137. Levi
LEVI
“You realize you don’t have to do this?” Lazarus watches me, brow knitted with concern as we stand in the forest behind the house that belongs to the male responsible for my father and, ultimately, my mother’s death.
Violette rubs my arm in reassurance. “There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind, darling.
” The onerous beat in my chest agrees, but my gaze remains locked in place.
One of the floor-to-ceiling windows reveals a spacious living room, dimly lit by a small table lamp.
From here, the house looks empty, but I can feel someone is inside.
The three of us are glamoured to appear human.
I shake my head, grim determination setting in even as dread settles in my stomach like a boulder. “I need to see this through.”
Before I can let my anxiety get the best of me, I fold us into the living room. Ears straining and senses reaching, my eyes scan the wall opposite the window–all lined with photos.
Family photos.
Everything inside me revolts.
Squeezes the very breath from my lungs.
However, something inside me stills the moment my eyes land on the largest of the family portraits.
No.
I close the distance between it and me.
My mind can’t quite register what it is that I’m seeing.
At who it is standing beside a blonde woman holding a toddler with bows in her hair with an adolescent daughter standing in front of them.
At the silvery gray eyes, sun-drenched skin, dark hair, and handsome features that belong to… Astor?
I can’t breathe.
A wave of dizziness washes over me as reality clicks into place.
Violette’s concern is a low whisper beside me as Lazarus looks between me and the family in front of me. “Darling, are you alright?”
I rush down a nearby hallway, unconcerned with any attempt at stealth as I barrel my way towards where I can feel the sole resident.
My foot kicks open a bedroom door to discover Astor standing on the other side of it. Dressed only in a pair of boxers and an undershirt, in the midst of towel-drying his wet hair. “Jesus fuck.”
Despite his shock, a smile flickers briefly on his face though it quickly fades in realization. “Levi..."
I shake my head in disbelief, as though it can dispel whatever sick fucking twisted hallucination this is.
When it doesn’t, I finally manage the words. “It was you..."
Astor's eyes briefly track Violette, followed by Lazarus, as they enter the bedroom behind me. He shows no fear, or any other reaction to their presence.
Only the guilt in his gaze is palpable.
My voice is made breathy by the shock coursing through me. “This whole time... it was you.”
Astor’s words do nothing to soften the blow of his betrayal.
“I didn’t know, Levi... Not at first. Not until you came to live with me."
The weight of what he doesn’t say hangs between us.
“My life ended because of you... I lost everything.”
Astor’s silence gives way for my rage to trickle in and I close the short distance between us. Fisting the front of his shirt, I draw the gun tucked into the back of my waistband, and thrust the barrel under his chin. “Is your greed so powerful, it was worth destroying a family? Innocent lives?”
Astor’s jaw flexes, emotion burning bright in his gaze though his words are spoken low and steady. “Not greed, Levi. Revenge.”
My mind harks back to the woman and two daughters. The jungle gym in the backyard. Forcing me to acknowledge a truth that I’m still not ready to accept.
“Your father had my family slaughtered. Had his men string up their mutilated bodies for me to find.”
Nausea churns my stomach.
My denial is absent from all conviction. “No..."
Astor huffs a sardonic laugh, and still does nothing to resist my fierce grip. “Shall I show you the pictures from the coroner’s office?”
The look in his eyes confirms what my intuition tells me–he’s not bluffing.
As excruciating as it is to admit it... I know my father was not a good man. He was good to me and my mother. Maybe even his men. But anyone beyond that inner circle may as well have been chum for sharks.
And just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get any worse...
“Do you wanna know why?”
The bile rising to my throat says no, but I can’t find the willpower to deny him.
Astor gives a rueful shake of his head. “It wasn’t even for greed, Levi, but spite... All because I refused to work for him. I was a criminal defense attorney before this.”
I’m going to be sick.
“I didn’t build this empire until he destroyed my life.”
For the first time since my initial deployment as a Navy SEAL, my gunhand trembles.
Tears burn my eyes as my rage gives way to the shattering of my heart, but years of hunting and lusting for this man’s death urge me to pull the trigger.
My thumb flicks the safety off.
Yet, despite my being the son of his greatest enemy, not an ounce of anger burns in his gaze.
Astor’s eyes slip shut in acceptance.
He’s nearly as big as my human form. I’ve witnessed the brutality this man can serve directly, not merely via his employ.
Still he does nothing to defend himself.
When I hesitate, Astor’s eyes open again, voice softened by empathy.
“It’s ok, Levi. I understand.”
My throat closes to stifle the sob demanding escape. I know he can see the fat tears teetering at the edges of my eyes, but I don’t feel an ounce of shame.
This is the man that held me in his arms as I grieved my mother.
The man who saved me from a life of crime, and an early death.
Who instead gave me opportunities, resources, and most precious of all–love.
Unconditional love.
This man was a father to me when I had none.
When he could have killed me out of his own need for revenge.
I wasn’t even a child anymore, and no one could have blamed him for it.
I can’t do this.
As the first of my tears spill, my grip on his shirt loosens, and gradually, I lower the gun.
Astor straightens as I step back. His watery gaze never leaves mine. The weight of everything he wants to say, but doesn’t, hangs heavy between us like a boulder testing the limits of a bridge with fraying rope.
Lazarus and Violette slide their hands over my shoulders.
Heedless of hiding my newfound power, I fold us away.