the age I’m willing to bet was in the agreement for them to marry.

I hang my head and press my fingers into my temples.

An eternity passes, our hearts racing in sync and echoing in my head. The bond is pulled taut, like we’re each gripping one end and holding on for dear life.

His next words come out thick. “I understand if you can’t get past it. But I hope one day you can forgive me.” Tentatively, he kneels in front of me and pushes my hair behind my ears.

I should pull back, shove his hands away, but instead, my eyes flutter shut.

“I promise you I will fix this.”

I lay my hands over his and bring them down from my face. “Reid, I can’t…I can’t do this with you while she’s…while I know…”

“I know. I would never ask you to. But I am asking you not to give up on me in the meantime.”

Then all too soon, he pulls away to leave.

My hand shoots out, and I grab his shirt in my fist, my gaze trained on my fingers instead of his face because I will lose what little self-preservation I’m clinging to right now if I look into his eyes.

“I’m trusting you,” I whisper. “And I’m asking you, please don’t break my heart.”

His lips are on mine before I finish the words, and it feels like drowning, like staying here will kill me, but pulling away will just push me farther under.

I close my eyes as he leans his forehead against mine. His breath washes over my cheek as he whispers, “My heart belongs to you, Valerie, and you alone. And I will treat yours like the most precious thing I have. Always.”

His gaze is steady on mine, determined in a way it wasn’t before. He studies my face like he’s committing every detail to memory. I force my hand to release his shirt with a shuddering breath, and then I let him go.

CHAPTERFOUR

He isn’thard to find. The extravagance of the estate goes against everything I know about Cam, so I start my search outside. Sure enough, despite the cold, he’s the only person in the expanse of grass beside the gardens.

Sweat drips from his bare chest as he does a series of push-ups, and there’s training equipment scattered around him that he must have taken from the gym.

He doesn’t acknowledge my approach, but I know he knows I’m here.

To be clear, princess, nothing’s changed for me.

I think it’s supposed to be you and me. And it’s okay if I can see that before you can.

The words churn in the pit of my stomach.

I wait until he’s finished with his push-ups, and he wipes the sweat from his face with a white towel as he returns to his feet.

I cross my arms, bristling under his stare. “Sorry to interrupt your workout.”

“What can I do for you?” he asks as he retrieves his water bottle, and it’s strikingly normal. No humor, no smirk, no annoying nicknames.

“I need you to tell me everything you know.”

“A fairly vague request. Might be a long chat then.”

“Cam,” I say, my voice sounding like a plea. “You’re not bound by your deal to Westcott now. Just tell me how fucked we are. What do you know that we don’t?”

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