Levi

 

I wanted to say that I had no idea what Harper was going to do next, but that was bullshit. If I wasn’t so damn pissed off, I’d be laughing. Did she honestly think I wouldn’t know that she was going to take off to DC on her own?

Predictable.

Painfully predictable.

She may not have mentioned where it was we were supposed to stay, but following her wouldn’t be hard. Knowing her like I did, I knew she’d be so focused on her anger that she wouldn’t even think to check her rearview mirror.

Predictable.

I knew the minute I put her luggage back in the house that leaving wasn’t the right thing to do. I should have made her listen. Of course, there wouldn’t have been much listening—not with her wanting to get the last damn word in.

But I should have done better. Tried to get her to understand me. Tried to understand her.

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel in frustration. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. None of it. I wasn’t supposed to be driving up I-95, chasing after Harper. I wasn’t supposed to be watching after her. Hell, she wasn’t supposed to be in danger.

And Gavin wasn’t supposed to be dead.

No matter what happened between Harper and me or with whatever she was trying to stir up in Washington, at the end of the day, Gavin wasn’t coming back. I wasn’t a Marine anymore. My life wasn’t my own.

And the kick of it was that I was just starting to settle into what life had thrown at me. I still would rather be doing anything but construction for my dad, but it wasn’t quite as painful as it used to be. I was settling back into being at home. Being with my family. Being a civilian.

I was settling into being with Harper.

That was the scariest thing of all.

In a perfect world, we would have reconnected at a later time. I would have finished my time in the corps, come home with Gavin, and met up with her again. We could have had a chance to explore our undeniable attraction in a space of safety and security. Gavin would have been pissed—that was a given. But in time, he might have been okay with it.

But too much had happened too fast.

If Gavin were here, Harper wouldn’t be in danger. Maybe only to herself, but not the kind of danger she was flirting with now. My foot pressed down a little harder on the accelerator. This had to stop. Soon. Now. Yesterday.

The rest of the drive wasn’t easy. There was traffic to deal with and one particularly tricky stop for gas where I was certain Harper was going to see me. But, true to form, she was so singularly focused on her task that a marching band could have walked by and she wouldn’t have noticed it.

It was barely dark when she pulled into the hotel parking lot. I pulled in right behind her, effectively blocking her in. She jumped out of her car, stormed over to my door, and pounded her fist on the window. “What the hell are you doing here?”

I knew she’d be pissed. That was a given. But there was a hint of vulnerability in her eyes that almost had me regretting what I’d done.

Almost.

Shoving the door open, I stepped out and slammed the door. “What do you think I’m doing?” I snapped. “The real question is what the hell are you doing here? You’re not going to get into that event, so you might as well forget about the whole thing.”

Her eyes widened right before they turned to slits. “I’m not getting in thanks to you.”

God, she was infuriating. “Look, I’ve tried to be patient with you. I’ve asked you nicely and not so nicely to stop what you’re doing. It’s enough now, Harper. Let it alone!” My voice was harsher than I’d ever used on her, but it didn’t deter her one damn bit.

“No one asked you! I never asked you to get involved! I never asked you to take the role of… what, some kind of protector or bodyguard! I didn’t ask for any of it!” Tears filled her eyes, but she held it together.

“Of course you wouldn’t ask. You’re so busy trying to prove to the fucking world that you’re strong and tough and that you’ve got it all together that you don’t have a clue about what’s really going on around you. Open your eyes! This isn’t a game. You are out of your league here. Leave it alone.”

“I know how big this is. I’m not a moron.” Her entire being vibrated with fury. “What you don’t realize is that Gavin was my brother. My flesh and blood, and I loved him. I wake up every day, and I think I’m going to see him, talk to him. And then I remember. It’s like losing a limb. My family will never be whole again. My life will never be whole again!” She swiped at a tear that dared to fall. “So fuck you if you can’t understand that. I’m going to keep talking to people and keep asking questions until I know what happened.”

In that instant, defeat washed over me. It wrapped around me. Suffocated me. It didn’t matter what I did. It didn’t matter what I said. She was going to keep going with this, and in the end, she’d be no better off.

And she’d end up hating me even more than she did right now.

“What are you fighting for Harper?” I asked with a deadly calm that I’d never felt before. My words were harsh, and part of me meant to hurt her. “After all your petitions, press conferences, and editorials, what will you have? Nothing. He’s not coming back.”

She looked ready to speak, ready to argue my point, but I didn’t want to hear it. I was done. I looked her in the eye and felt a stab to my heart that I hadn’t felt since I stood over Gavin’s dead body.

I opened the door to the truck and climbed back in, refusing to look at her again. No, Gavin wasn’t coming back. I pulled away and did my best to focus on the road ahead of me. “And neither am I.”

***

I walked into the bar, and three pairs of eyes stared at me with a combination of shock and pity.

“If any of you wants to tell me that I look like shit, I swear to God I’ll kill you.” I didn’t bother waiting for any kind of a response. I walked directly to the bar and ordered a drink. The drive home from DC the night before had been hell, and the only way I managed to not lose my mind was to get the guys on the phone one by one.

Thank God, they were all living in limbo like I was without a hell of a lot to do. It made getting together on short notice a lot easier. Paying for my drink with a muttered “Thanks,” I walked over to the table in the back corner where Sebastian, Declan, and Cole were waiting.

The last time we were all here together, they’d been making fun of me for just about everything. Clearly they could see that I was in no fucking mood for it tonight, so they all just waited for me to sit my sorry ass down and tell them what was going on.

“Twice in one week,” Seb said to break the silence. “You’re lucky I’m anxious to get away from my family.”

Declan laughed. “Not me. I had a date tonight. I had finally convinced the lovely Tiffany Aimes that she needed to sleep with me.” He glared at me with a grin. “I needed to get laid. This better be important.”

Important? Hell, it was probably only important to me. Looking at the three of them, their eyes all on me, waiting, it suddenly hit me what a selfish bastard I was. They all had lives. This thing with Harper? Maybe I was seeing something that wasn’t there. Maybe I really was still dealing with my guilt over Gavin, and I’d made more out of the whole damn thing then there actually was.

“I’m sure the dialogue in your head is fucking fascinating,” Cole said as he scooped a handful of peanuts from the bowl in the middle of the table, “but I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we’d appreciate knowing why we’re all here and why you’re so pissy.”

“I’m not… pissy.” Yeah, I was, but it burned a little to be called on it.

“What would you call it?” Declan asked, taking a sip of his own drink.

“Harper found out about why she got uninvited from the DC thing.” Seb was the only one who nodded. Cole and Declan were still in the dark.

“How?” Seb asked.

I shrugged. “Does it matter? She found out, she’s mad as hell, and she’s in DC right now. Probably banging on doors and pissing people off.”

We all sat in silence until Cole spoke. “I don’t get it. What’s the big deal? We all know that no one is going to talk to her. They’re certainly not going to tell her anything different than what she’s been told already. It was an accident. That’s it. It sucks, and it was a fucking nightmare, but it was an accident.”

“Was it?” I asked quietly.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Declan demanded. “Of course it was an accident! Why would you even question that?”

“I was supposed to go in first. It was my job to make sure the area was secure,” I said as I broke out in a sweat. I closed my eyes, and I was there. I was watching the whole scene unfold all over again. “I got distracted. I missed something. I never miss anything!”

The silence was deafening, and I was thankful that they weren’t trying to make conversation or trying to convince me that I was wrong. I knew what I’d done.

Or didn’t do.

“She may not get a different answer,” I said finally, “but she’s going to push whoever it is that she’s pissed off further over the edge.” I ran my fingers through my hair and shuddered inwardly at the thought of Harper being hurt.

“Well, I talked to the PI,” Seb said, interrupting my thoughts.

“And?”

“We need to look a little closer at Harper’s inner circle.”

“Meaning?”

“Who is around her? From everything that you’ve told us, there hasn’t been anyone out of the ordinary lurking around, so that means it’s someone that blends in. Someone who no one would question seeing around Harper.”

It made sense. Damn, why hadn’t I thought of that sooner?

“I’d say that’s your next obvious step,” Cole said.

“Absolutely,” I muttered, mentally kicking myself for missing the obvious.

Again.

Why didn’t I just kill off the whole damn family and get it over with? At the rate I was going, it wouldn’t take long. I was supposed to be watching out for Gavin, and I’d failed. I was supposed to be protecting Harper and… Well, I hadn’t failed yet, but it was just a matter of time.

Instead of walking away—again—I should have stayed. I should have put my personal feelings aside and stayed with her. Who knew what kind of trouble she was getting into, and if she got hurt, it would be my fault. Sure, she wasn’t helping matters, but in the end, it was because walking away was my specialty that Harper was going to get hurt.

And not just physically.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that part of my quick-exit strategy was to avoid anything deep or long-term. I never stuck it out, never got too serious. The kicker was, I could’ve seen myself sticking it out with Harper.

And I was already serious.

About her.

About her safety.

About us.

“Okay, now that we’ve given Levi a pat on the butt and pointed him in the right direction, can we please see about getting laid?” Declan said, as he sat up a little straighter.

“Dude,” Cole said, leaning back with a look of disgust. “I know it’s been a while, but you’re on your own on that one. Not that you aren’t attractive,” he added with a wink and a smile, “but you just aren’t my type.”

They all burst out laughing. “You could do a lot worse,” Declan said.

“As long as that worse comes in the form of female curves, I’m in,” Cole said as he stood. “Next round’s on me.” He took a couple of steps before looking over his shoulder. “And don’t think I don’t know that you’re checking out my ass.”

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Very funny,” Declan said, “but I’m serious. It’s been a long time since we’ve hit a bar together with the sole intention of looking for a hookup. You cheated me out of a sure thing tonight, so what do you say we leave this dark corner and go over to the bar and see what we can see?”

A couple of weeks ago, I might’ve said yes. But now? I couldn’t. I may have walked away from Harper, but that didn’t mean that I wanted somebody else. A sigh escaped before I could stop it.

“Oh, for the love of it,” Declan said with disgust. “If you’re going to go all pouty and pathetic, you might as well go home.” He stood. “Now if you gents will excuse me, there’s a redhead over there that I think desperately needs my attention.” He was gone before either Seb or I could say a word.

“You all right?” Seb asked when it was just the two of us.

I shrugged. “I’m going to take the PI’s advice and look a little closer at Harper’s inner circle. Wouldn’t that be a bitch if it were that easy?”

“I don’t think it’s going to be easy, Levi. Especially if it’s someone in her inner circle. Someone who’s close to her that wants to hurt her? She’ll never see it coming.”

Great. And I’d left her alone in a city full of people Harper thought she could trust.

***

One of the perks of working for family—particularly family who walked around you on eggshells—was that when I said I needed some time off, no one questioned it. Which was exactly what happened Tuesday afternoon when I told my father that I wouldn’t be back after lunch.

I had stayed away from Harper for almost four days, with no contact at all, and I was going slightly crazy. Rather than going to her, I thought the better route was to go to her parents. Harper may not have told them everything about the threats against her, but maybe they had noticed something out of the ordinary where she was concerned.

I was desperate, and right now they were my only hope.

The afternoon seemed like the perfect time to head over because I knew Harper would be at work.

When I pulled up to her parents’ house, I was struck by that familiar wave of sadness that I’d had since Gavin’s funeral. Only this time it was tinged with an additional sense of unease. It felt wrong to be snooping behind Harper’s back, but she’d left me no choice.

“Levi!” Darlene Murphy said with a smile as she pulled the door open. “This is a surprise! Come on in!” She wrapped me in a fierce hug, and it made me smile. Darlene had always been like a second mom to me, and I realized how much I’d missed her. “What brings you over today?”

I had been about to answer when Charles walked in and gave me the same exuberant welcome his wife had. Once all the general greetings were over, I followed them into the kitchen where I was offered some coffee and a piece of pie.

Déjà vu.

“How’ve you been, Levi? How is work going with your dad?”

I thanked Darlene as she placed a steaming mug of coffee down in front of me before turning my attention back to Charles. “It’s been going well, thanks. I’m amazed at the amount of work that he constantly has.”

Charles nodded. “He’s very fortunate—but then again, he’s also a gifted contractor. He’s done work on most of the houses here in the community.”

I nodded in agreement. Construction might not have been my thing, but I was smart enough to know that it was certainly my dad’s and that he was good at it. I only hoped that someday I’d find something that I loved like he did and be able to make a career out of it.

“I was wondering how you were both doing,” I began hesitantly. “And Harper. Has everything been okay?”

They exchanged a look before turning back to me. “We’d be lying if we said that it’s been easy,” Charles said. “We simply take life one day at a time.”

“We’re so thankful that Harper is here,” Darlene added. “She’s always busy, of course, but it’s nice to have her so close by.” She smiled warmly. “Plus we still spend some time with Gina, and that makes us feel closer to Gavin.”

Gina? Who the hell was Gina? I cleared my throat and asked, “I’m sorry. Who’s Gina?”

“Gina was Gavin’s girlfriend,” Darlene explained. “Surely Gavin must have mentioned her to you? We were so certain that they were going to get married when he came home.”

Gavin had a girlfriend? I wracked my brain and tried to remember if Gavin had ever mentioned her, but I came up blank. She must have been someone local. Someone who… “Wait a minute. Do you mean Gina DeMarco?”

Darlene nodded. “They went out on and off before Gavin enlisted, but she wrote to him the entire time he was in basic training and deployed. She used to come over for Sunday dinners,” Darlene sighed. “She’s like family.”

Family? How could Gina practically be family when Gavin never mentioned her? Were his parents aware that this was a one-way relationship? I now remembered Gina from back in high school, and she’d always had a crush on Gavin, but he’d never taken it seriously. Gavin and I were as close as brothers. He would have told me if he had been planning on marrying someone when we got out.

“Levi?” I turned at the sound of Harper’s voice. I kept my expression blank, but just the sight of her made my chest ache. She was in yoga pants and an oversized T-shirt—mine—and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her face was pale, and her expression was bleak. I had to fight the urge to walk over and haul her into my arms. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see your folks,” I said and forced myself to turn my back on her. “I hadn’t seen them in a while.”

Why wasn’t she at work? Why was she home? Wasn’t she feeling well? Was she sick? A million questions raced through my mind. Had something happened in DC? Was she hurt? I shook my head and returned my attention to her parents. We made small talk until I heard Harper leave the room.

“Do Harper and Gina hang out together?” I asked as a thought occurred to me.

Darlene shook her head. “Heavens, no. Gina is a very quiet girl. I think Harper overwhelms her. I think that if… if Gavin had come home, I’m sure they would have gotten along just fine. But since the funeral, they seem to be giving one another a wide berth.”

I let that statement settle a bit before I stood. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve got some business to attend to.”

“With a job site?” Charles asked as he stood.

Shaking my head, I reached out and shook his hand and then walked around the table to hug Darlene. “No,” I said, making sure that I didn’t sound overly anxious. “It’s a personal matter, but I need to get some calls made before close of business today.” I thanked them for the coffee and promised to come back and visit again soon.

I walked out to my truck and even managed to pull out of the driveway and go down the block before I pulled out my phone. I scrolled through the contacts and hit Seb’s name.

“I swear,” he said when he answered, “at this rate I’m going to assign a private, direct line solely for you.”

“Yeah, yeah… I’m a pain in the ass.” I finally let the urgency I was feeling process.

“Admitting that you have a problem is always the first step.”

“Can we skip the funny banter and be serious?”

Sebastian was silent for a moment. “Okay, sure. What’s going on?”

“I think we have a lead.”