Page 51 of Built for Mercy

That’s what I told myself as I turned away from him and tried to will myself back to sleep.

***

The next morning, the dark cloud crowding my subconscious hadn’t dissipated. Something was still off. He’d woken before me, and a desperate part of me wanted to chase after him, but I didn’t. I lay awake, facing the floor-to-ceiling windows as rain pelted the glass.

How apt.

Last night wasnothinglike our first night together. Sure, he punished me again, and his words were filthy, but it all felt like it came from a place of reverence. Sex felt more intimate. We talked. We laughed. We spent the night kissing softly, our hands wandering and our limbs entangling. Memorizing each other.

And then that phone call.

He’s a busy man. He’s probably stressed.

My brain reasoned with my heart while my gut warred with my fight-or-flight response.

Finally, I tossed the blankets off and stormed into the bathroom when I heard the shower start. I stripped out of his T-shirt and opened the steamy shower door, the heat curling around me as I stepped inside. Maverick stood beneath thecascading water, head tipped back, muscles slick and glistening. For a moment, he stayed like that, shoulders tense, fingers flexing at his sides, like he was trying to let the water rinse away more than just last night. Then he exhaled sharply, rolling his shoulders before lowering his head, pinning me with a slow, deliberate smile—one that told me everything I needed to know. The phone call still sat heavy between us, but he wasn’t going to talk about it.

“Good morning.” There was a gravelly note to his voice that gave me goosebumps as I stepped under the water with him, my styled hair forgotten. I just wanted to be close to him.

God, clingy much?

“Morning. I forgot to tell you last night that I’m going to brunch with Callie this morning. It’s kind of a tradition. Does that throw a wrench in your plans?”

He shook his head, water droplets falling onto my face from his wet, dark hair. “No. I have to go attend to some matters at the club today.”

My heart plummeted. “Oh. Is everything—I mean, does it have to do with last night’s phone call?”

Maverick stilled before pulling me into his arms, my back to his front, where I could feel him hardening—conveniently keeping us from being face to face. I let him take his time lathering shampoo into my hair while I fought the urge to groan at how divine it felt. Sure, it was a distraction, but I’d indulge it… for now.

He finally spoke as we finished rinsing off all the soap covering our bodies. “Last night I got a call that one of my men sold our operations out to a rival cartel. When questioned by one of his runners, he declared, ‘Long live the Reyes’ reign’ just before a member of the rivals shot him in the leg. They had the decency to call Paulie and let him know he was our problem to deal with. They left him bleeding and limping down the street.” Hesounded cold and detached, much like how I felt hearing my family’s name.

I hated it.

I also hated how fucking angry it made me that the second I started to find happiness, the universe had to go and smear its darkness all over it. Why did I even bother trying to find anything resembling brightness in my otherwise pitch-black world? There was clearly no fucking point.

Damn damn damn.

Maybe it was best I just get out while I could.

Or maybe this is what the remaining members of my father’s reign wanted.

The loyalty Maverick had told me about.

I wiggled out of his grasp, stepping back to put my hands on my hips. Water rained down over his golden skin, glistening off his chiseled frame. I needed to focus, so I traced my fingers in meaningless patterns on the steamed glass.

“Dios mio,” I mumbled and rubbed my forehead. “Estos es jodidamente ridículo.” The Spanish words—This is fucking ridiculous—tumbled from my mouth before I could stop them. “Don’t tell me you think this has anything to do with me, Maverick. Don’t blow this up before it’s even started.”

He blinked, and the Maverick I’d come to know resurfaced. He stepped toward me in his massive shower—really, who needed this much room?—and I shook my head to stop him. “Jesus Christ, Sophie,no.I—” he cut himself off before groaning in frustration and shutting the water off, stepping around me and yanking a towel off a hook as he did.

He dried himself off a bit before whipping around with the towel secured around his waist. “Of course I don’t think you’re involved. I trust you. I’m just trying to decide how much to tell you. At the end of the day you’re still a cop,Detective,” he sneered, making me flinch as I stood sopping wet in the shower.“Believe it or not, I do have a guilty conscience about sending you back to work knowing you’re sleeping with a morally gray monster. You’re already culpable for being an accomplice to too many of my fucking crimes based on your knowledge alone.”

Maverick grabbed my arm to pull me out of the shower, gripping another fluffy towel and gently drying me off.

For a moment, I contemplated quitting my job. For a man.What is wrong with me?

Heaving a sigh, I asked, “Do you know why he would all of a sudden rebel?"

“No. Paulie hadn’t gotten it out of him yet when I spoke with him. But like I told you a few weeks ago, most of our crew are still loyal to the Reyes family, should you choose to step in. My only theory is someone has caught wind of our involvement together. Word spreads fast on the streets.”