28. Bay
TWENTY-EIGHT
bay
Levi’s wide back faces me along the edge of an empty shipping dock as I sprint in his direction. At the end is Hot Rod and Juice, waiting for me—I guess—so I can hug my best friend to see if he’s hurt, and have at it with him over everything that’s happened.
When I’m about to hit the wooden dock, Hot Rod’s arm shoots out to block me.
“Can’t go any farther, sweet cheeks,” he replies flatly, looking down at me with malice and pure fury pooled within his eyes.
Whatever, he’s pissed. And the bomb currently strapped to my best friend’s ankle is because of me.
“Call him,” Juice orders softly, seizing my attention to my left, always the softie out of the two and, as much as I appreciate it, I’m not in the mood to be coddled.
I’m also not in the mood to have this conversation with Levi.
“Why? He’s right—” I point, but Juice shakes his head, causing me to pluck my cell phone out of my jeans and dial up my best friend who’s literally maybe twenty yards from me.
“Hey,” he greets on the first ring.
“What are you doing?” I coax, my excitement rising in my chest that he’s here. “And why am I standing here?”
“To stay away from you,” he deadpans.
My brows knit as I catch Juice’s stare. Paranoia and guilt replace the once enthusiasm that I had that he was safe. But there’s an elephant in the room that he and I are about to fight about.
And the bitch is heavy.
“Until I get this bomb off, I obviously need to stay away from everyone, but I wanted to see you.” I glance up to see him facing me. His wide shoulders filling a black tee and his legs widened as he stands there, looking back at me. My heart flutters that he’s within my sight.
That he’s alright.
“Are you hurt?”
“No.” I open my mouth, but he cuts into my evading with the cold hard facts. “Heard you stormed the sports store the other night.”
I steer to Hot Rod because he obviously ratted. He only shrugs, not giving a shit when I respond with, “Needed to make something move.”
“I better not find you doing that shit again,” my best friend barks. “There’s no?—”
“Speaking of shit ,” I harp out, looking back to the asshole who’s only been lying to me for how long now? “You lied to me. So start vocalizing your piece, Levi, because I’m hella pissed that I had to do this.”
“Bay—”
“You promised, Lev. You promised no gangs. That was the deal. It wasn’t that hard of a thing to follow. I didn’t ask you to go build me a plane.”
“I’m not roped into this shit for life, Bay. It’s temporary.”
“Bullshit. We were thinking about leaving. We were going to bring these two idiots along with us, too.”
“We’ll leave if you still want to.” He says it with confidence, but I don’t buy into it.
I also don’t even know if I want to leave yet.
South Shore is home. However, the same home isn’t the best place to raise Ellie and Mae.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?” I hear the defeat ricocheting off my tone as I squeeze my cell tighter. “You’re the leader of The Nameless. And mama bear over here”—I jerk a thumb over to Hot Rod—“told me there’s more. So get to talkin’.”
“The plan is still to get out, Bay.”
“You said we weren’t going to do this. That we weren’t going to link ourselves in that world. That we would remain free.”
“Stop,” he grounds out, about to take a step forward but stops. “You’re pissed, but I’m not lying.”
“Oh”—I throw my hands up in the air—“ now you’re not lying. Okay, well in that case…” I begin to pace, but Juice is immediately in my way, so I bark out, “ Move , butthead.”
He promptly does, allowing me the line I need to calm myself down.
I haven’t thought about Levi and his associations since Hot Rod told me because I didn’t want to allow it access to my brain. I didn’t want us held down by a powerful name and no means to get the hell out of here.
“How did you get me out, Bay?” The suspicion in his voice is intransigent, and I can feel it crawl up my spine from yards away.
“I held a gun up to Torin Wildes’s head.”
“That’s all?”
No.
“We’re never stealing from them again, Lev. Because this is the third round of bullshit we’ve been through, Lev.” Levi’s head slowly steers to Hot Rod because he gave me the space to run this little mission without much pushback. “ Don’t . I wasn’t gambling with time nor was I going to negotiate with Torin Wildes.”
“They’re all dead.”
I roll my eyes. “Stop. You’re in some deep shit with me. This is why Cairo wanted a meeting. Because of you. You hold the power.”
And you’re Emilio Wildes’s daughter, bitch.
“I have a fucking bomb strapped to my ankle.”
“And Torin has a bullet in his leg. You’re welcome.” I can feel Levi’s glare of disapproval, but he doesn’t have much of a pot to piss in.
Me, I’m in the same exact boat.
I have to tell him who I am, but I’m so scared he’ll abandon me, even though he never has before.
“How are we getting this bomb off?”
“I got this guy flyin’ in,” he replies. “And you’re not going on any more runs. You’re staying home until I get all this shit sorted with the boys.”
“Dude, no. I’m not going to be a prisoner in my own home.”
“You are,” he says with steel wrapped in his tone. “I’m not playing. You’re going to listen to me?—”
“You don’t order me around.”
“I am,” he sneers through the line, setting the hairs on my arms on end because I’ve never heard Levi so irritated and irked at me in my entire life. “I am, Bay, and I fucking can .”
I stare at him. A giant of a man who also carries a massive weight on his head. All this time and he was the most powerful man in the room.
It makes sense.
Why Matteo stayed away, how I’ve never once been approached to initiate into The Nameless. Levi always had my back, more so than I ever imagined, and I’m still keeping things from him.
“It won’t take me but a few days,” he vouches, more softly this time. “This is to protect you. I heard a little bird mention Matteo De Leon when I was kept locked up in a room. He’s out for blood on the Forsaken Boys. He wants that Titan seat.”
I can feel all the blood draining slowly from my face. “You’re…kidding.”
Matteo doesn’t need any more power than what he holds. He’s unstable, gets on his power trip, and acts like a disorderly clown. He’s reckless when he doesn’t get his own way and…let’s just say I don’t need him waltzing through the streets of anything around me.
“I’m not, unfortunately. Actually…he’s out for Lorenzo Black’s seat.”
“Cairo’s dad?”
“Yeah. Matteo has his Pistol Pussies, so he wants to be the chosen muscle of the Titans. He gets first dibs on jobs, more money, a network of expansion, and an ego boost that he’ll no doubt wanna use. He’d weed the Forsaken Crew out.”
I absolutely abhor the idea of my ex having anything that he could use to hurt someone. Especially that kind of power.
“It’s not a good look for us,” my best friend continues. “The Forsaken Crew already extends out through Wharf Bay. They’ve always been butt buddies. Now, they’re lookin’ at East Riverside, our ally.”
“I’m surprised Emilio works with anyone,” I mutter, trying to keep my focus on the conversation, but all I can hear is that Matteo is making moves.
“He has to, or he wouldn’t have anyone. Five seats, I have my hands on two. So does Emilio.”
“Who has the fifth?”
“That’s the million-dollar question. I don’t know.”
“Does Emilio?”
“Nope. It’s said that Penn Northcott put someone there as a placeholder. However, the asshole won’t show his face, and for good reason. Emilio would kill him.”
“And…if Matteo gets the seat, for the Titans, what does that mean?”
“That South Shore is possibly fucked.”
“How bad is it?” I ask through a breathy exhale. “How bad is it with this Titan crap?”
“It’s all a game of who knows more shit and who’s going to make the first move. Since Torin and his butt buddies rule over the Forsaken Crew, Emilio has been in and out of The Landings for years since we won’t let him settle in. Ramsey goes with him and shit. They’re building another crew. Emilio and Torin have never seen eye to eye, and I have a feeling that, once Cairo steps up, he’s going to pull the Forsaken Crew away from Emilio.
“Why?”
“Word on the street is that Lorenzo Black isn’t a fan. And, while Torin has been around as of, I think two years ago, shit has been quieter…than it has been anyway. When Cairo gets his seat, it’s going to change the balance.”
“But his father has it now, so what makes up the difference?”
“Reeve Stanton.” His name makes my, once unstable emotions, soften a tad. Thankfully, Levi is too far away to see it and continues. “He’s old money from Newport and green makes the world go ’round. Lorenzo was actually the motherfucker who made the Forsaken Crew after Penn Northcott tried to kill him and his family. Emilio funds it and all his shit with his gun operation and blackmail. Then he took off when I”—He lets out a heavy and defeated exhale—“put several hits out on him and failed all times. Except once.”
That piques my interest.
“You did what?”
I swear, I see Levi smirk. It’s that big that I can see it from all the way over here. “Bullet caught him in the ass. Fuck that I’ve almost had his head blown off over three times and his car blown up once…he skipped town and handed his youngest the Forsaken Crew after that one.”
I can’t help the pleased chuckle that bubbles in my throat.
Emilio Wildes getting shot in the ass. I would pay money to see that.
“I’m surprised Torin didn’t kill you for that today,” I admit. “Why didn’t he?”
“Honestly, the balls. He kills me, he ruptures The Titans as a whole. The other cities that play in this aren’t going to let that lie. You don’t assassinate other members sitting at the Titan table.”
“So, you don’t think Emilio has any pull on Torin?”
“I’m back here, aren’t I? Torin’s a fucking asshole, but he’s building, I know that.”
“So wouldn’t you want Matteo to get one? He’d side with South Shore. He’s terrified of you.”
“Uh, no. That boy’s a straight fuck-up. One power trip to the head and he’ll be tryin’ everyone’s patience. The Titans are fucked, Bay. The rules have changed. South Shore has plenty to be worried about if the Forsaken Crew can get everyone under their thumb and working for them. And everything they’ve ever wanted, our ports, are in jeopardy.”
“We don’t use them that much.” Levi stares at me for a long moment. “Right?”
“Wrong. I use the shit out of it. You just don’t see us parading it around with our dicks out. That weed that our residents grow, we sell. Emilio obviously has caught on over the years that we run through his town, and we still do, but going around him proves to be so worth it because we can move more.”
I nod and think of everything going on around me.
Titan shit, this crap with Ramsey, my sisters, and Dad.
There’s no way I’m going to be able to parade around this shit without Levi catching word. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.
“Bay.” He stops my mind in my tracks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t do this to hurt you. I was doing it to protect you.”
I love him for this.
I do.
I’m not sure if we’re entirely out of our minds with the lengths we’ll go, but I would’ve done the same. And now that Emilio Wildes is my father, I’m even more on the fence about what to do.
Levi would go to war for me, I’m sure of it. He would paint the streets red to keep me safe.
And, throwing his life at risk, I couldn’t manage it.
“Levi…I love you. I need you to be safe.”
“I love you more, Astor. And I can do that.”
“When is that guy coming in to remove…” Dude, when the hell did I ever think that I was going to have to say the word bomb.
Like a real ka-boom bomb.
“Hopefully, ASAP. Your dad askin’ about me yet?”
“Yeah. I told him you were in church.” I immediately laugh as Levi joins in, and that’s when I feel Hot Rod and Juice close in on me.
“The boys are gonna take you home,” he tells me. “I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“Out here. You know I like sleeping under the stars and shit.”
A bit of anxiety creeps up my spine because I don’t want to leave him. “I can keep you company.”
Levi chuckles. “Go home. This is the only real moment that I’m free from you.”
Dick.
I shake my head. “Alright, boy scout.”
“Don’t miss me too much.”
“I’ve already forgotten about you.”
We laugh in unison, and at the fact that I can’t be by him, makes me want to do it even more.
“Call me as soon as you wake up,” I order lightly.
“I will. Night, Astor.”
“Night, bestie.”
Hanging up the phone, I give him a wave. He extends his long arm before I pivot and make my way over to Hot Rod’s car.
My hair whips in my face from the wind off the ocean as my phone dings in my pocket which I immediately retrieve.
Only to find that it’s not who I want to speak to at all.
UNKNOWN: *attachment*
UNKNOWN: Don’t make me keep trying to get your attention, Haven. I heard you shot my son which means I should do the same with someone you love.
UNKNOWN: However, I think the bomb on Levi Wallace’s ankle speaks for itself.
UNKNOWN: Don’t disappoint me and not come to dinner Friday. I’ll send you the address.
I stare down at a picture of Mae at school, playing on the swings with her pretty brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.
That was today.
He had someone take a picture of her today .