Chapter 42
Levi
With Dustin on the phone, I entered Pulse from the back alley entrance, taking quick strides to the office to wipe the computer of all evidence of Tessa.
There was no one outside, as the news had just broken with one outlet, but I didn’t want to take any chances of being spotted while I erased the proof that my girl ever set foot inside these four walls.
“Between you and Dallas, you three have become the most problematic leaders to date.” Dustin reprimanded with a sigh. Well, at least we weren’t the only ones to fuck up so soon. “Let me guess, you’ll owe me a favor in return, too?” Can’t have too many of those lying around…
“Yes, whatever you need. Just shut this shit down.” I demanded, before remembering who the fuck I was talking to, clearing my throat along with my attitude. “Please.”
“And the woman who started all of this?”
“Luke is bringing her to you now.”
My brother sent a text informing me that he’d found Brandi at her apartment, nearly breaking down the door to get to her. We didn’t care about subtlety at this point. It was all about protecting our girl from the world, whatever the cost.
Dustin always needed a loose end here or there for initiation purposes.
Brandi would be the perfect candidate in that sense.
While she may not have committed an illegal crime, she sold out the name of a wife of the MUR.
That alone won her a one-way ticket to fuckedville with no chance of leaving unless it was in a body bag.
“Alright. Hang tight and don’t do anything more until I have this under control. Go home and stay there until I state otherwise. This will take a little longer to rectify due to the nature of the problem, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I’ll be in touch.”
Hanging up the phone, I fell back into my chair, dropping my face into my palms as I took what felt like my first full breath since leaving the penthouse.
The penthouse. Shit… Tessa.
Remembering that she was at home and most likely still reeling over everything by herself, I hauled ass to my car and sped home as fast as my Maserati would take me.
We said we’d be back as soon as possible. Lucas and I had discussed everything as we descended the elevator together, making the execution of our plan effortless, aside from the uncertainty about whether Brandi was still home or had left town.
I watched the numbers above the door as the elevator carried me up to our floor, feeling as if it were moving slower than usual. I needed to know that she was holding up all right. That she wasn’t face down in the sheets, bawling her eyes out. Alone.
The elevator chimed, and the doors opened on the penthouse floor. Gripping my key card tightly, I sprinted to the front door, holding it against the pad and letting myself in with a chirp.
Stepping inside, I was met with an eerie silence, and my heart tensed in my chest, the air evacuating my lungs without return.
“Babygirl?…” I breathed as I crept through the living room and kitchen without seeing a glimpse of my girl, the TV still playing on the same channel. “Tessa?…”
Something was wrong. My gut twisted violently as I continued to search the rest of the penthouse, checking both bedrooms without success, and the longer I looked, the sicker I felt. Did she run?
I paused halfway up the hall, a trail of light brown hair visible in the doorway to the bathroom, and I swallowed the bile that had been burning my throat since I’d arrived. Fuck.
No. No… no, no, no, no, no, no, no…
I fell to my knees, palms pressed firmly against the wall on either side of the frame as I took in a sight more horrific than anything I’d ever encountered, more than any of my assignments.
Tessa, lying motionless on the floor as I crept to her side, pulling her limp body into my lap as my eyes searched over her before falling to the tile, noticing the small white bars that covered it like fucking confetti.
“Babygirl…” I struggled to even speak, my heart breaking, my entire body seizing up from the strain.
Her head fell to the side, a damp forehead pressed against mine as her lashes briefly parted, long enough for me to see the light slowly fading from her once brightly colored eyes.
The moment my gaze met hers, I found myself fucking drowning.
“What have you done…” I whimpered, my resolve shattering into pieces.
Her hand lifted in a weak attempt to caress my cheek, and I gripped it from the back, pressing her soft palm against the side of my face.
“I’m sorry. I won’t be a burden anymore…” Her breathless words made my skin crawl as her eyes fell shut once again, and I lost my handle on reality.
“Levi!” My brother yelled from down the hall, and I immediately grabbed one of the pills from beside my leg, cradling Tessa tightly against my chest with her head nestled under my chin as I shot us up from the floor, bolting around the corner without a second to spare.
“Luke, get to the car and call the fucking medic. Now.” I ordered with a gravelly voice as I hastily stepped past him, shoving the pill I had picked up into his open palm while heading straight for the door, ready to kick it down if it stalled me for even a moment.
We had no time…
“What? Why are you carrying her like that? Why is your face red? What the fuck is happening, Levi?!” Lucas rushed out in a panic, examining the small bar I had placed in his hand as he ran to catch up with my pace.
He opened the door to allow me through before heading us off at the elevator so we could get the fuck out of here.
“I’ll tell you on the way, but we need to get her to Chase now before it's too late. I don’t know how much she took or how long ago it was.
She was conscious up until about a minute before you called for me.
” Every word felt heavy, my senses on full fucking overload as I pressed Tessa’s body into mine, just so that I could feel her slow breaths against my chest.
Keep breathing, babygirl… Keep breathing for me… for us…
“I-I don’t—fuck.” Lucas pulled his phone out and called the MUR’s emergency medic.
“Listen to me, Luke.” Tearing my eyes from her, I fixed them on my brother, grounding him with our gaze. “We need to keep it together. If we break, there is no saving her.”
“Right.” He swallowed, his phone against his ear as it rang for what felt like fucking minutes before Chase finally answered.
“We will save her.” I recited under my breath while Lucas updated him on her status, what she had taken, and informed him that we were heading straight to the emergency room. “We will save you…”
Because if we didn’t…