21. Ava #2
We’ve been here ever since, and let’s just say, I think I’d rather raw dog a root canal than spend another ten minutes being tackled by Levi Cross in his fancy little home gym.
“Do you think a man who’s after you is going to give you a moment to catch your breath?” he taunts, circling me like the asshole he is. “When they attack, it will be with force.”
“Can’t you put a shirt on?”
I swear it’s impossible to focus on anything with his abs glistening like they are.
“Distracting you, sweetheart?”
I roll my eyes. “No.” Yes. “You’re just sweaty.”
“All the more reason for you to try harder.”
“Why are we doing this?” I grumble, wiping the sweat off my brow. “They’re after you, not me.”
He ignores me and motions for me to ready myself.
“Again.”
“I don’t want to.”
I’m done. My back and legs are on fire from being thrown around like Levi throws around the word fuck . I’m hot and sweaty, and I have a strong feeling my ass will be imprinted in the mat beneath us for years to come after how many times I’ve landed on it today.
“What you want doesn’t matter much, does it?”
Wow, rude.
“Oh, right,” I scoff, rolling my eyes. “How could I forget? Whatever his majesty wants, he gets.”
He lets my little comment go and nods, signifying for me to take the position.
I think I’d rather lick a dirty foot.
“Try. Again.”
“Fine,” I grumble, hunkering down into the position he’d taught me before immediately straightening. He shoots me a look, and I have a feeling I’m starting to get on his nerves.
Good.
“Why not just give me a gun?”
He cocks a brow at me, and instant awareness slips through me.
“And watch you shoot yourself by accident?”
My cheeks flame, and I bite my cheek to keep from spouting off with more nonsense that will just piss him off and take my place.
“The problem with relying only on a gun to save you,” he murmurs, keeping his voice low.
It bounces off the room, making it hard to pinpoint exactly where he is while he circles me like a shark hunting for blood in the ocean.
Something about the darkness in his tone sends a shiver up my spine, and I have a feeling it’s nothing to do with how dangerous I know he is.
God save me.
“When the bullets run out, time does too.”
In the blink of an eye, my legs are swept out from under me, and I land hard on my tailbone on the mat beneath us.
I wince, sputtering from the impact, and collapse there, accepting defeat.
“Get up.”
“Get a life.”
“That’s rich coming from the maid.” He leans over me, his face upside down over mine, and I glare up at him.
“So, how the hell am I supposed to fight them off? Magic? Some Harry Potter shit?”
He holds out his hand to me. I choose to stand on my own. I don’t need his help.
“You’re small. You can move faster. Move in ways they can’t.”
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” I mock. He can’t honestly believe that.
“Size is nothing but a different set of steps, Ava. If you allow it to, your helplessness will control you.”
“Noted,” I huff, and he starts to stalk me again.
I don’t like it when he does this.
“Why are you even bothering to teach me anything? I thought I was just here until you were done using me?”
“Can’t very well fuck you if you’re dead, now can I?”
God, he’s an even bigger dick than I originally thought.
“And to think I was starting to believe you actually liked me.”
He smirks . . . and then he kicks my legs out from under me.
God, I hate him.
“You’re a walking canker sore,” I grumble, and a spark of amusement lights his gaze.
“I’m not the one on the dirty gym floor, now am I?”
“Don’t let Magdalene hear you say that. She’ll put a hex on you.”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.” He holds out a hand to me, and this time, I take it, allowing him to pull me to my feet.
And pull my front into his.
It’s a mistake because the moment we’re in each other’s space, it’s like all the air gets sucked out of the room. My heart beats faster—not that it wasn’t already racing. My mouth runs dry at the scent of him around me. My head gets foggy.
And then I have an idea.
He looks down at me, studying me when I place my hand on his stomach to right myself. His very muscular stomach with abs that I may have dreamed of last night, might I add.
I allow my touch to linger for a moment, my tongue darting out to lick his lips, and his expression darkens. His gaze slips down over my body, and my blood heats in my veins.
Then, I swipe his legs out from under him.
“Take that, asshole,” I cheer the moment he hits the ground, but before I can dart away, he’s got me around the waist and is hauling me down to the rubber mat beneath him.
Okay, I fucked up.
I let out a yelp that dissolves into a laugh when I land, rolling over and attempting to scurry away.
His big body crowds over mine, his length pressing against my leg through my shorts.
Something hot slips into my core, but before I can register it, he’s gripping my hips and hauling me back to him.
“Running off again?”
“Levi . . .” I fight against his hold, unable to hold back my laugh when his fingers tickle against my skin. “Stop,” I gasp as the uncontrollable laughter takes over.
It’s been a long time since someone’s tickled me, and the fact that Levi now knows my kryptonite means he’s going to use it against me any chance he can.
He rolls me until my back is against the mat and he’s looming over me, a wicked grin on his lips.
“Are you ticklish, baby girl?”
“No,” I lie, but he doesn’t believe me.
“No?” he taunts, a devious look in his eyes.
“Levi,” I warn when his hands slide up my thigh. Heat slides through me, mixed with the urge to shimmy away from him when he brushes over the inside of my thigh.
“Where are you most ticklish, baby girl?”
Oh. My. God. That voice should be illegal.
“Here?” His fingers brush over my sides, his eyes glinting with dark amusement.
I shake my head, my tongue darting out to lick my lips.
“Here, then?” His hand slides lower to cup the back of my knee, and I can’t help but wonder if there’s an erogenous zone there I didn’t know about.
I swallow over the lump in my throat.
“No,” I breathe.
“Then, it must be here.” He moves to my inner thigh, and though I’m most ticklish there, I can’t say that’s the feeling I get with Levi Cross touching me there.
“Maybe,” I breathe, and his smirk widens, his breathing growing heavier. My heart hammers in my chest, and my mind goes blank to anything but him touching me.
It’s the most glorious feeling in the world.
At least for a moment.
“ Levi !”
Both of us snap up, looking toward the doorway where Paulina is standing, shooting daggers in my direction. I sit up, drawing my knees to my chest while embarrassment floods through me.
Well, shit.
“If you’re done, the police are here,” she grits, shooting me a warning look before she turns on her heel and stalks back out of the gym.
“The police?”
Levi tugs me to my feet, his playful mood all but gone.
“Go upstairs. I’ll handle it.”
“But—”
“I said I’d handle it,” he snaps, his tone warning me not to argue with him.
I swallow thickly, stepping back when he releases me.
“We’re done for the day,” he says, and without another word, he grabs his shirt and strides out the door, leaving me suddenly cold while I stare after him.
I stay rooted in place for a long time, debating on going up to my room like a good little girl or snooping.
You can probably guess which one wins in the end.
Sliding up against the wall, I listen to the sounds of the muffled voices from within.
“We believe the Burelli crime family is linked to the death of Patrick Wright,” a young cop says, while another stands beside him. “You were there that night, were you not?”
“I don’t know,” Levi counters. “You tell me.” I can just barely see him leaning against Christian’s desk, his arms crossed over his chest. He’s put his T-shirt on, but his hair is a tousled mess from our day down in the gym.
My breath catches in my throat. Who are they talking about?
“I was off-duty that night.”
“Off-duty. So, what did you do?”
There’s a moment of silence while my heartbeat thuds unsteadily.
“Saw a girl,” Levi says finally, and a pang of jealousy hits me in the chest.
I don’t know why. It’s not like anything we’re doing is exclusive.
Still . . . whoever she is. Fuck her.
“And what did you and this girl do, if you don’t mind me asking?”
I grit my teeth. This guy is an idiot.
“You want a play-by-play?”
“Levi,” Christian growls, silencing his brother. “The girl doesn’t have anything—”
“Cherise,” Levi cuts him off.
“Last name?”
“Don’t have one.”
The detective sighs, clearly annoyed.
“And how do you know Cherise?”
“I think we established that,” Levi replies smoothly.
“She a prostitute?”
“Bartender.”
“Same thing,” the snarky detective murmurs with a nasty grin.
Asshole.
“Would this Cherise be able to vouch for you, were we to fact-check some of your statements?”
“If you can find her, sure.”
“Where do you think she might have gone?”
“Your moth—”
“ Enough .” The look Christian throws Levi’s way sends a chill down even my spine. Levi, fortunately, has the good sense to shut his mouth for once.
“Where did you meet Cherise?”
“I would reckon that if she’s a bartender, I met her at a bar,” Levi sighs.
“What bar?”
“Don’t know. Just went to a bar.”
“You went to a bar, but you don’t remember which one?”
“You want a list?”
“I get the feeling you’re feeling defensive, Mr. Cross.”
“I get the feeling you’ve overstayed your welcome.”
“You know, death seems to follow you, Mr. Cross,” one of the detectives says, and a humming silence falls over the room. “First, your mother. Then your father. Now, it’s seeped into your work. Who’s next?”
“Guess we’ll find out.”
“We’ve been told someone showed up uninvited at the Columbia Club last week and broke Donovan Palmer’s nose. That ring a bell?”
“Can’t say it does.”
“He’s lying,” the other detective growls, but I’m too busy going over what he just said.
Suddenly, my heart’s beating like a drum.
“You got evidence?” Christian asks, kicking back in his chair. I get the feeling he knows more than he’s letting on.
“Camera had an outage at the same time as the attack. Oddly convenient, isn’t it?”
“Sure is,” Levi retorts.
“Mr. Cross—”
“It’s Levi,” he interrupts. “And if you have nothing else to assume, I’ve got somewhere to be.”
There’s a moment of silence before the polite-ish one speaks up.
“No. Nothing else.”
“For now,” the other adds. “We’re going to find out what happened to Senator Wright one way or another. No matter who we have to take down along the way.”
“Be my guest.”
Heavy footfalls sound on the other side of the door, and I jump back in a frenzy, rushing to the spare bedroom beside Christian’s office and ducking inside.
“Oh, and Cross,” the second detective calls, and the footsteps stop. I imagine Levi turning back to them.
“We’re going to need that list.”
Seconds later, I hear them pass over the sound of my racing heart.
Senator Wright . . . As in the Senator whose body just washed up in Seattle a month ago? My mind races a million miles a minute, trying to process the information.
The Burelli crime family sounds serious.
. . . So what does Levi have to do with them?
The detective’s words echo back in my head, setting a chill in my bones that has nothing to do with the crisp October air outside.
“First, your mother. Then your father. Now, it’s seeped into your job. . . Who’s next?”
When I finally ease the door open, the hallway is empty. A sliver of cold evening light spills through the blinds, striping the floor in pale gold. I pad toward my room, my bare feet silent on the floorboards.
Silently, I shut my door behind me, nearly jumping out of my skin when I turn to find Levi leaning against the wall behind it.
There’s no trace of the easy smirk he usually hides behind. Just a darkness I’ve only seen once before—when someone threatened me.
He finally lifts his gaze, and it pins me in place.
“You heard all of that, didn’t you?”
My throat goes dry.
Well, shit.
“Who are the Burelli’s, Levi?”
His jaw flexes, and I see the war behind his eyes—between telling me the truth and keeping me in the dark.
“They’re the reason Senator Wright’s dead,” he says finally. “And if we’re not careful . . . they’ll be the reason we are too.”