Running Into Love (Fluke My Life 1)

“Oh, please, you love living with me,” Mac says, and Libby rolls her eyes, then looks at her watch. “We should probably go if we’re going to make it on time.”

“Yes, let’s go. I don’t want to spend too much time overanalyzing this,” I say as Mac’s phone starts to ring. Pulling it out, she looks at the screen, rolls her eyes, and shoves it back in her coat pocket.

“Who is that?”

“No one.”

“Seriously, are you still on the whole I’m not telling you anything gig?” I ask, studying her.

She presses her lips together, then mutters, “Fine. It’s Wesley.”

“So you do know him. Ha.” I point at her, and she lets out a loud huff.

“Yes, we know each other.”

“And?” I draw it out, and she crosses her arms defensively.

“And nothing. I know him, that’s all.”

“You’re so full of crap. Are you sleeping with him?” I ask, and her cheeks turn a dark shade of pink. “You are, I can tell you are.”

“I’m not sleeping with that man.”

“Oh yes, you are, I heard you when you came home last night.” Libby glares at her, then looks at me. “She was all, ‘Stop it. My sister’s here. You need to leave before she finds out about us,’ blah, blah, blah. Seriously, either we need a bigger place or I need to get a place of my own.”

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Mac breathes, and Libby crosses her arms over her chest, raising a brow.

“Really, and what is the point of you hiding your relationship with him?”

“I’m not in a relationship with him, I’m just having a little fun.”

“Whatever. You two are together all the time, and do not even try to deny it, because I know it’s true.”

“It’s complicated.”

“How is it complicated?” I ask softly. Mac looks at me, wringing her hands together.

“It . . . him and me.” She tosses her head back toward the ceiling. “God, I don’t know. I really like him, but I just don’t know. After what happened with Edward, I just don’t know if I can put myself out there again.”

“I don’t want to point out the obvious, but Edward was kind of a dick.”

“Not kind of, he was a dick.” Libby shakes her head.

“I know, I’m just afraid I’m going to be let down.”

“You won’t know unless you try, and Wesley seems nice and genuine. I think he deserves a real chance.”

“You’re right,” she agrees, pulling in a deep breath.

“And I, for one, would like to know how you met him.” Mac presses her lips together.

“Oh, me, too,” Libby says, wiggling her brows.

“I know.” I look between the two of them. “How about we skip the showing and go have sushi at our spot?”

“Yes,” Libby cries, and I laugh, then say goodbye to Muffin and lead my sisters out of Levi’s apartment. We get into a cab and head downtown to our favorite sushi spot, where we eat way too much and drink sake while Mac fills us in on everything that is Wesley.

“I’m so full,” Mac groans as we walk out of the restaurant a couple of hours later.

Smiling at her, I pull out my cell phone when it rings, feeling my stomach melt when I see Levi’s calling.

“Hey, honey, we—”

“Fawn,” says a voice I don’t recognize, and my step falters.

“Yes.”

“Shit. This is Wesley, I . . . Fuck.” He pauses, and I can hear that he’s upset, which puts me immediately on guard. “I need you to come to Lenox Hill Hospital,” he says. My stomach drops, and my hands start to shake.

“What happened?”

“Levi was shot. He’s in surgery now.”

“No,” I breathe, feeling my sisters get close. “Please tell me you’re lying.” My eyes close, and I wait for the inevitable to come as I feel my heart split open.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he says as Mac slides my phone out of my hand.

Hearing Mac tell him we will be there soon and that we don’t need a police escort, I lean into Libby as she leads me to the sidewalk and puts out her hand for a cab.

“It will be okay,” Mac soothes, and I nod my head, praying she’s right. I don’t know what I will do if Levi’s not okay. I don’t even want to think about what I will do if he’s not.

“I . . .” I swallow over the lump in my throat. “I need to tell his family. They need to know what happened.”

“I’ll take care of it,” Libby says as she helps me into the back of the cab. “I’ll call Mom and have her get in touch with Levi’s mom. Don’t worry about that right now.”

Pulling in a deep breath through my nose, I let it out and hold on to my sisters’ hands as we ride to the hospital. As soon as we arrive, we head inside, where Wesley is waiting for us.

“What have they said?” I ask him as soon as he’s close, and he shakes his head.

“Nothing yet. We’re still waiting for an update.” His eyes go to Mac, and he reaches over, taking her hand.

“Where was he hit?” I ask as he starts to lead us toward a group of elevators.

“Right shoulder. The shot was through and through, but he lost a lot of blood.”

“Did they say if he would be okay?” Libby asks as my mouth dries up and my stomach rolls.

“He’ll be okay, but he was asking for Fawn when they were rushing him into surgery. He wanted you here,” he says.

I nod and step onto the elevator with my sisters flanking me, vowing that when I see Levi again, I will tell him I love him.

Chapter 14

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS. I LOVE YOU.

LEVI

Fighting against the heavy weight holding me hostage, I slowly climb to the surface of consciousness, only to have reality hit me as the smell of antibacterial cleaner and the sound of machines beeping reminds me of what happened. When Wesley called, he told me that our informant found out Juan was hiding at the apartment of one of his longtime girlfriends.

When we arrived on the scene, two officers and SWAT were waiting for us. What Fawn didn’t know was that morning we’d finally been able to procure a warrant for Juan’s arrest after his SUV turned up in Brooklyn with blood evidence inside. We hadn’t gotten the DNA analysis of the blood samples back from the crime lab yet, but we suspected when we did we would find out it belonged to Elia Albergastey, Tamara’s mother. When SWAT went into the building to arrest Juan, Wesley and I went with them. It was all good until Juan’s girlfriend decided she wasn’t willing to let her man be arrested and pulled out a gun from under the couch where she had been sitting quietly up until that point.

After that, all hell broke loose. The officers holding Juan got distracted by the bullets flying and let him have just enough leeway that he was able to grab a weapon from under the entertainment unit. That was when he shot me. After that, everything is a blur.

“I love you.” I hear it again, only this time I know it’s not a dream. Fawn. Jesus, she must be flipping out. I hate that she’s seeing me like this, but then her words register and I force my eyes open. “Oh my god, you’re awake,” she whispers, then reaches out, fumbling for something on the bed.

Soon a voice is calling through the quiet room, “How can I help you?”

“He’s awake, you said to call when he’s awake,” she says quickly while running her fingers down the side of my face, like she’s attempting to make sure I’m really here.

“The doctor will be there in a few minutes.”

“Thanks,” she says, then leans in, carefully placing a kiss against my lips. “How are you feeling?” She closes her eyes, shaking her head. “Never mind, don’t answer that. It’s a stupid question,” she mutters, opening her eyes back up, and I chuckle, then groan in pain when I reach up to touch her. “Don’t move, you crazy man, you’ve been shot. You need to take it easy,” she scolds softly.

I ignore her, wrap my hand around the back of her neck, and pull her towa

rd me, ignoring the pain shooting through my shoulder.

“I love you,” I say, and she leans back suddenly with wide eyes that search mine.

“What?” she whispers in disbelief.

“I love you, baby.”

“You do?”