Page 19 of Code Red Chemistry

I reach for the strainer, needing something to do with my trembling hands. “It wasn’t just physical for me, either,” I confess. “That’s why it hurt so much when you acted like it meant nothing.”

“Zo.” He catches my wrist gently. “I’m sorry. Really. That night meant everything. I didn’t know how to handle it.”

The truth is plastered across his face, visible in every line crisscrossing his forehead, in every wrinkle around the firm set of his lips. The vulnerability. The hope. The fear. All the things he’s been hiding behind that cocky grin.

We’ve still got my brother to deal with, but for now, this moment feels like the beginning of something real.

Levi

“Look, man,” I say,my stomach churning as I pace between the trucks in the empty bay while Mack curls thirty-pound dumbbells at the weight bench, “I need to tell you something about Zoe—”

“How dare you speak my sister’s name!” Mack bellows in a voice that sounds more like a cartoon villain than my best friend. “I trusted you, bro!”

“Hell,” I murmur, dragging a hand down my face. “Alex sounds nothing like that.”

Mack switches arms with a grunt. “Hey, I’m doing you a favor here. And that was a solid impression.”

The familiar scents of diesel and detergent fill my lungs as I try again, my jaw clenching. “Alex, you know how Zoe and I—”

“Banged like bunnies at my wedding?”

“For fuck’s sake.” Heat crawls up my neck, my collar suddenly too tight. The words I’ve rehearsed in my head a hundred timesover the past two days scatter like smoke in the wind. “I’m trying to be serious.”

“Reyes.” Brock saunters through, travel mug of coffee in hand. “You’re overthinking this, man. Just rip off the band-aid.”

“Is that what you did? When you finally confessed your feelings to Libby?”

“Well, I was just getting around to it when my mom stopped by and…interrupted the moment.” Brock takes a long sip of coffee. “Libby split, but then it was Charlotte, you know my sister—”

Mack and I exchange a look at the mention of Brock’s sister, which he, fortunately, doesn’t notice.

“—who made me realize I was being a complete idiot. Kind of like you.”

“Super helpful,” I reply, rolling my eyes before I glance down to my watch, which shows only four hours until the dinner. Four hours to figure out how to tell my best friend I’m in love with his sister, without destroying fifteen years of friendship.

The other night, I decided to tell Alex. And soon. Arriving early for dinner and catching him before Zoe arrives for her celebration will be perfect. Kristina will kill him if he ruins the night, and dinner will give him a chance to process the news. And see us together. See how perfect we are with each other.

Brock lifts his mug in my direction before heading upstairs to his shift briefing with the captain. I’m gathering my thoughts, though my chest feels as if I’m pinned under the weight of a collapsed ceiling, as I turn back to Mack, who’s still smirking.

“Can we focus? Please?” I ask.

“I’m ready whenever you are.”

“Great,” I murmur, the words sticking in my throat like thick smoke. “Alex, there’s something I need to—”

“Oh, beloved friend!” Mack clasps his hands to his chest. “How could you betray our sacred brotherhood?”

And with that, my last thread of my patience snaps. Considering my mood, I’m surprised took this long.

“You know what? Forget it.” I rake my hands through my hair. “It’s not like you would know how to handle this shit, anyway. You’ve never loved a woman enough to risk everything.”

Mack’s weights hit the concrete with a metallic clang that echoes off the walls and straight through my skull. “And thank God for that.” He smirks and flicks a glance over my shoulder. “Plus, around here, there are already enough guys falling for a woman they shouldn’t be. No need for me to join the fray.”

I spin to see Jake has emerged from the stockroom, no doubt searching for any excuse to dodge incident reports.What is this? A three-ring circus around the station today?

“Hey, leave me out of this,” Jake insists, shooting Mack asay another word and I’ll kill youglare.

I ignore Jake’s drama with Brock’s sister, Charlotte, and focus on the task at hand. The entire reason I came in on my day off. “There’s nothing wrong with actually caring about someone.”

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