Power In Loyalty
1. Chapter 1
Levi had been in the sun all day. August was his least favorite month of the year because it was always so hot. He was sweaty, sunburned, and ready to go home. Putting up a new fence around his storage facility wasn’t exactly what he had wanted to do today, but it needed to be done in order to keep the place secure. Two months ago a drunk driver took out part of the fence. Of course, they couldn’t afford to fix it even though the court ordered it. That’s why Levi spent a Wednesday dying in the sun rebuilding a fence. He hadn’t used this property in a couple of years. Not since he had killed Sierra here, but it didn’t mean that he could let the place crumble or look like shit. Andrea had offered to buy it from him. For whatever reason, he wasn’t ready to let go of it just yet.
As he loaded the leftover supplies in his trailer to take to the back of the property, his phone started ringing and he groaned. The last thing he needed was some sort of emergency popping up to ruin the night at home he had planned. He’d been working non-stop lately to clear up some of his open cases. All he wanted was a night to relax.
“Hello,” he said with more frustration than he intended.
“We need to talk,” Andrea’s voice said softly. “I need to see you.”
Internally he was screaming, but it was rare these days that she needed him in that tone of voice that said something was really wrong. “Ok, uh I need like an hour. I just got done with the fence and I need a shower.” He threw the last post into the trailer and shook out his hand when the silence drew out too long. “Are you there?”
“Yes.” Her voice was much too quiet. This was a side of her he hadn’t heard in… maybe ever.
“Where do you want to meet?”
Andrea cleared her throat. “I’m at the hospital. I’ll meet you in the third floor ICU waiting room in an hour. If I’m not out here when you get here, wait for me.”
“Who’s in the ICU?” That wasn’t good, and he rushed to get in the truck so he could pull the trailer inside and get going.
“Avrie. I can’t talk about it now. Just get here please.”
The line disconnected and Levi tossed his phone down in the seat beside him. He knew that Andrea had been home the last couple of days. He thought it was to help take care of Valerie who was about to pop out another kid. No one had said anything about Avrie being sick. Given, he hadn’t checked in since Saturday. Maybe she got hurt? Regardless, obviously Andrea needed him, so he rushed to drop the trailer and head to his apartment to shower and change.
Levi took a seat in the waiting room against the far wall where he could see both entrances. Down the hall, he had passed Hutch and Anna, but they didn’t know him so he ignored them. There was no one else in the waiting room which he appreciated. Hospitals were awkward enough when you were alone. Add to it more people to stare at or make unintentional eye contact with, and it was just uncomfortable all around. He pulled out his phone to scroll through the local news feed. Nothing too interesting was happening though and he switched over to the dating app he was using.
So far there had only been one successful coffee meeting with a woman named Kelley. He wasn’t too sure about her because she seemed to be more into the party scene than he wanted to be. Tomorrow he was supposed to take a brunette woman who had two dogs out for dinner. Her name was Laura. She was in her last year of veterinary school. Levi hated dating apps, but he hated trying to pick women up in bars too. A few months ago he made a promise to put himself back out there, so he was trying even if it sucked.
The echo of shoes on the floor made him look up. Even though Andrea usually dressed like she could take on the world, he liked her like this the best. Jeans, sneakers, and a simple shirt. She looked tired beyond belief as he stood up to greet her. When she walked right into his arms for a hug, it told him everything he needed to know. Andrea never hugged him unless her emotions were running full speed. “Tell me what’s going on, Mama A,” he whispered, squeezing her tight.
Andrea pulled out of the hug and pushed her stray hairs back from her face toward her ponytail before she sat down heavily in one of the chairs. “We couldn’t get her fever down. Then today despite all the medicine, cold baths, and everything I could try, it kept rising.” She wiped her eyes. Whatever makeup she had been wearing was on its last leg. “They think it’s viral because all the tests have come back negative, but we can’t get the fever down. She’s lethargic and her little face…” Andrea covered her heart with her hand and rubbed. “She looks like she’s in pain, and I can’t do anything for her except hold her.”
Levi saw Hutch standing closer to the waiting room. Now wasn’t the time to be worried about the DeLaney people knowing about him, but it was always there in the back of his mind. Andrea had always kept him hidden. Now it was like she didn’t care. Avrie was sick, and he was the one she had called. “She’s a tough little cookie. They’ll figure it out or it’ll run its course and she’ll be back to jumping up and down and driving you crazy before you know it.”
The half-sob half-laugh she let out sounded strangled. He put his hand on her back to rub circles there for a minute. Levi knew Hutch was watching him carefully now, he tried to just block it out. “My wife’s on bedrest and in pain. Our daughter is sick and in the hospital. I can’t be in two places at once. I can’t help either of them.” She sounded absolutely tortured.
“Can the doctor admit Valerie? At least that way you would all be in the same building,” he offered, even though it wouldn’t make much of a difference. They would still be on separate floors and rooms. Andrea needed to be with Avrie if Valerie couldn’t be, and he knew that’s why she was here; but he also knew how deeply Andrea cared about her wife.
“She’s not due for two more weeks,” Andrea said and finally sat up more to take a deeper breath. “Our bed’s a lot better than the hospital. She hates hospitals anyway.” She was still rubbing at her chest which concerned him more than anything.
“Andrea,” he said with a bit of force to make her look at him, “How long has your chest been hurting?”
She pulled her hand down and connected it with her other one in a tight grip in her lap. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” He glanced over at Hutch who was still watching them intently, not even trying to hide it. “You know what Allie said,” he warned.
“Allie overreacts when it comes to me,” she said dismissively. “I didn’t bring you here to talk about me.” Of course they couldn’t discuss anything related to the fact that if she continued to internalize, she was going to end up with panic attacks or worse. No, that would just make it real.
“Then why am I here?” he asked, pulling his hand off her back, shifting in his chair.
“I want to form an investigation team as a division of DeLaney Security.” She turned to look him right in the eye. “And I want you to lead it.”
He knew his jaw practically dropped. For years she had been telling him he couldn’t be a part of DeLaney. Now she was asking him to lead a team. “I don’t—what—are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
“Because we need to keep growing, but I can feel a shift in the city again.” She closed her eyes and swallowed harshly before putting her hand back on her chest. When she looked at him again, he could see a touch of fear in her eyes. “I’ve got a family, a business, and a city to protect. You’re the only one I can trust with this.”
Levi rubbed his hands on his jeans and took a deep breath. “What will I be doing?”
“I want your team to pick up the investigations the police drop regarding our clients. Break-ins, theft, asset recovery and things of that nature, but I also want you to have guys that focus on keeping tabs on the other groups. If something is coming, I want to know about it, and I expect you to let me know.” Her phone buzzed, and she pulled it out. “Hold on.” She walked to the edge of the waiting room. “Hey, love, how are you doing?” he heard her say. It was Valerie.
Levi sat back in his chair, staring at the wall in front of him. Basically, he would be doing the same thing he had been doing, only from the inside. He could use all the DeLaney assets now though. The part about picking up investigations the police let fall through the cracks might be fun too. As far as the organized crime side of Berkland went, the recognized groups were pretty much in check. There were a few rumblings from some of the smaller gangs and what not, but he hadn’t put much stock into them because he had other priorities. Now he could focus more on those. No more cheating husbands or wives for him to spy on to pay the bills for his private investigation business. Levi could do something that mattered, not only to him, but also to Andrea.
She came and sat back down beside him. “I think her being pregnant is harder on me than her,” she said with a sad smile. “She’s so strong.”
“I still can’t believe you two decided to have another.” Not only because it still seemed crazy to him for Andrea to have kids but because of the pain and everything Valerie went through last time.
“My wife can be very convincing,” she said and bumped his shoulder with her own. “Are you going to accept my offer?”
He gave her a smile. “You know I am.”
She nodded and looked over to where Hutch was before looking back at him. “Good. How long do you need to wrap up what you’re working on with your business?”
“The end of the week, but with what you’ve got going on—”
“You let me worry about me, Levi.” She stood up and smoothed down her shirt. “Call me Friday and let’s talk more about the details and how we’ll do this. I need to speak to Victor.”
Levi stood too. “Ok, but you’ll call me if you need me before then or if something changes with Avrie?” He may not have been onboard about Val being pregnant in the beginning, but he really loved them now and never wanted anything to happen to them.
“I will.” She raised her arms, and he stepped closer to hug her again. “Thank you,” she whispered into his ear before pulling away.
As she walked toward Hutch and the entrance to the ICU, Levi went out the other door and took the long way out of the hospital. The last thing he wanted to do was allow Anna to follow him out or for Hutch to stop him. Soon enough they could get to know him—since he already knew all about them—but until everything was finalized, this was better.