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“Leo... seriously, man, you know they attach themselves to the glass and eat the algae, right?” I shake my head, then laugh as Nixon shoves Leo.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Nix asks as we walk back to the condo. “Did Dad drop you on your head as a baby or something?”
“You gotta look past theKronicles. The rest of the town doesn’t give a shit who we are or what we’re doing.” This town protects their own, for the most part, but I wonder how bad the attention is going to get once word gets out about Dad.
Leo claps me on the back. “And that’s coming from a frequentKroniclesheadliner.”
“Fuck off,” I grumble, unable to talk to these guys about what’s going on. Only a year separates Nixon and me, but these guys are part ofthe kidsmy sisterso eloquentlytold me not to tell about Dad’s diagnosis.
“What the hell’s going on with you tonight,Uncle?” Leo pushes.
He always pushes.
Hendrix snickers, and I groan.
“Dude, didn’t you two walk in on your mom and dad getting it on during vacation last month?” I push back to get them to shut up.
I want to get the hell home and go to bed. We don’t have practices on Tuesdays, and right about now, I’m living for tomorrow.
“Too soon, Callen,” Hendrix bitches, and I side-eye him.
Nixon’s chest shakes with laughter as we walk into the lobby of our building and wave at the doorman. “We’re never letting you live it down either, little brother.”
“I’m never gonna look at a washing machine the same way,” Hendrix mumbles, and yeah... it might make me crack a smile. “Fuck, man. I’m gonna have nightmares again now. You gonna comfort me, Nix?”
Nixon shoves him away as we wait for the elevator. “You’re on the couch tonight, shithead.”
“Come on. I’m flying back to Chicago tomorrow. You’re not really making me crash on a couch, are ya?”
Leo flicks Hendrix’s ear. “Could’a slept at Mom and Dad’s. I’m sure your noise-canceling headphones would have been fine.”
“Dude...” Hendrix closes his eyes. “I’ll take the couch.”
I lean my head back against the wall, tired as shit, and watch the dynamic play out between the brothers before the doorsopen on Nix and Leo’s floor, one below mine. They file out, but I grab Hendrix and drag him in for a hug. “See you soon, man.”
“See ya,Uncle.”
“Fucker,” I mumble and shove him through the door.
Cupcake and Meatball greet me at the door a minute later, shaking their little asses, demanding to be given the attention they want, and refusing to move until I give in. Kinda like someone else I know. I lock up behind myself and chug a bottle of water in the kitchen, hoping no one else is home. But I knowsheis. I can feel it in my bones. That’s what it’s been like since the day Caitlin moved in.
I move into the dimly lit, quiet family room, where the woman who haunts my fucking dreams as much as my days sits, curled up in the corner of the couch. Her delicate frame is lit by a single lamp as her hand moves furiously over her sketchpad. Cait’s dark hair is piled on top of her head with a pencil sticking through the center of it, holding it in place. A single strap of her black tank top has fallen off her shoulder, giving me a glimpse of way too much creamy, perfect skin.
Skin I want to mark.
To claim.
But I can’t.
Not with this woman.
Not now.
Not ever.
“Callen . . . Callen?—”
Her words are hushed, like she’s in a vacuum.
