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Pinching my lips, I shake my head in disbelief. “What the actual fuck.”
“If I’m hearing what you read in those messages right, that fucking doctor was keeping Lev numb.”
I swallow hard, still not believing what I just read. “And Cade and his dad—Lev’s own flesh and blood—were behind it. But why? Why the hell would they do that to him? And for how long? It’s been years since Lev was himself. Has this doctor been giving him a larger dose of that Arcadulan medicine all these years, just to purposely keep him from feeling anything?”
As we hash this out, I do a quick Google search of the med Lev’s been taking. It’s an antipsychotic med and in large doses, it causes emotional numbness, lack of empathy, loss of autonomy, decreased sexual function, and a sense of resignation. May also cause patients to enter a catatonic state.
“None of this makes any damn sense,” Ridge roars as he slams his fist into a locker. “What the hell did they do to him?”
“Think it might have something to do with the murders? Just a hunch, but maybe in Lev’s uncle's mind, he was helping him.”
“No. Fuck that!” His voice rises to a near shout. “They hate Lev. Wouldn’t surprise me if they blamed him for the death of his own family. Lev’s the one who found them. Maybe they think he killed them.”
“Not a chance in hell,” I retort. “The Lev back then had the biggest heart of anyone I knew, and he fucking adored his dad. They were so close.”
I keep reading, hoping answers are given further back.
“This one’s from two weeks ago, just after Cade went missing…”
Dad: How’s Lev been? Any changes. Keep me updated.
Dad: It’s almost time, son. We’re so close. Keep an eye on your cousin and you let me know the minute he fucks up so I can record it for the attorneys. One more year until he graduates and he gets the remainder of his inheritance. It won’t be long until all that money is ours, as it should have been in the first place.
My entire body breaks out in chills. Ridge and I both stand there, looking at each other, completely stunned by what we’ve just uncovered.
“We’ve gotta go tell him,” I say, feeling as if all the blood has been drained from my body. “We gotta tell him right fucking now.”
CHAPTER33
RILEY
Me: I can’t stop thinking about our time at the cabin the other night. How about we meet there in an hour and do it all over again?
Lev: Maddox and Ridge sent me a 10-33. But fuck it. I’ll be there.
I re-readthe message exchange one more time before setting my phone on the couch beside me. It’s been fifty minutes since Lev responded. It’s also giving me fifty minutes to decide what I’m going to say and do when he gets here.
I’ve gathered some supplies I’ll use if necessary—a rope, some duct tape, and some pepper spray. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. All I want is the truth, but if he doesn’t willingly give it to me, I have every intention of torturing the fuck out of him until he does.
My heart hurts.
Nothing makes sense right now. After I left the guys’ room, I went back to mine and sure enough, Lev’s prescription pills match the same one I found on my rug. This alone tells me he was there sometime within those couple days. I’ve gone over a few different scenarios: maybe Cade stole them from Lev. Or, maybe it really is just a coincidence and Cade just happened to be in possession of the same meds Lev takes. But the note doesn’t lie. It’s absolute proof that Lev was there. He took that note from my room the day Zeke died.
An innocent guy who was wanting to make amends lost his life, and for what? A cover-up?
The door to the cabin comes open and my back steels against the couch. I don’t even turn around to look at him out of fear I’ll break down in tears.
I have to be strong.
My mind is my armor,
I am not made of glass.
What once was a frail girl,
Is now a warrior at last.
“Sort of expected you to be bent over this couch, naked,” Lev says as he emerges from behind the couch. His cold hands touch my shoulders, before his fingers slowly glide down, dipping into the V of my shirt. A shiver runs down my spine as he presses his palms against my breasts.
