Chapter 22
Phoenix
I disliked Henry’s mother on sight.
Partly because when she answered the door, she was wearing just a bra and barely-there boy shorts panties. But it was the way she was wiping at the white powder on her nose that really had me wanting to reach out and shake the woman. Of course, with the way she kept eying me as she leaned seductively against the door, I suspected she wouldn’t have a problem if I did just that.
“Is Levi here?” I asked.
“Levi?” she asked with a wobbly smile. Yeah, she was definitely high.
“Yeah, Levi. Is he here? He babysits for you, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” she said with a big grin. “Nah, he took Henry with him.”
“Do you know where he took him?”
Dina had to think about it for a long time before she shook her head. “If you see him, tell him I need some money. You a friend of his or something?”
“Or something,” I muttered in irritation. I didn’t bother telling her to have Levi call me if she saw him, because I doubted she’d remember the request. I turned away from her and debated what to do next.
I’d woken up to find Levi gone, though I had no clue when he’d left. It was almost nine in the morning so Dina had been the first logical stop. I had to wonder why the woman was even home, though with Levi’s comments about the woman tending to lose jobs, I had a pretty good guess. The fact that she was home hadn’t stopped Levi from taking Henry for the day, though that wasn’t a surprise either considering what I had just witnessed.
I’d tried calling Levi, but his phone had gone straight to voicemail, which had me wondering if he’d turned it off. As worried as I was about him, I was hesitant to ask Daisy to trace the phone because my request could get back to Ronan. And if he found out I didn’t have eyes on Levi…well, it just wouldn’t be a good thing.
I was pissed that he’d disappeared on me. I’d thought for sure we’d reached a new point in our relationship…that we were actually in a relationship. But the fact that he’d snuck out and was ignoring my calls and texts was a pretty clear sign that last night hadn’t meant to him what it had to me.
As much as I hated what I was about to do, I trotted up the stairs and stopped outside Levi’s apartment. I’d seen his father’s car out front, so I doubted Levi was actually home, since he avoided his father whenever possible. But I couldn’t risk missing him on the off chance he’d changed his routine.
My first knock went unanswered. After the second, I heard a crash in the apartment and a loud curse. I was about to knock again and call Levi’s name when the door was yanked open.
By his father.
The man was dressed in a dirty undershirt, sweatpants and a ragged-looking robe that was open at the waist. He smelled of alcohol, cigarettes and body odor.
“What do you want?” the man snapped, his words heavily slurred.
“Is Levi here?”
“You stay away from my boy,” was the reply.
“Your boy?” I asked in disbelief. “He hasn’t been your boy from the moment you let that monster you call a son lay his hands on Levi!”
“Don’t you get all uppity with me, nigger,” he bristled.
It took everything in me not to grab him. “Listen to me, you worthless piece of shit. You ever lay another finger on Levi, it will be the last thing you do, do you hear me?”
He tried to slam the door in my face, but I easily caught it and shoved it back, knocking him backwards into the apartment. He fell on his ass.
“I’m calling the cops!”
“You do that,” I snarled as I leaned over him and grabbed the lapels of his robe and yanked him upright until he was once again standing. But I didn’t release him right away. “Now, do I need to repeat myself, you disrespectful son of a bitch?”
The man finally had the sense to look afraid and he quickly shook his head. He was a fucking bully, through and through.
“I’ll know if you touch him,” I warned as I held his gaze. “You believe me?”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“Yes what?” I asked, just because I could. Because I needed to find a bit of pleasure in this moment.
“Yes, sir,” Levi’s father murmured, though I knew it killed him to say it.
“Good,” I said and then released him. I patted the lapels of his robe to straighten them, making sure I used more force than necessary. The man stiffened, but kept quiet. I turned and left the apartment, but as soon as I did, my satisfaction drifted away because I was back at square one.
I hurried down the stairs and to my car and hoped like hell my next stop would prove to be more fruitful.