Page 22 of Entangled By You
I could go to the club, blow off steam, and grab drinks with the guys, but I don’t. Truth is, I don’t want to be away from her. I spent months watching her from a distance after Evan, and years before that, trying to erase the thought of her from my head with whatever drink, drug, or woman would let me forget. None of it worked. Not really. And now? Forget it.
We’re not together. She’s made that painfully clear, repeatedly. But she’s not seeing anyone else, and I don’t want someone who isn’t her. All five feet of guarded glances, tangled emotions, and that dull fire that’s still deep down refusing to die. Lexi is and has always been an untamable chaos, and I’m fucking drawn to it.
Right now, she’s standing across the kitchen island, staring at me with that look she’s worn all week. Frustrated. Uncertain. Like she’s gearing up for a fight, she’s not sure she’ll win.
I love it.
“Pierce! Are you even listening to me?”
I shake off the thoughts spinning through my head and give her the smile that used to do the trick. The one that used to make her soften around the edges.
She glares, arms crossed tight over her chest. Her sharp exhale is half shriek, half sigh. She’s entirely over my shit.
Yeah, that little ace up my sleeve definitely doesn’t work anymore.
“Sorry,” I say, holding up my hands a little. “I was just planning what to make you for dinner tonight.”
She scoffs. “You’ve always been a shit liar. Good to see some things haven’t changed.”
If she only knew how much I’m keeping from her. How hard I work to hold back everything Ireallywant to say just to keep her from seeing the true evil that lurks around her.
Then she drops it, casually, like she’s not about to set fire to my entire nervous system.
“What Isaidwas, I think I’m ready to tell Harlow and my brother. Let’s go over there today.”
My pulse spikes, but I keep my face still, nodding slowly like I saw it coming. Truth is, we can’t keep this a secret forever. It’s a miracle Harlow hasn’t figured it out already with the way Lexi’s been acting. But still, saying it out loud? Making it real? Telling her family?
Yeah. That’s a whole different kind of terrifying.
“I’ll grab the keys.”
The car rolls to a stop in front of Si and Harlow’s place. The small ranch-style home with rocking chairs on the front porch and a wind chime clinking quietly in the winter breeze is so different than anything I’d expect from the couple who resides here.
Lexi twists her fingers in her lap, nerves practically radiating off her. I don’t know why she’s the one so anxious. I’m the one stepping into a lion’s den. A dead man walking.
She’s worried about a simple family visit. I’m concerned about surviving her brother’s particular brand of gruesome torture. The shit I’ve seen Si do with nothing more than a beltand a pair of pliers would make a grown man rethink his life choices. I’m not sure how he’ll react to the news, but my imagination doesn’t have to work too hard to paint a picture straight from a horror movie.
“Okay,” Lexi says, her voice tight. “Let me do all the talking. I can handle my brother.”
I nod, unfolding myself from behind the wheel of her compact sedan. My knees crack from the cramped ride. She’s still frozen in the passenger seat, not making a move. I round the hood and open her door, leaning down so we’re eye to eye.
“You sure you want to do this?” I ask, voice low. “We don’t have to tell them today.”
She takes a sharp breath, and when her head whips toward me, her eyes lock on mine. A determined fire flashes under the muted winter sun.
“It’s time,” she says. “They need to know. And I need my best friend to talk to about all this shit.”
I give her a slight nod and step back, giving her room. She finally climbs out, resolve hardening her features.
The walk up to the front door is slow, each step building that wired, anxious buzz in my chest. The same kind of tension I get when working through a job for the club—high stakes with no positive outcome guaranteed.
We pause on the stoop. Her hand rises, ready to knock, but I catch her arm gently before she can follow through.
“You know you can talk to me, right?” I murmur, almost afraid they’ll hear through the thick oak door.
Lexi lets out a light, almost carefree laugh. It’s so unexpected, it knocks the breath out of me.
“I’m serious, Lex,” I say, voice a notch deeper. “I get that you want Harlow to know. But at the end of the day, this isyou and me, Princess. I’ve got you. Whatever you need, I’m here.”
