If only Shiloh knew how wrong he was. “Ever was trapped in a closet most of his life. My friend Noah’s father sexually molested him and sold him to others. Seven’s dad liked to beat the shit out of him. Arsen’s dad, too.”
“Oh,” Shiloh said, as if processing this information.
“My mom’s in the hospital right now,” Levi said. Shiloh’s head jerked up at him, eyes crinkling at the corners, face etched with concern. “It’s true. Ask me why.”
“Why?” Shiloh said obediently.
Levi shouldn’t find that hot, right? But he did. Hereallydid. He wanted Shiloh to be good and obedient just for him. Not all the time, but just in the bedroom. Fuck. He needed to be inside him soon. He shook his head to clear his horny train of thought. Shiloh was suffering and Levi was thinking about getting laid. He was an asshole.
“Because she threw herself in front of a bus.”
Shiloh sucked in a breath. “She tried to kill herself.”
Levi shook his head. “Nope. She threw herself in front of a bus, hoping to force them to give her a free ride to the liquor store.”
“What?” Shiloh echoed.
Levi nodded. “My mom’s an alcoholic. She can’t go even a few hours without it. I was late getting to her place to bring her to buy more booze. So, she decided to try to get herself there, but she had no money. And, in typical Naomi fashion, she had to be as extra as possible.”
“Was she badly hurt?” Levi asked.
“No, but she had some kind of psychotic break. They have her on a psych hold.”
“My brother has done those once or twice.”
“Micah?”
Shiloh shook his head. “Micah’s evil, not crazy. When Malachi gets too…overstimulated…he sometimes…breaks. Micah used to call the paramedics and have them take him in.”
“Did it help?”
Shiloh shook his head again. “It wasn’t supposed to help. It was supposed to make Mal look unstable so if he ever turnedon Micah, they wouldn’t believe him. They never believe crazy people.”
“Sadly, we don’t get to choose our bloodline. But we do get to choose who we call family.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, Naomi gave birth to me but Jericho’s my family. Those idiots you just met are my family. They can be your family, too.”
Shiloh’s mouth twisted into a frown. “They hate me.”
Levi shook his head. “They don’t. They just don’t know you. And they like to give me a hard time. Besides, you have Ever on your side now. Nobody will go to the mat harder for you than Ever. Nobody can resist him.”
Shiloh’s face split into a grin and Levi swore for a second that the world got brighter. Holy fuck was he pretty when he smiled, both dimples on display. “He is pretty cute.”
Levi blinked. Who was? Oh, right. Ever. “You’re pretty cute, too.”
Shiloh’s whole face turned red and he bumped Levi’s shoulder with his own. “Shut up,” he said, but there was a tiny smile tugging at his lips.
Levi smiled back, throwing an arm around Shiloh’s shoulders. “We really should go take a nap. It’s going to be a long night.”
“Okay. Just napping?” Shiloh asked, the barest hint of…something in his tone as he gazed up at Levi through sooty lashes.
Levi’s smile became a smirk. “Did you have something else in mind, Dimples?”
Shiloh’s jaw dropped, his already red cheeks turning crimson. “What? N-No. I was just asking.”
“Mm,” Levi teased. “Yes, just sleep. For now.”
