Page 16 of They Break Beauty

“Hasn’t been the same without me, huh?” Lev said, as they eased back, and he flashed us a self-satisfied grin.

Of course.

Colt ate it up like he always did with him. “Shit, no, brother.” He guided Lev over to us then pulled the three of us into a group hug. “You’re never leaving again, you hear me?”

Lev looked out at me and answered Colt pointedly, “I’m here to stay for a good, long while.”

“Hell, yes! Just like the good ol’ days!” Colt cried excitedly, tightening his hold on the both of us until he was almost cutting off our breathing.

Lev smirked at me.

Son of a bitch.

Colt was prone to seeing things through rose-colored glasses. Especially when it came to that. He focused on the good only and either forgot or buried the bad beneath it.

But I hadn’t forgotten it, not by any means.

I remembered everything.

And as much as it was amazing to have our missing third back here with us, it was also a grave concern with the way he’d come back and the veil he was determined to pull over our eyes as to the reason for it.

Once the shock of him showing up so unceremoniously and throwing me for a loop wore off, I’d begin the process of untangling the tangled web he’d woven, and get to the bottom of it all.

But for now, without knowing all those details, I did know one thing for sure.

The peace and quiet of the last year was about to be blown to smithereens.

5

~Levi~

I sat astride my Harley Softail Deluxe as I waited off the dirt road obscured by the heavy foliage.

Usually waiting wasn’t my scene, nor my forte.

But in this case there were rewards to be had.

The first was observing Brianna Walker in her natural habitat.

Well, what had become her natural habitat over the last year. Something she was clearly intending to keep to.

Not if I have anything to say about it.

Which, of course, I did.

Her apartment building ten miles from campus wasn’t a shithole, but it was modest, to say the least.

I’d initially been surprised when I’d investigated and delved into every little thing about her, because her old man had money. Despite the major setback he’d had a few years ago, he’d pivoted and found success through other means. Curt Walker owned a very profitable series of small businesses—a motorcycle repair shop, two luxurious lounges, and a chain of diners called Penny’s. He’d done very well for himself. She had the means to be living in the lap of luxury, yet here she was residing in a humble one-bedroom apartment instead.

Hmm. She didn’t want anything to do with her old life, she’d intentionally separated herself, even financially.

On the surface, it was admirable, a move of strength and independence.

But with the depth of my research, I was aware that it was closer to the opposite.

She was running.

Running scared.

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