“I’m not dignifying that with an answer.” Slamming my palms on the armrests, I pushed myself up from the couch and started taking strides past my brother, still feeling the light, lingering pulses as the pain faded into almost nothing.
“You’re no fun.”
“I’m plenty, you’re ridiculous. Just get him prepped, and I’ll make sure our girl is more than ready to play her part.” I rolled my neck, gripping the handle of the door as Lucas cracked his knuckles and got to work.
“Let’s hope she is, otherwise we’re all fucked.”
“Don’t remind me…” I muttered, right before exiting the room and making my way back to his car.
Approachingthepassengerdoor,Tessa threw it open and flew out at me like a fucking startled pigeon on a sidewalk.
“Oh my god, Levi. What happened?”
I didn’t think anything of the hit from earlier, but it must have left a mark, considering her initial reaction. Lucas didn’t mentionanything, but then again, why would he care about my appearance?
“It’s fine, I’m fine, everything is fine, babygirl,” I reassured her with a firm squeeze, using her scent as a form of aromatherapy. Her perfume helped dissolve what was left of my pain into nothing.
“You’re face…”
“Will heal, unlike the man who caused it.” Releasing my hold on her, I held Tessa’s hands in mine, my thumbs circling the back of her palms as I let out a deep breath. “Are you ready? Are you sure you can go through with this? We only—” I paused, feeling a fear I’d never felt until now slinking up my spine and wrapping itself around my chest, pulling tight,squeezinglike a boa constrictor about to feast upon its prey. “You… only get one chance.”And failure was not a fucking option.
“Then I suppose I should make it count, right? Let’s hope I’m not a bad shot.” My girl laughed, and I searched her eyes for the sincerity in her lighthearted response as I began to doubt my confidence and ability to keep her out of harm’s way.
When you hear of another wife being attacked,strangled, it truly puts things into perspective, and it sent me into a downward spiral faster than water being sucked down a drain.
I was well-versed in the terms and understood the associated risks of our work, as well as our duty to the brotherhood. None of this was new to me, but the contrast between the thought and the reality of hers was all but condemning.
“Levi.” Tessa’s comforting voice broke through the veil of silence that had fallen over us, a blanket of uncertainty as I warredwith my internal thoughts. “Talk to me. You were so determined. What happened?” Her eyes broke through barricades, dismantled and destroyed old walls before erecting those of her own that would allow her passage without question—the final pieces falling into place.
I let her in completely when I opened up about my mother.
“I fell.”
