Page 73 of They Break Beauty

“No. I haven’t heard from him in days. I even saw him in class a couple of times and he didn’t even acknowledge me, so I guess his threats were all about switching to the silent treatment.”

Interesting. For one, that wasn’t Lev’s go-to. Not in the fucking least. And, another, she looked upset about it, like she was missing him.

Fuck it. This was worse than I’d imagined. He was already affecting her now. Yeah, I definitely needed to escalate and speed things along.

“That’s… weird. Really weird. Do you want me to talk to him for you?”

“No,” she said. “Absolutely no way. I’m glad he’s leaving me alone. It’s what I wanted.”

As she shoved her hand through her hair and cut eye contact, Colt frowned. “Are you sure? It doesn’t exactly seem like it.”

To her credit, she managed to steel herself, her pretty features hardening, as she told him, “I have other things to deal with anyway.”

“Yeah, these things you’re worried about making worse. And I ask again, what things?”

She glared at him. “Come on, don’t play all innocent. You already know.”

“Know?”

“About Hex targeting me. I’m sorry—marking me.”

That’s right, get the terminology right, troublemaker.

Colt’s unadulterated shock blazed through clearly.

And then I waited to see how he’d respond.

It would tell me everything I needed to know about his true sentiment toward her.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” he yelled, surprising me at the vehemence of it.

The girl looked more than a little taken aback, reading his reaction as the genuine truth that it was. “You didn’t actually know then.”

“That you’ve been marked? Shit, no. What the shit is going on?”

“You’re part of Hex. How can you not know?”

“I’m on the periphery. Especially with this new revival. I’ve been dealing with issues with Mythic Cry and working on getting my GPA back to a respectable level. I haven’t even been tasked with anything concerning Hex yet.” He took her hands in his and leveled with her. “I swear it, Brianna. I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t do that to you.”

She stared at him for a moment. “You really wouldn’t, would you?”

“No. Of course not. I told you at the bar that I liked hanging with you, connecting with you. I don’t fake that kind of thing. I don’t fake anything.”

“Well, it’s fine. I’ll handle it. I’m working on it.”

I tensed with the challenge she’d just thrown down. That tension quickly became something much more, though, as I took in the fierce look in her eyes, the fire and determination shining forth. It was intrigue, admiration… something more? I wasn’t sure.

“No. Don’t… don’t retaliate,” Colt urged her.

“Why not?”

I narrowed my eyes. Was he going to sell me and Hex out to a girl he’d only known for a few weeks and tell her about our covert protocol?

Fortunately, he merely ruffled his mohawk and told her, “I’ll sort it out for you. I’ll speak with Mason. Something might’ve gotten lost in translation, some mix-up.”

He played with her fingers in his and she smiled, returning it, making his eyes spark with something softer than his usual blatant and unmistakable lust.

“I don’t need you to do that. It’ll be fine. But thanks for offering. It’s actually really sweet.”

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