“You didn’t give me the chance to explain.”
“Rosie—”
“Youchoked me.”
“Rose—”
“Andhit me.”
“Christ, baby—”
“And youspit on me.”
Beck shut up.
“Then youkicked me.”
Another flinch.
I stared into his eyes.
He had amazing eyelashes.
He stared into mine.
“I loved you once,” I whispered.
Those eyelashes swept down.
Yeah.
Amazing.
“You terrify me now,” I told him.
Those eyelashes swept up to reveal tortured eyes.
I knew it then.
He’d been ordered to deliver me to Bounty.
He might also have been ordered to start the proceedings.
But it wasn’t until right then that I realized that he’ddone what he’d done in the beginning, and at the end, but in the middle, it washis brothers that brought down their version of justice on me.
He’d given them their show and he didn’t come back for morebecause he’d done as ordered and that was all he had in him when it came to me.
The parting shots were probably because he was pissed at me,worked up from watching his brothers lay me out, thinking I was hung up on Shy,possibly all of that.
Or still toeing the line.
There were leaders and there were followers.
But even if you were a follower, it was your job to find theright thing to follow and not to follow blindly.
Beck had failed at both.
“The only reason I can be here is because there’s a copright there and a wall between us,” I shared, jerking my head toward theofficer that stood by the door into the visitation room.“If you ever caredabout me, keep them away from me.”
