I hadn’t been a whole lot different than him at that age, but I hadn’t been as smart. I probably would have gotten into a lot more trouble if it hadn’t been for Levi. He had been a calming presence, even though he was filled with his own frustrations and bitterness. He had always been the sensitive one, the first to put his anger aside to deal with other people, even if it meant sacrificing something about himself. He’d never defend a true dickhead, but he was the first to turn a situation around to peer at it from a different angle and figure out what was really going on.
In him, I had found someone I didn’t have to pretend like with everyone else, and I had found someone worth fightingfor. Levi had never been big, although apparently, he hadn’t stopped growing at seventeen. So it had felt normal for me to be the one to keep him safe from threats. Of course, he didn’t like the idea of anyone taking care of him, and so I had always been careful not to put it that way. Not that he was stupid, hell, he wasprobably the smartest person I knew before Micah came along, and even then, it would be a contest between them once Micah got a little older.
Hell, once upon a time, I would have never guessed Levi would end up where he had after fifteen years, and yet he had. His moral center had always been reliable when we were younger, and I couldn’t help but wonder how the hell we had gotten to the point we were?—
Straightening, I glanced at the person coming through the door and blinked. “Seriously?”
Micah looked around, confused at my tone. “What?”
“Stay here,” I said as I stood and made for the entrance before I was noticed.
He glanced my direction, and then Levi’s eyes widened, and his attention snapped to me. I saw his lips part in surprise. Grinning, I hurried over before he could make up his mind whether or not it was a good idea to take off or stay. I could see him look over his shoulder before I watched him let out a heavy sigh.
“Well, well,” I said with a grin. “Imagine finding you here.”
“The real question is whyyouare here,” he grumbled. “I knew...I thought this place was safe.”
“From running into me? Hell no, come on, join us,” I said, grabbing his arm and pulling him. A stupid thing to do, dealing with someone who was part of one of the country’s biggest criminal families, but this was Levi. He wasn’t going to do anything other than grumble and complain...I hoped.
“I don’t...who is that?” he asked warily as we approached the table, and I gestured toward the bench.
“This is Micah, my nephew,” I said, and watched as Levi looked between me and Micah, who stared back in curiosity.
“Which one?” Levi asked, grimacing and taking the seat. “Mason?”
“Ew,” Micah said. “Who is this?”
I snorted, taking a seat next to Levi, who stiffened when he realized I had chosen to sit with him rather than Micah. “This is Levi. He and I started being best friends when we were just a bit younger than you are now. He moved away when we were seventeen. I ran into him again recently, so be nice.”
“My mom’s name is Moira,” Micah told Levi, still looking like he didn’t quite know what to make of him.
Levi glanced at me, a question in his eyes. “I...see.”
“Wanna guess who his dad is?” I asked with a grin.
“Who?”
“You remember that grumpy guy Moira was dating in secret so Mason wouldn’t find out?”
Levi blinked. “I do...I can’t remember his name, though.”
“Jace.”
“Ah, right.”
“Who’s been dating Mason for the past three years.”
Levi’s eyes widened. “Wait, your brother? The one who had essentially what counted as a blood feud with Jace?”
“One and the same,” I said with a laugh.
Levi squinted. “What in the...I would never have predicted that.”
“We didn’t predict it either. I mean, we’re used to weird shit in our family, but we weren’t ready for Mason to meet his old rival and suddenly decide, ‘Hey, that’s the guy I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.’ And so far, they’re making a pretty good go of it; they’re still weird as hell together, but once you get used to it, you forget they used to hate each other.”
“Was it reallythatbad?” Micah wondered, and Levi let out a little bark of laughter.
“I used to spend a lot of time around your family,” Levi explained at Micah’s bewildered expression. “Like...a lot.”
