Worst Behavior (Seduce and Destroy #4)

1. Levi

ONE

levi

“Wallace…I swear to God, you die on me, man, I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you again. Don’t .”

I don’t want to .

Definitely haven’t done or said everything I’ve wanted to. I’m way past having my fair amount of unfinished business. Feelings I’ve kept bottled and locked away that haven’t been littered with bullet holes and pain inside my chest.

To the one person who needs to know them all.

They haven’t been made known to the one person who needs to know them all.

My lungs demand air as I lie flat on my back underneath the unforgiving concrete. It hurts to breathe, and I can’t think straight when Juice and Hot Rod keep bitching about whether they should move me or not.

“I’m here ,” Hot Rod snaps, a bit frantically, alluding to my condition. I must look how I feel, which isn’t well . “You’re not . And you’ve got two fuckin’ minutes, or I’m going to put you in a body bag and bury you in it. Alive, Dino.”

“You’ve got this,” I hear Juice mutter close at my side, and I better not be of fuckin’ sound mind because I think he’s actually running his fingers lightly through my fucking hair. “Hang in there for me, man. You don’t have options?—”

“ Fuckkkk !” I hear rubber and loose cement being shuffled around. “Wildes, get by that car! They’re rollin’ back!”

What a pair of balls, that one.

Torin fucking Wildes.

Who the fuck thought he’d be my so-called hero in this scenario?

The dumbass jumped out in front of me, mid-unloading of an Uzi clip from some dude hanging out of an Oldsmobile that got me the first time, and I know he took a shot.

He’s still moving, though, so maybe not.

I hear the familiar sound of bullets on metal in rapid succession. However, my mind stays on the dude I’ve tried to murder a dozen times over the years.

Yep, still hate him.

And I think he busted my skull open. I have him to thank for being shoved to the ground after he shoved me out of the way.

Now, I’m paralyzed in discomfort, unable to move or breathe properly, and I can’t even open my eyes.

I kinda don’t want to.

I’m trying to sort this all out in my head.

I’m not exactly sure what De Leon thought he was gonna do if he did murder me and Wildes, but he definitely started a war. It makes me wonder what kind of backing he has because the dipshit can’t be this stupid to be doing it all by himself.

All I need to do is find him standing still one time with a dozen of The Nameless, and he’s finished.

Like you haven’t done that before? They all failed. He’s a bitch who hides underground for months at a time.

“How much longer, motherfucker? I got a man dying here on the fuckin’ street.”

Obviously, Hot Rod is stressed, champing at the bit for the help he’s called for. Nothing or no one would ever be able to move fast enough in a situation like this, but we’ve been through similar shit before.

Mind you, he was the motherfucker on the ground, and I was the one bitching on the other side of a cell phone. Though, I wouldn’t trade places with him. Whatever and wherever that led hit me, it’s slowly beginning to make shit go black around the edges of my mind.

They know what to do if this shit goes south.

That’s what I keep telling myself as I try my best to get enough air to fully satisfy my lungs. My wishes and will—verbally, of course—have already been given to Juice and Hot Rod in case something like this took place. I’m not naive enough to think I don’t always have a target on my head.

Because I’m always in danger, no matter how many times I tell Bay I’m safe.

However, she is.

She was.

She was until I gave her the green light to seduce Baby Wildes and win over Reeve Stanton.

Never did I think I was fucking myself over in that moment.

I didn’t believe she was capable of loving the enemy. I was under the impression her hatred for them ran as deep as my own.

It didn’t.

Or it changed.

However, my feelings for her never have, while I got to watch her pine and troll over those pricks.

When Torin discovered what happened to Judah and he got me locked up, she needed to make some life changes. Then she got her heart broken on top of it.

And Bay wasn’t the only one.

I’ve loved her since I was a mangy kid with a fucked-up mom and a wild streak to wreak havoc. I’ve watched and protected her like it was a job when it became a life mission.

A want.

A need.

Something I didn’t mind doing because Roger adored her, and it wasn’t hard to follow suit.

Except I’ve never acted on those emotions because I never wanted to fuck up what she and I have.

Love, loyalty, trust, and an understanding.

There isn’t another person in this world who I would move Heaven and Earth for. We’re a fucking team. Bay is the Bonnie to my Clyde, and we’ve been ride-or-dies for over a decade.

And while she may be in love with two other dudes, I’m never leaving her.

It’s fucking stupid, I know .

I’ve tried to convince myself I can’t keep her a million times. That she’s not mine, and no one can touch her.

Even though I’ve come so close to offing Wildes myself and blowing Reeve’s dick off so he can never use it again.

Especially after the fake rape video.

If I didn’t love Bay so much, he would’ve died that day. If I could’ve moved Roger, Mae, Ellie, and Bay out of South Shore after I assassinated Torin Wildes, I would’ve done that too.

But I could never be the cause of such grief, especially when I’ve noticed Torin developed a relationship with her. When she was dating the man who just sprayed me with lead and not even his stupid ass could talk himself out of such a bad idea.

And me…I could never, stupidly enough, break her in two because the pain would be worse than the shit I’m experiencing now.

It was probably for the best I didn’t kill him.

His body as a shield may have saved me, though it doesn’t feel like it. And fuck me, if this stupid motherfucker dies with me on the street like we were working together, I’ll kill myself again.

The loud rev of a SUV approaching foggily fills my ears as a spray of gunshots rings out around us again.

Glass breaks, shouts of men ring out, and Juice and Hot Rod are hollering orders I can’t fully digest.

I’m tired.

But I have to see Bay.

If she hears I’ve been shot, it’ll send her spiraling. She’s going to act a fool and have whoever drives her here go as fast as possible, or she’ll do it herself.

And I don’t need her killing herself either.

“Stay down, Wallace!”

Yeah, no shit .

But it makes Juice feel better, so whatever. It’s his ammo to talk in stressful situations, and who the fuck am I to rain on his parade? I couldn’t tell him to shut the hell up, even if I wanted to, because breathing is becoming harder and I’m trying to save it for when I see Bay.

I want to ask Juice if he’s called her but with the lack of oxygen, I can’t form the words. My best bet is to wait this out as much as possible until the paramedics or whomever gets here. Until I can tell Bay I’m fine myself, even though I’m failing just to keep from passing out.

I hear Hot Rod bark more orders, but his voice is starting to sound muffled and far away.

He knows what to do.

He knows what to say.

And still, my biggest regret is not being able to do it myself.

I promised Roger I’d keep the girls safe, and I’m going to stay true to my word.

Everything I’ve ever done…was for her.

Even if I don’t pull through, Bay, Ellie, and Mae will be kept under the same protection as they have been. The Nameless know what needs to happen if I don’t make it out of any perilous predicament I may get in. They will all be protected under the foundation Roger made and the one I continued to carry out when he handed over the reins.

Everything I own, my bank accounts, my car…everything goes to her .

I’m sorry, Astor.

I should’ve told you.

And she’s the last thing I see when consciousness finally leaves me.