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She nodded. “Yes.”
“And they were slashed sometime after you closed the door on Kelvin?”
Piper frowned. “You’d be wrong to think he had anything to do with it. He’s an idiot at times, but he wouldn’t do stuff like this. Really.”
“People will do very strange out-of-character things when jealous.” Levi had seen that a dozen times with the ex-bed buddies of Knox when they got all riled up by seeing him with Harper.
“Even if he wanted me back, which he doesn’t, he’d have no reason to feel jealous—I told him that you and I aren’t dating.”
“That doesn’t mean he’d have been fine with seeing another man enter your house. Maybe he felt compelled to mark what he believes is his territory.”
She shook her head. “No, I can’t see him doing this. Not for any reason. And I can’t see it being Sefton either. I’m not saying he wouldn’t make a nuisance of himself at some point, given he’s angry with me. But do it so soon after being released, while he’ll still be a mental wreck from his time in incarceration and surely far from interested in risking Knox’s wrath? It seems unlikely that he would.”
“Maybe. However, although the torture he endured wasn’t solely about punishment but about deterring people from reoffending, not everyone learns their lesson. It works with most. Like Enzo. At one time, he and Dez’s brother Marshall got up to all kinds of shit.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Enzo was a cocksure son of a bitch back then. A stay in Knox’s Chamber had been the reality check he needed. He turned his life around, even though he also lost his brother and father near that time. He hated his father—and with good reason—but he loved his brother. It would have been easy for Enzo to go off the rails, but he didn’t. He got his shit together. I’m not yet sure if Sefton will do the same. What I am sure of is that he’s incredibly spiteful, just like Jasper, so we can’t be so certain that either brother will keep their head down and leave you alone.”
“True.” Cursing, she rubbed at her forehead as lines of strain formed on her face. “I swear my life is usually relatively uneventful. It must seem like I’m someone who’ll constantly be needing people to step in and deal with situations for them. I’m not.” She dropped her hand to her side. “The occasional person gives me grief when I help identify a culprit, but this … no, stuff like this isn’t regular.”
He cocked his head. “You think I’ll get tired of being here whenever you need me?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
He pinned her gaze with his. “That’s not who I am, Piper. I’ll always be here for you. And if you want the truth, although I’m pissed that someone did this, I’m also feeling pretty pleased right now.”
Her head jerked back. “What?”
“You’re used to dealing with things on your own. I know it’s no little thing that you shared this with me, trusting me to help. Don’t think I don’t see that. I do. And it means something to me that you didn’t choose to handle this alone.”
“I thought about it,” she admitted in a mumble.
“I’m sure you did. But in the end, you chose not to keep this from me. That’s what matters.” He spared the wall clock a quick look. “Let’s get you to the studio. I’ll have someone come and clean this mess. It will be gone by the time I pick you up after your shift is over. All right?”
Swallowing, she gave a curt nod. “All right.”
The faith in those two words eased his demon’s anger slightly. “Good. Now come on.”
Once he’d escorted her into the studio and said his goodbyes, he drove to the apartment building where Sefton lived.
Levi didn’t need to have anyone buzz him into the complex. He had the code for every lair-owned building logged on his phone’s note-app. So he let himself inside and made his way to Sefton’s apartment. The nightmare opened the door a few moments after Levi knocked.
Stood there in rumpled clothing, Sefton groggily double-blinked. And then he seemed to jolt into full alertness. “Uh … Levi. Hey.”
Levi arched up a brow. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”
“Sorry. Yeah. Of course.”
Following the nightmare into the living room, Levi glanced around, taking in the empty candy wrappers on the table and the ridiculous amount of clutter. “Not the tidiest person in the world, are you?”
Sefton shifted nervously from foot to foot. “I guess not.”
“What time did you drag yourself out of bed this morning?”
“About ten minutes ago, maybe.”
“Hmm.” Levi tilted his head. The guy truly did look as though he hadn’t long woken. Maybe he hadn’t, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t simply been napping after paying Piper’s house a visit. “And you didn’t take a little trip at some point?”
