Page 47 of They Break Beauty

To touch him in public, to show him the affection he deserved, to show him that our relationship wasn’t a dirty little secret to me… I knew that was the way to fix it.

But I just… I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t push past that wall that I’d erected long ago, that I’d been shamed into erecting.

And the longer it was there, the more impossible it seemed to tear down.

There had been a time a couple of years back, but that had all gone to hell when my father had found out about it. He’d held a certain something over my head, something he’d covered up for us five years ago. It had been his power play ever since to keep me in line. It had also cost me my desired career as a tattoo artist, and forced me into Law instead.

I hadn’t realized until Lev had come back just how much I’d given up on escaping the restrictions enforced by Peter Hall. I guess that was why I hadn’t resisted when it came to reviving Hex. It was a way to reclaim power.

Or at least, a way to begin to.

I sucked in a breath and scrubbed my hand over the rough stubble on my chin. “So, what text were you talking about anyway?”

“The one asking you to throw your weight around as leader of Hex to make your professor allow me into your contracts class, the one that’s focused on Entertainment Law right now?”

“This is about Mythic Cry again?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s happened this time?”

He’d been having issues with his band lately. While it was technically made up of three members—Colt as frontman and on lead guitar, Flynn Borman as bass guitar, and Will Matthews as drummer—all people saw was Colton. His stage presence completely eclipsed them and left them in the dust and they’d grown irritated with it, which had led to some trouble.

“I made the mistake of playing them a portion of that duet I recorded with Brianna, and they’re now up in arms that they weren’t a part of it. Even explaining that the song was just in the experimental stage didn’t quell their upset. And now they’re talking about contracts and renegotiating, wanting more power over our catalogue—songs I wrote alone. They even want to dictate shows, what we perform, how we perform, and where. Flynn is even talking about splitting up lead vocals with me. I mean, you’ve heard his nasally voice, right? It would completely alter the sound of Mythic Cry—in a shit-tastic way.”

“I know, I hear you. We’ll fix it. Now, you’re going to cover this sort of thing in your Music Marketing degree program, but that won’t be until next year from what you’ve shown me of your syllabus. So, yes, you can sit in on my class. And I’ll also help you however I can.”

“The professor will let me sit in? Just like that?”

“In this case, yes.”

He eyed me curiously. “How? You already have her in your pocket?”

“I needed somebody with esteemed expertise in a certain area.”

“A certain legal area you mean?”

“Yes.”

“It’s about your dad? You’re up to something?”

“Think of it more like me acquiring my proverbial army.”

“And how is she in your pocket? Hex has been inactive for the last year plus.”

“I fucked her a couple of times.”

His eyes widened. “Hold up. You and Professor Litman? Or as most of us call her, Hot Hannah?”

I rolled my eyes. “Terribly original, Colt.”

“I didn’t coin it. But, shit, Mason. You know she’s married, right?”

“She’s actually divorced now.”

“After you two screwed around?”

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