48. Bay
FORTY-EIGHT
bay
Levi strides heatedly in my direction, his narrowed eyes dark and pissed, matching this entire afternoon of what was just supposed to be hangin’ out with Dad and listening to tunes to Torin showing up and kissing me into a brain coma.
“Thought I got some bad weed.” He practically foams at the mouth. “I mean…that would only make fucking sense since I saw you kissing Torin Wildes like he was your fucking boyfriend .”
Oh, I can’t do this.
Levi is going to go on a rampage when he finds out I’m Emilio’s daughter. He’s going to go on a full homicide mission to make sure that I’m not harmed by the boys from the Forsaken Crew.
Then Emilio’s next.
Then possibly me.
“What aren’t you telling me? There’s something…I can feel it. You haven’t been acting right.”
“I’m fine,” I retort, and I can’t hide the nervousness in my tone.
This is going to kill him.
He’s never going to trust me. He’s going to think I’m two-timing him, and I’m going to lose him forever.
“He just came over here talkin’ shit about runnin’ through his town and then he kissed me.”
Levi’s brows raise, not buying into that shit. “He just kissed you.”
The lie I’m carrying is the heaviest shit I’ve ever had to hold in my life, and I’m afraid of the aftermath on both sides.
I can’t stop Levi from slaughtering a whole gang and not getting Sheriff Muncy all over his ass. He’ll go away for life and then what?
It’s not going to happen.
It can’t.
Even though I have my hands full with Emilio, his bullshit relationship that he wants to have with me, and the boys thinking I want their kingdom, I can’t watch Levi too.
I just don’t have that much energy and he’s more important.
“He’s a stupid prick, Lev,” I state honestly with a shrug. “He probably thinks I’m going to fall at his feet for an easy fuck.”
I mean, I’m not wrong.
Levi averts his green irises then, not happy at all at where we’re standing with what he just caught me doing.
He also doesn’t believe me.
That’s the problem with knowing someone for too long.
“Do you have anything small for me to do?” I press. “I need to pay some more on the mortgage.”
Levi’s head slowly turns back to me, like he’s about to decapitate me for lying. “How did you get me out of Torin Wildes’s clutches, Bay? It wasn’t fucking Torin because that prick wouldn’t even know how to work a dishwasher, let alone hook a bomb to my ankle.”
“Lev—”
“ Tell me, or I swear to God, I’ll go on a killing spree right now just to get it out of him myself. Why were they at the race the other day?”
I’m so thankful he took Dad back inside the house because his voice will not shut down into normal.
“I can’t control where they are. We were in East Riverside. They came to race.”
“I’ve never seen them there.” And he’d know because he’s there more than me.
“Were you lookin’ for them?” I counter back. “I don’t know all this gang shit.”
“Ten seconds, Bay.”
I glower at him. “Stop it.”
“Ten.”
“Levi.”
“Nine.”
“ Stop .”
“Eight.”
“You’re a fucking idiot.”
“Seven.”
I slap his chest. “I told you.”
“Six.”
I cross my arm over my chest, refusing to rat myself up because he’ll stop.
“Five…four…three…two…one.” Then he abruptly pivots, and I’m lunging for him, gripping onto the back of his bicep but he just pulls me along with him back down the driveway.
“Levi, stop,” I plead desperately. “Where are you going?!”
“The Landings.”
“ No .” I yank harder against his steel muscles and his damn height, but to no avail. “I’m fine. Don’t make this worse.”
He rounds on me, and I slam into his chest. “Don’t make what worse?”
“Levi, please—” I blew my last opportunity by not just spitting it out because Levi twirls right back around and climbs into his truck. My grip gives way, and he gives me a small little shove back so he can slam his door.
Then he locks it like an asshole.
“Levi!” I yell, pulling at the door handle as if it’s magically going to open for me. “Stop!”
He throws the vehicle in reverse and hits the gas, and if that motherfucker would’ve run over my foot, I would’ve killed him.
The tires squeal the moment the transmission clicks into drive, and he spins off, leaving me to wonder what the hell he’s going to do.
So I call Juice and rat him out because, apparently, that’s all that happens in South Shore.