27. Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Six
Levi
My world stops the moment I see her face.
Seven years of carefully constructed reality splinters in the space between heartbeats leaving me breathless. The bass from the speakers thuds against my skull, but I can't hear it over the roaring in my ears. Because she's standing right here. In front of me. Breathing. Whole. Alive .
My hands find the bar's edge, gripping it until my knuckles turn white. The polished wooden surface is the only solid thing left in a world that's suddenly liquid, unstable.
Angel. The nickname I gave her that day under the tree. The day everything started. The day I set us both on this path.
The room tilts dangerously as she bolts. "Sunny! Please!" The words tear from my throat, but she's already gone. It's too late.
Please come back. Please come back. The words echo through my head, a desperate prayer to a god I stopped believing in the night I found her broken body on her bedroom floor. Except she wasn't dead. She wasn't fucking dead.
The truth slams into me, burying me under its weight. Every kill I've ordered, every drop of blood I've spilled, every brick of the empire I've built – all of it was founded on her death. On justice. On vengeance.
My chest constricts, lungs forgetting how to pull in air. The core memory I've spent years trying to forget claws its way to the surface—her blood on my hands, the weight of her limp body in my arms, forcing myself to walk away. I left instead of checking one more time. One more fucking time.
The watching crowd blurs at the edges of my vision. My men's confused murmurs mix with the whispers of the dancers, creating a suffocating cocoon of sound. No one moves. They're all caught in this moment, watching me fall apart under the weight of a truth too heavy to bear.
I feel Zane's presence before I see him—his stare burning into me as he moves closer. Seven years of brotherhood built on a foundation of lies. His eyes dart between me and the door where Sunny disappeared.
"Levi." The way he says my name is careful, measured, like he's talking to an injured, cornered animal. "What the fuck just happened?"
A broken, strangled laugh escapes from my throat. "That was Sunny." Her name cuts like shards of glass after all this time. "My Sunny."
"Your Sunny?" Wolf's voice sounds distant, confused. "But she—"
"I thought she was dead." The words rip out of me. My grip on control keeps slipping, unleashing memories I've fought for years to keep buried. "This isn't possible."
The room falls dead quiet. Seven years of unquestioning loyalty hang in the balance as my men watch their leader come apart at the seams. I can feel their eyes on me but I can't look at them. Can't face the questions I know are forming.
"You need to explain." Colt's voice cuts through the silence. "Now."
But there aren't any explanations that will make this right. No words that can justify seven years of revenge built on half-truths.
My voice, when it finally comes, is cracked.
"I found her that night." Each word feels like confession and condemnation both.
"There was so much blood. She wasn't breathing. No pulse." The memory slams into me like a physical blow. "I checked. I fucking checked ."
The edge of the bar is the only thing keeping me upright as the room spins out. Words I've never said to anyone but myself pour out of my mouth. "It was my fault. I should've been there to stop him—"
I cut myself off, but it's too late. The images flood in, impossible to stop. The black dress I bought her shredded and soaked with blood. Purple-black bruises mapping a world of violence across her skin. Deep slashes carved into her pale white flesh. I squeeze my eyes shut but the images stay.
"What do you mean, you were there?" Zane's voice could cut glass.
The coldness in his eyes tells me he's already piecing it together. There's no taking it back now, no way to stuff this truth back in the tidy little box I constructed for it. It’s all starting to crumble like sand.
These men—my brothers—they've only ever heard the sanitized version of what happened. I fed them lies because I couldn't face the truth. It took me years to bury the worst of that night, transform it into something I could live with—a version that didn't make me want to put a bullet in my head every time I closed my eyes.
But now...
"I need to find her." My voice is heavy with grief. "Right fucking now."
The room closes in, air turning thick and heavy. Bile rises, burning my throat making me feel sick. One of the girls breaks for the door. Her heels strike the floor like gunshots as she runs. Colt's right behind her, his worried voice calling after her.
"Jade, wait!"
The door slams behind them, and somehow their absence makes the weight of truth even heavier.
"You were there?" Zane grabs my arms, holding me in place. His voice cuts like a blade, his eyes boring into mine. "But you said... What else are you lying about?"
I meet his stare, feeling something vital crack in my chest. "Zane—"
My voice sounds foreign, distant over the ringing in my ears. "I owe you answers. All of you. But not here. Not now."
"Not here?" Zane advances, rage rolling off him in waves. "Not now ? We've gone through hell with you. For you. Seven years, Levi. Seven fucking years we've bled for you, killed for you, bought into your bullshit. And now we find out it was all lies?" His voice splinters on the last word, betrayal bleeding through the anger.
His accusation hits me hard. I flinch, nails breaking skin as I clench my fists, fighting to maintain control. "I thought she was dead, Zane," I force out through gritted teeth.
"I thought—" The words die in my throat. "I can't do this right now."
"Yeah, you can." He steps closer, fury radiating off him. "You don't get to drop this on us and walk away."
"I'm not walking away," I snarl, my tone sharp enough to make him pause. "But I need to find her. Right fucking now, Z. Please. "
His jaw locks as he searches my face, looking for something—remorse maybe, or a reason not to swing. Whatever he finds makes him step back, but the rage doesn't leave his eyes. "Fine," he spits, ice in his voice. "But when you're done? Every last detail, Levi. No more lies."
The challenge hangs between us. Without another word, I push past him and through the door. The bouncers don't try to stop me as I make my way through the club, following a couple dancers down a dark hallway. My heart hammers against my ribs as I spot what I'm looking for—a heavy metal door with a glowing exit sign.
The night air hits me like a slap in the face when I burst into the alley. Cold enough to drag me back from the edge I've been teetering on. I scan the shadows but there's nothing. Just the muffled thump of bass from inside.
I make it halfway across the parking lot before reality stops me cold.
Seven years. Seven years I've built an empire on vengeance, dedicated every breath to hunting down her killer. And not once—not once —did I go back to Easton Creek. Couldn't face visiting the graves of the two women I loved most. One visit would have shown me the truth. But I was too much of a fucking coward.
My fists clench until they shake. Has she spent all this time thinking I abandoned her? That I never showed up that night? Or worse—that I found her bleeding out and just walked away? She has no idea how much she meant to me. Still means to me.
I check every car, but I already know. She's gone. Again. I've lost her again. But this time—this time I can fix it. I have to.
I storm back into the club, tearing through hallways, throwing open doors until I reach the dressing room. Startled screams greet me as I burst in, only to find myself face-to-face with a wall of muscle blocking my path.
" Enough. "
The voice is calm but deadly serious. Benny—the club owner I spent some time talking to earlier. He seemed reasonable enough then, but now he's planted in front of me like a wall, flanked by the two VIP bouncers. His command hangs in the air, absolute and non-negotiable.
"She was here. Angel was here." I plead. "You have to tell me where she is."
Benny's eyes turn to steel. "I don't have to tell you shit. Even if I knew where she was, hell would freeze over before I'd tell you. You're done here." He doesn't flinch as he nods to the bouncers, who close ranks, cutting me off from the dressing room completely.
"You don't understand—" I start, but my words crash against his resolve like waves on concrete.
"Oh, I understand plenty ." Benny's voice slices through mine.
"When I met Angel, she was a goddamned mess. Half-starved, scared of her own shadow, fresh out of the hospital." His lip curls in disgust. "Running from someone who'd beaten her half to death. Now you show up, ripping through my club like a fucking maniac. I don't know if you're the one who did that to her, and I don't care. You're not getting anywhere near her. If you come within twenty feet of her again, it won't be because anyone here helped you. We clear?"
"She's mine." The words escape before I can stop them, rough and primal. Despair claws its way up my throat, but Benny's expression doesn't waver.
"Maybe you think that's true. What I know is Angel's fought like hell to put whatever happened behind her. She doesn't need you showing up and dragging her back down into it. Don't come back here." His voice drops to deep in his throat. "Leave. Now."
The bouncers move in, and for the first time in years, I let someone else dictate my actions. They escort me out the back entrance, shoving me into the cool night air.
She's alive. She was here. And just like that, she's gone again.
And there's not a damn thing I can do about it right now.