Page 32 of They Break Beauty

It took me time to weed through everything that had happened, given what a busy night it had been for me through orchestrating those takedowns.

But then I had it.

“The girl… Brianna… she was having an episode… what we used to call your anxiety attacks.”

I noticed him tensing.

“Wasn’t she?” I pushed. He was the best person to recognize those signs.

“Yes,” he hissed through his teeth. “Your point?”

I rounded on him, forcing him to pull up short. He blew out a breath of frustration—another sign that I was getting to him and hitting at something real with him for once and not just the façade he put on. “That’s why you made a connection to her out of seemingly nowhere. You recognized in her the same thing you used to suffer through.”

He stared at me for a moment.

“Well?” I pushed.

“Yeah, you got me, Mason. That’s what got under my skin about her.”

“It’s a dangerous connection to make, to pull on, Lev. Especially with your history.”

“I’ll be fine. Besides, I haven’t had an episode in forever.”

“It doesn’t mean—”

“Leave it. I’ve got it under control.”

“I guess we’ll see when she comes by the mansion in a couple of days.”

I saw him register the challenge I was throwing down.

As usual, instead of backing down like he should have, he rose to it, grinding out, “I guess we will.”

Son of a bitch.

9

~Levi~

“A bit cheesy, isn’t it?”

“It’s a ballad, Lev.”

“It’s supposed to be an edgy rock ballad,” I countered.

Colt snatched the piece of paper back from me with the lyrics he’d shown me for the song he was going to be working on with my girl. “You gave me two days to pull a song out of my ass, a song that was never supposed to exist. It’ll have to do.”

“Seems like it.”

He slapped my bare chest. “Don’t be a shit.”

I chuckled. “My bad, you know I like teasing you, cupcake.”

“You’re not the only one,” he said, pressing his hand to my pecs. “You’ve been working out. In the gym downstairs?”

“Nah, working out in a gym is Mason’s thing. It’s the street fighting. And woodworking, somewhat.”

“Mmm,” he said, sliding his palm down over my abs.

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