Page 36

“We have different mothers.” I pinched the bridge of my nose as something close to irritation and confusion banged in my head.

Giancarlo had been seconds away from seeing Tex. If my brother had caught sight of him? I doubted I could have kept him from killing Tex. He would have known Tex had broken into my place, which meant we were compromised. There was only one course of action; kill the threat. Family first.

“I can just go. You said you wanted to be al—”

My hand shot out and wrapped around Tex’s throat once more and I tightened it.

“Or I can stay for a bit.”

My hand instinctively relaxed, and the tightness in my stomach eased. He’d stay. Tex wouldn’t end up causing a disaster, and my hand wouldn’t be forced. I met his big blue eyes and there was fear there but unlike before there was no arousal accompanying it.

I pulled my hand back and stepped away from him.

“Go sit down,'' I ordered, pointing to the living room.

Tex moved around me, each step cautious.

“Don’t do anything stupid, Tex.”

I moved over to the fridge and pulled out the pitcher of water. I poured both of us a glass and carried it into the living room just as Tex sat down. His back was ramrod straight, and his gaze kept moving toward the exit. I sighed as I sat the glasses on the coasters resting on the coffee table.

“Water.”

Text stared at it, and I sat down next to him. There was space left between us. “I told you already I prefer you to be aware.”

He nodded and reached for the glass. We sat there in silence, the tension rising with every second. My fingers tapped along the glass, and my toes wiggled in my socks. Everything felt off, and my world was upside down. Each breath felt like it was grating against my throat and I had the dangerous urge to scratch at the flesh on my neck. Maybe then the weird sensation every time I breathed would stop.

“You have a lot of books,” Tex said, popping the bubble around me.

He was probably talking at regular volume, but it sounded like he held a megaphone to my ears to speak. I flinched back and recovered quickly, straightening once more. The hum of all the appliances was getting louder, buzzing in my ears, and I held my glass tighter. The coolness did nothing to help with the heat attempting to bake me alive.

“Enzo?” Tex’s face appeared before me, and I blinked slowly, but It was all too much. My mouth stayed shut as I stared at him, mentally screaming at him to shut up and sit down.

I needed everything to be turned off.

He reached for me, and I kept still, although it was the last thing I wanted. Tex’s hand stopped just short of touching me and dropped. He looked around and picked up the bag of tools.

“Uh, want to put the shelves together?” he asked.

Why isn’t he running?Now would be the perfect time while I was trapped in my head. I reached out for the tool bag, making sure not to touch him.

“I’ll start on this one,” Tex said.

I nodded. It was the most I could do as I sat back in front of the bookcase I’d been working on earlier. Reading over the steps and following them soothed me. The noise around me quieted down and to my relief, Tex said nothing else. It was as if he was a piece of furniture in my apartment, and I didn’t have to give him a second thought.

Time ticked by, and I lost myself in my movements. The fire in my brain eased, and the room came back into focus. The bookshelf was done, and I was already halfway through filling it up with books.

I glanced over at Tex. He stared at the books in his hand.

“That’s wrong.” I pointed at the books he was haphazardly putting on the shelf.

Tex sighed. “Don’t tell me you want them alphabetical?”

“No.” I moved to him and noticed how closely he was observing me. “Each author and the series by which one I enjoyed the most.”

He slowly blinked at me. “Wait, you’ve actually read all of these books?”

I nodded, grabbed the ones he had put on the shelf already, and moved them down to the bottom.