Redemption (The Protectors 8)

The admission was the last thing I expected to hear. My heart leapt to life in my chest. “That’s good, because I’m already completely in love with you.”

He began sobbing as he pushed into my arms. I held him close as his body shuddered against mine and I knew, just knew, he hadn’t come here just to tell me he loved me.

Though I wished he had. As badly as I needed to get the truth out of him about Seth, I needed this moment more. This moment where it was just him and me and nothing else existed.

“I need to tell you something,” Levi murmured against my ear when he’d calmed down a little.

“Do you want to go inside?” I asked.

He nodded. I forced myself to release him, but took his hand in mine and then went to the door to unlock it. Once inside, I led him to the living room and sat down on the couch. But instead of sitting down next to me, he moved to the farthest end of the couch. I didn’t like that he felt the need to put so much distance between us, but I was glad when he shifted his body so that he was facing me.

“I told myself I would wait to tell you the truth, but I can’t. I need to let you go now because I may not be strong enough to do what I need to do otherwise…”

Before I could respond to his comment about letting me go, he lifted his eyes to meet mine and said, “It happened seven years ago and it was the worst night of my life.”

Chapter 19

Levi

I hadn’t expected him to tell me he loved me.

I wished he hadn’t.

It was going to make this all the harder to do.

My night had gone from bad to worse from the moment Phoenix had dropped me off at work. I’d been so distracted at work that I’d done just about everything wrong. I hadn’t been able to keep up with which register to bag for and I’d arranged the groceries in the bags so poorly that two bags had ripped, causing the contents to hit the floor and break. I’d offered to pay Betty to replace the things I’d broken, but she’d told me not to worry about it and then she’d given me a hug and told me how proud of me she was.

I’d lost it at that point and escaped to the back of the building to start going through the items that would need to be priced and put on the shelves after the store closed. But after I’d ended up pricing every single item the exact same price, I’d known I was a lost cause and I’d called Betty to tell her I wasn’t feeling good. Luckily, my earlier behavior had supported my cause and she’d told me without hesitation to go home and rest and that she’d have someone take care of everything in the morning.

It was only the second time I’d ever bailed on work, the first time being the night before after T had attacked me behind the store.

I’d known what the problem was, of course.

And it was a reminder of how selfish I was.

Because I didn’t want to let Phoenix go.

Or Henry.

Even after Father O had told me about Hank, I’d still wanted to find a way where I could have everything I wanted, instead of following through on my plan to go to the cops about T and that night seven years ago.

Father O had been able to get information on Hank’s condition. He’d been attacked in the laundry after some of Gun’s men had started a fight with some of Jasper’s crew in another area of the prison. Hank hadn’t told the guards who’d attacked him, but I already knew it was Gun. Without Jasper and his men to protect him, Hank had been at Gun’s mercy for those precious few minutes. He’d been severely beaten to the point he was almost unrecognizable and one of his knees had been shattered, so he’d likely never be able to walk normally again. Father O had said they’d taken Hank to the hospital, but once his knee was surgically repaired, they’d return him to prison. I knew that meant I only had a day or two to get my shit together, because even in the infirmary, which was where they’d likely keep Hank for a while, he was vulnerable to another attack.

And T had made it clear that there would be another one if I didn’t cooperate.

So, as I’d contemplated what would happen in the coming days, I’d wanted just a little more time.

With Phoenix.

And with Henry.

I needed something I could hang onto through everything that was about to come my way. There wouldn’t be a trial because I’d plead guilty to the murders of Seth’s parents. I’d thought about trying to end my life in jail, before they transferred me back to prison, but things would likely move pretty quickly once I was sentenced. Of course, I could try to do it before sentencing, but that would rob Seth Nichols of the chance to confront me in the safety of a courtroom. I was terrified of what he might say to me, but he deserved that closure.