Page 109 of They Break Beauty

“Please. Hex has committed far worse offenses against its marks before.”

“Not against somebody Lev cares about deeply!”

“You mean, his latest fixation? His obsession?”

“It’s never been a person before. Only a goal or a project.”

“So, he’s branched out. It’s still beyond dangerous for him. And if you weren’t in the process of being smitten with her too, you’d be with me on this.”

“What the shit do you need me for when you’ve got your ridiculous army of blackmailed soldiers at your beck and call? Rosemary too? Jesus, Mason. Involving that snake? Tell me it’s not to gain access to her family’s criminal empire?”

“Like I told you and Lev, I’m gathering my army of key individuals all recruited for specific purposes—either for their own skills and on their own merits, or for that of those closely connected to them.”

“You talk about Lev being dangerous, but it’s you who’s crossed that line this time. You need him there to balance that out for you. You always have. Hex has never run without the two of you at the head together.”

“Cutting Levi out reduces complications more than you can possibly imagine with you now standing on the periphery.”

“Don’t talk down to me. I’m right about this. You might consider Lev a loose cannon and volatile, but unlike you he’s incorruptible. Without him there to balance you out, your actions have become dangerous.”

When he just continued working on his lock picking and not even gracing me with his eye contact, I slapped the table again, making it rock and jostling him. “You need to back off Brianna Walker now and apologize to Lev, even swear to him that you’ll never come at her again.”

“The fuck, I will.”

“This obsession, as you keep calling it, is different this time. He’s different with her.”

His head shot up. “Different, how?”

“He’s… gentler with her. He even apologized to her and—”

“He apologized to her?”

“Yeah.”

A deep frown etched his brow. “Lev doesn’t ever say sorry. Not for anything.”

“Exactly my point.”

Hope sparked as it looked like I’d finally gotten through to his stubborn ass. One majorly sweet ass, no doubt, but right now the shit he was causing was dampening that for me. I hadn’t even sent him a single flirty text for days on end.

He sat back against the couch and blew out a breath. “Look, I’ll—”

The entrance door of the mansion slammed so hard that it reverberated all the way through to the living room.

“Ding dong, motherfucker! Hellraiser’s home!” Lev’s voice rang out a moment later.

I grimaced as I heard that dangerous and vindictive tone to it. Oh no.

That was relegated to the least of it when Lev tracked us easily to this room—one of three living rooms in the place, and stormed inside.

“Holy shit,” I choked out at the shocking state of him.

Blood.

Blood everywhere.

It was dousing his cheeks, forehead, and even his hair.

His knuckles were covered in it too.

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