Page 59 of Built for Mercy

“Fuck, Sophie, that’s horrific. How did you not go into a murderous rampage?”

She laughed, the tears clearing from her eyes, and some of the tightness in my chest eased, too. “I should’ve gone full Carrie on their asses,” she joked, a shy grin pulling up the corners of her perfect mouth.

I chuckled. “So what happened today? Obviously it was bothering you, otherwise you would’ve had more than just fruit for breakfast.”

Sophie nodded and sucked in a sharp breath. “Sometimes, when it feels like my life is changing faster than I can keep up,” her eyes met mine, “I… have an episode. They’re similar to benders. I start seeing all the things wrong with my body. Stretch marks and cellulite and areas where I could lose weight. I start to obsess over it. I felt it coming on this morning after you left, and didn’t realize until now that it had been going on for a few weeks.”

“Weeks?”

Shame flitted across her features, as if I’d scolded her. “Yeah. I kinda went into a tailspin after I left your place. I was convinced that I was the only one feeling this…pullbetween us.”

My heart hurt for her. Society failed her. They made her feel inferior to them, made her question her appearance, broke her down so all she saw when she looked in the mirror were flaws that weren’t flaws at all.

“Have you ever seen a professional for this?”

She raised a shoulder. “Why would I? So they can tell me there’s nothing wrong with me and that I should eat more? No thanks.”

Sighing, I took her hands in mine. “Because it’s dangerous. There are diagnoses for this, and it might help—”

“I don’t want to be shoved into just another box, Mav,” she snapped, and it made me flinch.

Me.

It mademeflinch.

Ineverflinched.

I was always the one who held the power in a room, who told other people what to do and put them in their places.

This was a new feeling she was bringing out in me. A sinking, helpless feeling.

I wanted to fix everything—because that’s what I did. I handled problems. Eliminated threats. Took care of what was mine. But she… she wanted me to butt out. And fuck if that didn’t make me crazy.

“I get put into enough of them,” she continued, softer this time as she squeezed my hands. “I’m a Hispanic female, I have to be a feminist because I’m a woman, but I’m also part of the problem because I’m in a male-dominated industry, which means I kowtow to men. And because I’m a cop, I don’tactuallycare about minorities or want to help struggling communities.No matter what, I’m one thing or another, and it’s never good enough. The last thing I want to feel is that I’m just another woman not living up to society’s standards by going to a doctor for a problem that I’ve managed for the last thirteen years.”

The passion in her voice told me all I needed to know: her anger and vengeance for her father ran so much deeper than justice. She was also proving herself to the people who had belittled her for years.

That, at least, was something I could relate to.

Because every plan I ever made? Every choice, every risk, every calculated move? It all came down to one thing—burning everything my family built to the fucking ground. And one day, I’d make damn sure they watched it crumble.

27

Maverick

My phone rang as we came to a stop by the side doors of Midnights,our hands entwined. With my free hand, I pulled my phone out of my suit jacket and saw it was my father. Frowning, I released Sophie and answered the call.

“Dad,” I greeted curtly.

“Son,” he said, his voice rough and not completely sober. A glance at my watch told me it was just after noon. “I’m assuming you’ve heard about the Reyes outbursts.”

My eyes found Sophie’s, and she seemed to realize the call was about her with that single look. Damn, the way we were on the same wavelength was absolutely incredible. “I have. I’ve already questioned one of them.”

“And?”

“And what? It didn’t go anywhere. There’s just a lot of talk about our position in the cartel and who they need to be loyal to. This isn’t a new occurrence,” I managed through clenched teeth.

“What about the other one?”