43. Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-One
Sunny
I watch, leaning against the kitchen counter next to Jade as she directs Colt with the precision of a drill sergeant. She’s been spending a lot of time here, and I must admit, it suits her.
Despite her sharp instructions, Colt's grin never wavers, glancing back at her often with puppy-like devotion etched into his face.
"You know," I say, accepting a mug from Jade, "for someone who claimed to have sworn off men for good, you sure seem to be enjoying yourself."
Jade smirks. "Well, I mean look at him. He's kind of adorable."
I glance over at Colt who is happily stirring a heaping spoon of sugar into a fresh cup of coffee. The look on his face when he turns and extends two full cups of coffee to me and Jade, is undeniably… adorable. Just like she said.
It hasn't taken long for things here to feel comfortable. Domestic. Safe. The stack of surveillance photos on Z's desk upstairs tells a different story—years of candid shots of my life, of Jade’s life. A catalog of our friendship. Our different routines and shifts at Sirens. Her tiny little house at the edge of town, and my apartment. Garrett had been watching, waiting, probably laughing at how oblivious I'd been. It had never occurred to me that Jade would ever be a target because of me.
Z enters the kitchen, his thick black hair tousled from sleep, his gray sweatpants slung low on his hips and Jade nudges me with a small, quiet giggle when she sees my expression.
He's become a steady constant in the chaos, someone I find myself gravitating toward without thought. His kindness has made him even more beautiful. He squeezes my shoulder as he passes—a gesture that has become familiar over the past few days—before grabbing his own coffee.
"Levi's running perimeter checks again," Z announces, though no one had asked. The tension between Z and Levi has become a living thing, crackling whenever they occupy the same space. They maintain professional courtesy, but the strain shows in tight jaw muscles and clipped conversations.
"Third time today," I note quietly. I understand Levi's restlessness. This house holds ghosts for him too—memories of his father's influence lingering in every shadow. The fact that Garrett knows the layout as well as we do keeps everyone on edge.
"We're as secure as we can be," Z assures me, but his eyes flick to the windows. We all know better than to settle into that thought too comfortably.
Jade takes a sip of her coffee and lays her head on my shoulder. "At least the company's good," she says, watching as Colt and Z sit at the kitchen island and start discussing the plans for the day. "Even if the circumstances suck."
I nod, grateful that Jade is here, even though I hate that my best friend has been dragged into this mess. The photos made it clear—Jade is as much a target as anyone, whether as leverage against me or out of Garrett's twisted sense of revenge.
Through the large window over the sink, I catch sight of Levi talking to a small group of the men he brought with him. Our eyes meet briefly, and I manage a small smile. We still haven't spoken more than a few words to each other, but we'll get there. At least now the weight of our fathers' sins aren't suffocating us. But watching him turn away, I can't help but notice how his gaze travels from me to Z and back again. It's going to take time , I remind myself.
Z calls us into his office later that afternoon. The tension in the room is immediate—Levi leaning against the wall near the window, Colt perched on the edge of Z's desk, while Jade and I take the chairs opposite Z. His expression is grim as he spreads out a timeline of photos across his desk.
"We need to talk about the club," Z says, his voice tight. "About what needs to happen to make this believable enough to draw him out."
"Garrett's been content to watch from the shadows for years," Z continues, his eyes meeting mine briefly before shifting to Levi. "Until you showed up."
"What are you suggesting?" Jade asks.
My breath catches. I already know where this is going.
Z's jaw tightens. "If we want to force his hand, we need to give him what he's waiting for. The thing that's always made him act—Levi and Sunny together."
Levi pushes off the wall, taking a step closer. He runs his hand roughly through his hair. "Us, together?"
"I think," Z says carefully, "Sunny was right. Garrett's entire pattern revolves around keeping you two apart. The threats started when he found out you had seen Sunny. He's escalating because he sees history repeating itself."
"And you think us being together will make him snap?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.
"I think it's our best shot," Z admits, though I can see how much it costs him to say it.
Levi's eyes find mine across the room, and suddenly I'm seventeen again, feeling that same electric pull that used to exist between us. Maybe it never really went away.
Jade clears her throat. "So, what exactly are we talking about here? How together are they supposed to be?"
"Enough to be convincing," Colt answers, his usual playfulness absent. "Enough to make him believe it's real."
I force myself to look away from Levi, catching the new tension in Z's shoulders as he outlines the rest of the plan. He's right—it all makes tactical sense. But watching him deliberately avoid looking at either me or Levi as he speaks, I realize that logical doesn't mean painless.
"We'll start tomorrow night," Z concludes. "Levi and I will both be at the club. Colt will run all of the surveillance from the van."
As everyone files out of the office, Levi catches my arm gently. The contact sends a jolt through my system that I'm not prepared for. When our eyes meet again, I know he felt it too.
"Are you going to be okay with this?" he asks softly.
"Does it matter?" I counter, but there's no bite in my words. Just the weight of everything we once were, everything we lost, and everything we might have to pretend to be again.
The tension lingers after everyone else leaves Z's office. I'm still caught in that strange space between Levi's touch and Z's carefully controlled expression.
"There's one more thing," Z says, making both Levi and me turn back. "You two look like you're about to break out in hives at the thought of touching each other. That's not going to work."
I feel the heat rise in my cheeks, but Z continues, his voice professional. "You've got eighteen hours before we put this plan in motion. Use them. Get comfortable with each other again. If you flinch every time he reaches for you, Sunny, or if you hesitate before touching her, Levi— Garrett will see right through it."
"What exactly are you suggesting?" Levi asks, and I hear the edge in his voice.
"I'm suggesting you figure out how to act like two people who were in love with each other and are working on rekindling things," Z replies bluntly, his voice tightly controlled. "Because that's what will get his attention. That's what will make him act."
Z's words settles over us. He's right, of course. The awkward distance between Levi and me might be real, might be earned, but it won't serve the purpose we need it to.
I catch Levi's eye and see my own resignation mirrored there. We both know what needs to be done, even if neither of us is quite ready to admit how dangerous this game might be—and not just because of Garrett.
Everyone else has gone to bed, but I can't sleep. I find myself in the kitchen, sitting on one of the barstools with a mug of hot tea in my hands, when Levi makes an appearance. He hesitates in the doorway, and I wonder if he'll leave when he sees me. Instead, he leans against the counter opposite me.
"Couldn't sleep either?" he asks softly.
I shake my head. The moonlight through the window casts long shadows that seem to fit the mood. We sit in the awkward silence between us, until I can't stand it anymore.
"I don't know how to do this," I admit. "How to pretend that everything that happened... didn't."
"I don't think we need to," Levi says, his voice gentle in a way I haven't heard since before. "We just need to find a way to exist in the same space without the pain of it standing between us."
"You think that's possible?"
He's quiet for a long moment. "Do you remember that first day? Under the tree?"
"It's hard to forget being called a fish." The memory brings an unexpected smile to my lips.
"Yeah." He moves closer, slow and careful, like I'm a wild thing that might bolt. "I was such an ass to you that day. But God, Sunny, you were so beautiful. Even crying. So beautiful, I couldn't think straight. I have a lot of memories of you like that."
"Me too," I admit reluctantly. "Can I ask you something?"
"Hm? Sure." His face breaks into a gentle smile and he reaches out and places his hand softly over mine.
"I've always wondered why you decided to step in that day. I know I said at that time I didn't care, but I did. I was just so afraid of what your answer would be. We never really talked about it," I whisper.
"Truth?"
I nod at him. "Please."
"Okay, so I don't know how to tell you this without it sounding creepy."
Levi laughs at the concerned look I get on my face. "No, no. It's nothing bad. I just—"
He lets out a big sigh and drops his eyes to our hands. "It took me almost three weeks to work up the nerve to talk to you. On the day we moved in, I walked out onto my balcony, and saw you. You were sitting under that damn tree, your nose in a book, twirling a strand of hair around your finger and... it made my heart stop. You were just so perfect. Lost in your own little world, completely unaware and unbothered by anything.
I watched you read for hours that day. Kept making excuses to go out on that balcony every single day hoping to catch you outside again. But every time I tried to go down and talk to you, the words wouldn't come." His voice breaks slightly.
"Sunny, there was no decision for me to make. Not after I saw your shoulder. Not after I heard the things he said to you. About you. I couldn't have walked away and pretended I didn't see. Didn't care."
We sit in silence, letting the memory fill up the space between us. I slide my other hand on top of his.
"Levi, if this is going to work, I need you to tell me about that night. I need to hear it from you. Maybe it will help me understand."
He's quiet for a long moment before he starts tracing tiny circles over my knuckles. I can feel the tension building in him.
"I had this great idea on how to get even with Zack. On making sure he couldn't hurt you anymore." he finally says, his voice rough. "It was such a stupid, petty thing. I ignored your calls because I was riding the high of finally putting him in his place. I didn't want you to see that side of me. When I got home..." He swallows hard. "When I found my mom, everything kind of stopped for me. And then I found you, and in that moment I swear the biggest and best part of me died."
His free hand comes up to cup my cheek, and this time I don't flinch. "I was positive that you were gone. That I'd lost you both. I couldn't... I couldn't handle it. So, I ran. Got in my truck and starting driving to the only place I thought I had left."
"Your dad?" I ask quietly.
Levi nods. "He cleaned it all up. Made everything go away. I never even talked to the cops." His thumb brushes my cheekbone. "I believed him when he said I couldn't go back. That it looked so bad for me—taking off the way I did, what I’d said on the 911 call about it being my fault. I didn't know you were alive. God, Sunny, if I'd known..."
"But you didn't," I finish for him, believing the words for the first time, realizing how awful it all had to have been for him. "You really didn't know."
He nods, and I can see the guilt still gnawing away at him. But there's something freeing about finally having it all laid bare between us.
"Can we start here?" I ask. "I don't think we can go back and undo anything, but maybe we can start building from here?"
"Yeah," he breathes. "I'd like that."
We stay like that for a long time, sharing space and silence, Levi's hand covering mine, our fingers entwined. It's not forgiveness, not yet. But it's a beginning. And maybe, for tonight, that's enough.