Chapter 23 #2
I open my mouth to argue when Levi grabs my elbow and catches my chin, turning my head to him. “Let me talk to them. It was long overdue.” He presses his index finger to my lips. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“This makes me some kind of a trophy, then?”
“The best kind, moy cvetochek.” He kisses me on the nose. “Just wait for me outside. As soon as we’re done, I’ll take you home, and you can tell me all about your reunion night.” Another kiss, and he nudges me gently to the door, where the women join me, hot on my heels.
Before I know it, I’m in the hallway, and the living room door shuts behind us all as I’m still fuming, annoyed with Levi as well.
“Lavender.” I freeze at Valencia’s voice, and her vanilla scent fills my space when she grabs my shoulders. “Everything will be okay.”
My cheeks heat because this woman has been kind to us all despite the mayhem our family caused her, and we keep creating problems for her.
One of my fears rears its head, so the question spills out before I can put a leash on it.
“Are you mad? About Levi and me?” A nervous laughter escapes me.
“You probably wished for someone else for him.”
“What nonsense. I wished for him to be happy with whoever he chooses. And since he chose you, it means you are the right person.” She lifts my chin and winks at me. “Loving Scott men is a whole journey, so welcome to the club.”
“It’s not like we are getting married,” I rush to say, because who knows how long this obsession might…
Valencia chuckles, and even the girls snicker.
“The men in our family do not change their minds, darling. You’re locked in for as long as you want him.
” She pats my back and tears form in my eyes from her words.
Could everything be this easy? Shouldn’t there be more drama?
“Now I have to go upstairs to check on one of my students, but I’ll give you a call sometime this week so we can go out and spend time together, if you don’t mind? ”
“Of course not.”
She smiles and heads to the second floor while the girls gape at me. “I have so many questions,” Emmaline says.
“And you can ask them as long as they are not of a sexual nature.” Aileen shudders. “The woman is dating my brother.”
Thank God for that because I do not wish to hear anything about my brothers and them either. One of the reasons I asked Scarlett about sex and no one else.
Speaking of my lawyer.
“Where is Scarlett?” Since she has no family, the Scotts and Kings usually invited her to dinners as well. “She told me she’d be home by now.”
“She’s still in her hometown.”
“Wasn’t this a one-day trip? It’s been almost three weeks.”
“Yep, and if she won’t answer her phone soon, Rafael and I will go there ourselves to check on her. He’s concerned about that high school bully guy. Apparently, he’s the new mayor in that damn town.”
Well, this should be interesting.
“Let’s go to my room so we can give the men some privacy,” Aileen suggests, and I study her for a few seconds.
“You don’t seem concerned at all about them.”
She shrugs. “It’s something they need to do, and stressing about it won’t bring anything good anyway. I know they won’t kill each other, and that’s enough.”
Maybe I should learn from her optimism.
A headache starts to form, and tiredness hits me, my mind and body exhausted from it all. “I think I’ll go home. I want to sleep.”
“Are you sure? You can go to Levi’s room.”
“No, thank you.” I kiss them both on the cheek and muster up a smile. “I can’t stay here and not listen to them anyway, so it’s better for me overall.”
I texted Gordon earlier to wait for me here, so I quickly give him a missed call and, with a wave, get outside, where he’s already waiting for me. “Let’s go home. The penthouse.” He nods.
Once he hops into the car and starts driving, I rest my head against the window and slowly drift off, lulled by the light rain tapping on the roof.
Only to gasp when the car takes an abrupt turn to the right and then to the left, practically sliding on the road, and I shout, “What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure.” However, I hear something touching the car, as if someone is throwing a rock at it, and then it hits me.
Someone is shooting at us!
I don’t have time to dwell on this much as the car swings to the right again, and Gordon presses on the brakes, but it doesn’t help as we move rapidly toward a huge tree.
“Dear God.”
It’s the last thing I hear before we collide, my head hitting something, and everything goes dark around me.
Levi
Dad geta up from the couch and picks up his metallic cane.
His voice booms across the room, commanding and powerful as if he’s the king himself issuing orders.
“I would like to remind everyone that this is my house and you will act with respect toward my wife inside it. I will not tolerate anything less.” He taps the cane on my shoulder lightly as he passes me by on the way to the door.
“Whatever you decide, I will support you.” He looks over his shoulder and addresses the Wright brothers.
“One of you kidnapped my daughter, and the other blackmailed my friend’s daughter into marriage.
So think carefully about your next actions that will determine the trajectory of our relationship.
” He gives us a harsh stare before he exits the room as well.
“Too bad my dad is missing out on all this. He would have enjoyed it,” Wyatt says, and grabs a water bottle from the table, flicking it open.
“Just for your information, I’m on Levi’s side as well.
You both are in no position to question him or this relationship.
” He takes a sip. “God knows you both didn’t give a fuck how we felt when you did what you did to our sisters. ”
“Is that what this is about? Payback?” Rush asks, and anger sinks into every bone.
“Nothing about my relationship with Lavender is about payback.” I prefer to be honest, though. “I won’t lie and say it didn’t bring me satisfaction knowing how much you would hate it, so you know how it feels.”
The muscle on his cheek twitches, and he watches me broodily, crossing his arms while his face and eyes stay unreadable.
I’m impressed by how much he holds himself back in the current situation. I expected him to lunge at me the minute Lavender kissed me.
This proves how much he loves Aileen because he wouldn’t want to upset her, and as happy as I am for her, it sours the beast in me who wished for blood to fully stake my claim on what’s mine.
Rafael removes his suit jacket, throws it onto the chair, and starts rolling up his sleeves. Wyatt whistles. “So it’s a fistfight after all? Was I the only one who heard Uncle Lachlan telling us to be respectful?”
“We are not teenagers who act recklessly because we are driven by our tempers. I’m afraid that’s your prerogative,” Rafael replies, and goes to the bar to pour himself a whiskey before dropping several ice cubes in it.
“What are your intentions toward our sister?” He swirls his drink.
“She’s never been in any kind of relationship before, so she’s inexperienced when it comes to such things. Her heart is fragile.”
“There is nothing fragile about her.”
Like I already said, my flower bloomed in the most harsh conditions and continues to grace us all with her beauty, and I won’t allow anyone to take away from her strength.
She might be inexperienced when it comes to relationships, but it doesn’t make her a naive fool who doesn’t know what she wants.
“Fair enough.” Rafael taps on the top of his glass. “My question still remains unanswered.”
“It’s none of your business.”
A certain kind of tension charges the air around us. For the first time, I notice a simmering rage glazing Rafael’s gaze, allowing me to see true emotions on the matter.
Between the two, Rush has less control, but it seems Rafael has none where Lavender is concerned, either. “Your intentions toward my sister are none of my business?”
“The question is ridiculous in its entirety.”
“And why is that?”
“She’s a grown woman. My intentions toward her are something only she needs to know.”
“You don’t think that we, as her brothers—” He motions his head toward Rush, who stands still, probably assessing his prey since he’s a hunter like me.
“—no, father figures and the only family she has had since our parents entrusted her to us…don’t deserve to know where all of this is headed?
Something that has the power to destroy the bond between our two families? ”
Resting my shoulder against the wall, I wonder, “So do you care about the families and a potential feud or about your sister’s feelings?”
He sips his drink as the clock ticks soundly, and Wyatt’s eyes ping-pong between us as if he’s watching an intense match. He even grabs nuts and pops them in his mouth, amusement etched on his features as he sits on the couch, kicking his legs up on the table.
Never mistake his calmness for anything but a strategy to assess his opponent and strike when he’s at his weakest, though.
Instead of Rafael, Rush answers, his voice harsh and heavy. “I love your sister with everything in me.” Our gazes clash, and his words cause chaos within me, for no matter what, he’s still family and a man who saved me once upon a time.
An angel of death, as I called him.
“Make no mistakes, Levi, though. If you hurt my sister, I will not hesitate to kill you.”
“Likewise, Rush.” His eyes narrow on this as if he expects some kind of trap. “Lavender is mine. It means that I would protect, cherish, and obsess over her till my last dying breath. Should I ever become a threat to her, you have my permission to kill me.”
A prolonged pause follows my declaration while both brothers drill their stares into me, and Rafael smirks. “You can say all that, but can’t say anything about your intentions?”
“When I propose to my woman, you’ll know.”
“But you aren’t going to ask for permission?”