Smirking at my brother, I walked forward and he pulled me in for a hug. “Congratulations, Axe.” Moving closer to his ear, I added, “You deserve it.”

Axel held me tighter, and I heard his low voice ask, “Yeah?”

Smiling at the thought that my brother constantly tried to make up for the past by seeking my approval, I pushed back and nodded my head. “Yeah, Axe. You do.”

Axel cupped my cheek and rasped, “Thanks, kid.”

I had just moved to Ally to congratulate her too, when the sound of smashing glass sounded from the kitchen. I stepped back to see what all the noise was about, when I heard a man shouting.

“What the fuck’s happening in there?” Austin asked from beside me. I shook my head wondering too, when the kitchen doors suddenly burst open. What I assumed was the restaurant manager, pushed through, and in his arms he held a girl. The girl weakly thrashed around, but made no other sound but for her heavy, crackled breathing. Unable to clearly see what was going on, I pushed past Rome and Molly until I caught sight of the manager walking to his office on the other side of our private room… and the blood drained from my face.

It was her.

The girl.

The homeless girl was in his arms.

My heart pounded in my chest as she weakly fought the manager’s grip. He abruptly turned and her face came into view. My stomach sank again. She was worse. She looked worse than she did a few nights ago, which to me seemed almost impossible.

Her thin legs dragged on the tiled floor, her body too weak to stand. The sight sent me lurching forward. I ran at the manager, taking hold of the girl’s outstretched arm, pulling her from his grasp. As I did, I glanced down, seeing the girl’s glazed eyes staring up at me. Her pupils were dilated, the whites near gray in color. I could see that although she was looking at me, she really wasn’t seeing me. Her skin was scalding to the touch and her forehead was glistening with sweat.

The manager reached out to take her back, but I growled, “Get the hell off her!”

The manager stepped back, wearing a mask of confusion. “She was stealing. I caught her stealing from the back office. I’m calling the cops. They can deal with it. I’m not hurting her.”

A wave of protectiveness swept through me, and I hissed, “Not hurting her? She’s sick. Can’t you see how sick she is?”

The manager glanced down at the girl in my arms, and shook his head. “This is the third time I’ve had money stolen this month.”

I balked. How could this ass not see that she was sick? That she was starving?  He was ringing the cops instead of helping her, instead of actually giving a damn.

“Lev, what the fuck’s going on?” I turned to Austin who had just called my name. His arms were crossed over his broad chest and his dark eyebrows knitted together in concern. I saw him cast a glance at the girl in my arms. I registered the confusion in his expression.

“She needs help,” I said. I focused on the girl, whose breathing was too raspy and deep, too shallow. Her face was puffy and her skin was sallow, drenched in sweat. Her eyes couldn’t maintain focus. Just as I brought her face closer to me, her legs lost strength. I had to keep tight hold to stop her from falling to the floor.

Lexi was suddenly at my side. “Levi?” Lexi held her hand to the girl’s forehead. “God, she’s burning up.”

“I told her to leave when I found her in the office, but she kept going, stuffing her jacket full of cash like I wasn’t even there, her back to me, ignoring my words. I’ve had enough. It’s not just her that keeps doing this to us. We can’t afford it,” the manager complained.

“Lev?” Lexi pushed, and holding the girl closer to my chest, I confided quietly, “She’s the one who took my wallet, Lex.” I could see by the look on Lexi’s face that she still didn’t understand what was going on. Swallowing my pride, I confessed, “The other night, the homeless girl I called you about. It’s her.”

“The one you saw after the party is the same girl that took your wallet?”

I sighed. “I never went to the party…” I trailed off, and felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

“What?” Lexi pushed.

“I got to the party and, well, it just wasn’t my thing, okay? So I walked to pass the time. To make y’all think I’d gone.” I looked at the girl’s face and said, “She’s the homeless girl I called you about, Lex. The one that ran away when I went to make the call. I saw a guy attacking her in an alley when I was walking to get a coffee. I helped her. When I realized it was her, the girl who stole my wallet, I tried to be pissed. But then I really saw her: frightened, dirty, thin. I noticed she was sick and, well, hell, I felt sorry for her. I couldn’t leave her. She was so young to be out there at night, all alone.”

“Fuck, Lev,” Austin said from beside me.

I looked to Austin. “I couldn’t leave her there so I bought her coffee and food, and some new blankets. I tried to convince her to come with me.” I tipped my head in Lexi’s direction. “I tried to bring her to you. I thought we could take her to the center, but she wouldn’t come. She didn’t speak to me, not one word, but she was obviously terrified and cold, and weak… she reminded me of…” I swallowed, stopping my sentence right there. But I saw by the sympathy in Lexi’s eyes that she understood who I was talking about. Who she’d reminded me of.

“I couldn’t be mad at her for taking my rosary, Lex. Just look at her. I had to do something.”

Lexi turned to Austin and nodded her head. Austin didn’t say anything in response to her silent communication. Instead, he motioned for the manager to lead him into his office.

The minute they’d disappeared, Lexi pulled out her phone. “Who are you calling?” I asked.

“The hospital we work with, Lev. I’m telling them we’re bringing her in.” The girl moved in my arms. When I looked down, those big blue eyes met mine and the thought of this girl in hospital didn’t sit right with me.  I hated hospitals. I hated the idea of her in a hospital, once again alone.

Reaching out I took Lexi’s phone from her hand. “Levi—” she said in protest, when I pleaded, “Just send a doctor to our house. Let’s just take her home and have a doctor come out.”

Lexi stared at me for a few seconds, as I begged her with my eyes to understand. Sighing, she nodded her head. In minutes Lexi had called a doctor she knew, and he was meeting us at the house.