Chapter 19
Tab
My phone rings, and I blink awake, but it feels like my eyelids are glued down and don’t want to open.
“What time is it?” Levi asks, his voice still filled with sleep.
“No idea. Do you know where my phone is?”
“No idea.”
I chuckle, pulling myself up. The phone stops ringing, only for it to start again two seconds later. “Someone is being insistent.” That someone is most likely Raeann. I didn’t tell her I was leaving, nor did I tell her I’d be gone overnight.
I drag myself out of bed, following the ringing. I move toward the living room, finding my phone on the couch. I snatch it up and spy Raeann’s face pop up with a video call. I normally wouldn’t do this since I’m completely naked from top to bottom, but she’s probably freaking out.
“Hey, girl!” I hold the phone up so she can only see from my shoulders up and most of the ceiling.
“Tab, jeez. You scared me. You didn’t answer, and—”
Behind me, I hear a soft snick, then Levi singing, “I should’ve been a cowboy!”
I turn to find him completely naked, gyrating.
“Is that—” Micah asks at the same time, I stage whisper, “Levi!”
He’s in the middle of his karaoke rendition that he did last night, completely oblivious that I’m on a video call. He plays like he has a guitar in his hand, hopping forward on one foot in what’s supposed to be a guitar solo, I think. I quickly cover the camera and dissolve into giggles.
“Levi, Raeann video called me! You’re naked!”
He stops mid-motion, eyes widening. “Fuck,” he whispers.
“Newb?”
Levi runs into the bedroom and shuts the door again. I pull the phone away, bringing myself back on the screen, hoping I didn’t flash everyone in my attempt to keep Levi from being broadcasted.
Raeann has her lips pressed together, but a smile pokes through anyway. However, Micah has now entered the video chat and he’s scowling.
“That was Soucy, wasn’t it?”
“Surprise,” I try to say as animatedly as possible.
Raeann shakes her head. “Listen, we need you home. There’s something we need to discuss.”
“It’s important,” Micah adds, bringing his own phone to his ear. Raeann watches him, confusion knitting her eyebrows together. A person must pick up because he says, “You need to make sure Tab gets back here safely. You think you can handle that?”
Levi opens the bedroom door, scowling. He’s dressed now, and he brings me a towel to cover up with. “Oh, knock it off. She’s a big girl. She can go out of town if she wants to.”
“It’s not that,” Raeann says, but she’s cut off.
“Levi, go into the other room.” Micah stalks off, and so does Levi, nearly slamming the door.
From the other side, I hear him say, “Get off my case, old man. I love her. Nothing’s going to happen to her when she’s with me. I’ll stake my life on it.”
“Tab… Tab,” Raeann says.
“Did you hear what he said?” I whisper-yell.
“Tab,” Raeann says, and I peer toward the screen. Raeann frowns. “Micah found out the fire was set on purpose.”
It’s like I’m consumed by the fire again. My body is hot, sweat dots my temples. Levi places his arm around me on the couch in the penthouse.
Across from us, Micah and Raeann sit in nearly a mirror image. Athena is pressed into Raeann’s legs.
“Very long story short,” Micah starts, “I bribed the fire inspector to give me a heads up on his findings when he got them. That news came in this morning.”
“But I thought they said it was old wiring.”
“That was their best guess at the time, but now that he’s been able to analyze samples from the scene and study the pictures he took, he’s positive that not only was it started, an accelerant was used. The person responsible tried to make it look like it was faulty wiring.”
Levi holds me close.
“This makes no sense,” I state. “Why would anyone want to do that?”
“A crazed fan?” Levi asks, staring right at Micah.
“I thought of that, but I was actually thinking something else.”
“Like what?” I look to Raeann for help, but she just sits there, visibly shaken.
“My first thought was McNally.”
“The general manager?” Raeann finally pipes up, her voice climbing more than a few octaves.
“Wait. Is that the guy you got in trouble because he set up the gossip about you being traded? So, what? He tries to roast us because he’s pissed at you? That is ridiculous.”
“It’s okay if you’re mad,” Levi says, running his hands through my hair and tucking it around my ear.
I don’t know where all this is coming from, but for some reason, I’m consumed with it. It’s like an energy has taken over, starting in my toes and already hardening my heart.
“This is stupid!” I stand up and stomp to my room. People just don’t do things like that. He couldn’t have had a conversation with Micah like a man? He had to go for…the one thing that means more to Micah than his own life.
Tears spring to my eyes. I slam the door behind me, rage boiling over.
I’m all up in my feels now, selfishness consuming me.
If this is true, I wasn’t even the target.
If it was Raeann, barely anything happened to her.
She doesn’t have to hear the whispers when people look at her for the rest of her life.
“No, let me do it,” Levi says before my door opens. He shuts out a trembling Raeann.
“Enter at your own risk, superstar,” I warn.
“Get mad. I think you should be.”
“I’m furious!” Then I peek at the door, my face crumpling until the tears let loose, streaming in rivulets down my cheeks.
“I can take an accident,” I say, whispering because the last thing I want to do is make Raeann or Micah feel guilty.
“But maliciousness? One I might not have been the target for?”
Levi cups my face. “We’ll figure this out.”
“What if I don’t want to? What if I just want to live in a bubble where none of this actually happened? What if the investigator was wrong? Can we get a second opinion?”
“I’ll talk it over with Micah, but in the meantime, we should probably act as if someone might try to do this again. I suspect that’s why Micah moved you into this building. It has security and a doorman. All the things your last building didn’t have.”
“Is this actually happening?”
He runs his thumbs over my eyes, capturing the wetness.
“It seems that way. Micah wouldn’t have said anything unless he had faith in this guy.
You know how he is with Raeann. He wouldn’t put this kind of thing into anyone’s hands.
My guess is that he’s had this guy vetted two ways from Sunday, and he might’ve even asked for a second opinion already.
” He sighs. “It’s what I would do when it comes to you. ”
“But McNally? It makes no sense. He works for the Wildcats. Why would he want to do that to Micah? Suddenly I’m in a CSI episode.”
“He’s known for having his hands in a lot of different things. I didn’t think any of them were truly criminal, but…”
“Wait. This is the same guy who set you up with the dating show, isn’t it?”
Levi nods.
“Shouldn’t he be out managing the team? Why is he getting you a dating show and starting rumors about Micah being traded?”
“Marketing for the team.”
“Is that his job?”
“Tab, baby, Micah and I are going to figure this out. Now, can Raeann come in? She’s worried you’re upset with her. I’ll talk to Micah about next steps.”
“As long as those next steps are letting the police handle it, then yes.” When he doesn’t say anything, I give him a look. “I mean it, Levi.”
“I mean, probably. Yeah, totally.”
I don’t like the look he’s giving me. “What’s your middle name?”
“Why?”
“So I can call you by your full name so you know I mean business.”
“Danger,” he says, smirking.
A soft knock sounds on the door, and before I can say anything more to Levi, he escapes out of it, leaving Raeann on the other side.
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“Oh, stop it,” I tell her, holding my arms out.
She hugs me, and I embrace her right back. I can’t think of how many times I thought to myself that I was glad it was me and not her or Athena. Raeann’s already gone through her fair share of trauma for her life.
“I’m more worried about what those two are going to get themselves into.”
“You and me both.”