Chapter 19
Sam
Levi’s knife scrapes loudly against his plate as he cuts into his piece of chicken. Jameson’s mother watches me, waiting for me to follow suit.
I take a bite and smile at her, trying not to make a bad impression. “This is really good, thank you.”
Her painted lips tip up as she pushes the peas around her plate.
“I’m glad you like it.” She reaches for the drink in front of her, a low glass with clear liquid and way too many olives.
“So,” she says, “how long have you and Jameson been together?” She looks over at him, her expression pinching.
“Apparently, he never tells me anything.”
I clear my throat. “It’s new.”
She hums in response.
“We’ve just been friends,” Jameson cuts in. “Until today.”
“You looked like a lot more than friends last night,” Levi counters.
His mother looks between us, realizing she’s missing something. “Last night?”
“At his fight,” Levi clarifies.
“You were at his fight?” she asks me, and I nod.
Turning back to Levi, she says, “But you told me women aren’t allowed to go.”
Women aren’t allowed to go? There were plenty of women there.
“It’s no place for a woman,” he answers dismissively before pinning me with a stare. “Just like it wasn’t your place to get between me and my son.”
I refuse to apologize, so I say nothing.
Jameson shifts in his seat beside me, and his mother catches the movement, noticing the tension in the air. Her gaze lingers on his face. “Did you lose?”
“No.”
She looks between him and Levi. “Then what?”
Levi leans forward. “He—”
The sound of ringing cuts him off.
He slides a phone out of his pocket, placing it against his ear. He listens for a few seconds before snapping his fingers and pointing at the table. Jameson gets up, coming back a minute later with a piece of paper and a pen.
“Repeat that,” Levi says. “Uh-huh,” he mutters as he scribbles an address onto the paper. “Ten o’clock, sure.” He nods to himself. “Yeah, see you then.” After hanging up, he slides the phone back into his pocket.
“Everything good?” Jameson asks.
Levi digs into his mashed potatoes. “Great,” he mutters, a warning in his tone.
His mother swirls her drink, moving her attention back to me and Jameson. “So, you two met at the shop then?”
I can’t tell if she’s ignoring Levi’s growing irritation or trying to distract from it.
“Yeah,” I answer. “I work the front desk.”
“How’d you end up with that job?”
“My brother he—”
“Works for me,” Levi interrupts.
“Oh,” she breathes, as if it all just clicked. “Who’s your brother?”
“The new kid,” Levi says, answering for me again. “You met him at the last party.”
Party?
Noting the confusion on my face, Levi clarifies, “An after hours thing.”
Right, another thing on the side of the divide that I’m not a part of.
“I’m sure we’ll catch you at the next one, though. Now that you’re with my boy and all.”
I watch as he slides his empty plate back and fishes for a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out and tucking it between his lips. He turns, tilting the pack toward Jameson’s mother before offering it to me.
I wave him off. “I’m okay, thank you.”
“What is it with you and your brother, hmm? Don’t you know it’s rude not to accept things that people offer you?”
What’s that supposed to mean? What kind of things is he offering Johnny?
He extends the pack of cigarettes. “Come on; I know you smoke.”
Hit number two: Making it clear that he keeps tabs on me.
I tuck my chin and pull a cigarette from the pack.
“Good,” he says before lighting his wife’s, his own, and then handing the lighter to me.
“Thanks,” I mutter.
“You know,” he starts, exhaling a cloud of smoke, “lying’s not a great way to make a good impression.”
Anxiety coils through me as I bring the cigarette to my lips. “What?”
“A girl like you would never turn down a free smoke,” he answers matter-of-factly. “You don’t think I haven’t noticed the bag of joints Jameson rolls for me has been light since you’ve started hanging around?”
Shit.
“You think I don’t have cameras in that room?”
Jameson goes still beside me. He clearly wasn’t aware of the cameras, either.
“But you’re the kind of girl who will take anything you can get, isn’t that right?”
“I—”
“Are you using my son, or just stealing from him?”
I begin to respond but Levi continues on.
“You know who I am. What I do. Yes?”
I swallow. “Yes.”
“And yet, you steal from me? You insert yourself in my business? Come between me and my son?”
Jameson leans forward. “She—”
“I’m not talking to you,” Levi snaps before turning his attention back to me, dismissing Jameson altogether.
Fuck this. I’m sick of his games, the way he manipulates everyone around him, the way he speaks to people. The way he treats Jameson.
“I was helping him,” I spit. “In case you haven’t seen what he looks like, he didn’t need you to use him as your personal punching bag last night.” I lower my voice. “Who picks a fight with someone who can barely stand?”
Jameson’s mother fidgets uncomfortably as Levi cocks his head. Jameson shifts closer to me, his arm brushing against mine.
“So you really do care about him, then?” Levi muses.
I blink. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not weak”—he flicks his hand in Jameson’s direction—“and you’ve clearly proven that you’ll stand by him.”
I nod tentatively.
“I had to make sure you weren’t just using him.”
“I’m not.”
He settles back in his seat, and with that one movement, the room relaxes. “I know that now.”
“What—so I pass your little test?”
He smirks. “Yeah, you pass.”
Turning to Jameson, he says, “I like this one. Reminds me of her brother.”
He points at me, his cigarette dangling between his fingers. “But don’t get between us again.”
“Then don’t make me have to.”
He laughs. “Jesus, girl. You don’t hold back, do you?”
When I keep quiet, he shifts to Jameson. “You better keep an eye on this one.”
Jameson nods, his hand coming down to rest on my leg.
Levi pushes his chair back and stands. “All right, then I think we’re done here.”
He starts to walk into the living room, Jameson’s mother reaching over the table to begin clearing the dishes.
“Oh, and one last thing,” Levi mutters, turning back to us.
“Yeah?” Jameson says, his voice even.
“If I ever find out you’re dipping into the product again …” He trails off, the undelivered threat hanging in the air.
“I’m—”
Jameson squeezes my thigh, and I go silent.
“Consider this first mishap a gift, yeah?” Levi slides his eyes over, meeting mine. “But next time, I won’t be so generous.”
“There won’t be a next time,” Jameson assures him.
Levi grunts. “Remember what I told you—about testing me.” He motions between us. “I’d hate for this to have to end.”
Jameson’s fingers tighten around my leg.
“Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Jameson is quiet before he clears his throat. “Yes, sir, I understand.”
His father nods, his gaze still locked with mine, before he turns and stalks out of the room.
Once they’re gone, Jameson lets out a breath, his shoulders dropping, and I realize that Levi just dealt the final blow.
Hit number three: The only reason Jameson and I are together is because Levi is allowing us to be. And he’s just found another thing he can hold over Jameson’s head.
Me.