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Take Me Apart

Page 114

by Brea Alepoú

Tex groaned. “It’s annoying as hell, people who see the movie freaking post about it right after ruining it for the rest of us.”

It was a familiar complaint I had heard from him. As always, I let him rant away about how people were inconsiderate. Watching him get worked up was like listening to my own personal ASMR. I relaxed and pulled him close, ignoring the wine soaked into his clothing.

“I need to get changed then.” He pulled at the ruined suit. Tex pulled away from me and hopped into the car. “Come on.”

“There is a shopping district—”

“No, thanks,” Tex said, cutting me off.

I started the car and pulled out into traffic. “I can buy you something new.”

Tex rolled his eyes. “Why when my apartment is just around the corner? I can change there.”

My molars ground together as my fingers tightened around the steering wheel. Tex’s hand rested on my thigh, calming the rage inside me. We said nothing, but I’d made it clear I wanted him to stay with me. Not that I was giving him any choice. I wouldn’t allow Tex to go back to his place away from me, and he knew that.

I relaxed and pulled into the parking spot right outside his old apartment. “Pack up everything you feel is important.”

Tex paused halfway out of the car and glanced over his shoulder at me. “We don’t have time for that. We’re still on a date.”

I didn’t want him to have any other place but mine to go to. His gaze met mine, searching for who knew what. He sighed.

“Enzo, we can come back and get the rest another time. I’m just here to change clothes.”

“Fine.”

He squinted at me. “I’m serious, Enzo. Don’t hire someone to move me. I will get my shit and say goodbye to this place when I’m ready.”

The creaking of the steering wheel penetrated the fog clouding my mind. I released it and nodded. He had no more than a month to get all of his shit out of there, or I’d take matters into my own hands. I turned the car off and hopped out behind him.

“What are you doing?” Tex asked.

I cocked a brow at him. It was obvious, was it not? Tex shook his head and placed his big hands on my chest. Even through the suit, his warmth touched my soul.

“No, you don’t. You come in, and instead of getting clothes on, I’ll be bent over.”

I stepped closer to him, gripping his chin to look at me. “And what is wrong with that?”

Tex’s tongue swiped over his bottom lip as his pupils dilated. “We’re on a date. Not to mention, I really want to see the movie.”

I forced myself to let him go. “You have twenty minutes to get cleaned up. If you aren’t out here by then, I’m coming in.”

Tex smirked. “Yeah, and what will you do, clean up?”

I grinned at him. “I will destroy you.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he took a few more steps back. “You know, when you say it with a straight face like that, it sounds more like murder.”

“Your time is ticking away.”

“Bastard.” Tex turned on his heels. “Give me thirty. I want to shower.”

I tapped the watch on my wrist. Tex groaned as he ran up to his apartment.

I headed back toward the car and reached for a pack of cigarettes. Tex’s phone buzzed and rattled in the cupholder, stopping me in my tracks. A single glance at the screen showed his father’s name.

Anger blossomed in the middle of my chest and seeped to my fingertips. If there was a man I wanted to hurt more than anything in this world, it was Henry Caster. He’d played a hand in nearly bringing my family to ruins two years ago. Benito had forced Gin and me not to return the favor. He could easily be forgotten as an old man forced to retire and live out his days in agonizing pain and always wondering if we would come back for him after the bullet in his leg. It was punishment enough, but that wasn’t his only crime. The one that was above all was the harm he’d done to Tex.

The phone vibrated in my hand. I was oblivious to the fact I’d picked it up in the first place. I hit the green button. Air clogged my throat, making it impossible to talk as I brought it to my ear.