He nodded, slow. “Fine. Better now.”
The tension in the room ratcheted up, like someone had twisted the thermostat from “awkward” to “nuclear.”
Viv tried again, her voice going icy. “You need to leave, Mr. McKenzie.”
“Not going to happen,” I said.
She glared. “This is a private matter.”
I straightened and looked her dead in the eye. “There’s nothing private in this county. Especially not when you bring your problems to the Sheriff’s office.” I glanced over at Levi, who still hadn’t looked up from his phone. “Nice to meet you, by the way. Heard a lot about you.”
He didn’t respond, just kept tapping the screen with a little more force.
Viv looked like she wanted to scratch my eyes out. “Floyd, are you going to allow this? You’re the Sheriff.”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. He glanced at me, and I could see the fear behind his eyes, but also the spark of something new—determination, maybe, or just the exhaustion of being bullied for too long.
“I asked Ransom to come,” Floyd said, voice quiet but unshakeable.
Viv recoiled like she’d been slapped. “You… what?”
He stood up, slow, and moved to my side of the desk. It was the smallest thing, but it felt huge. “You can say what you need to say in front of him,” Floyd said.
Viv’s mouth opened, but nothing came out. For a second, I thought she might implode. “Fine,” she said at last. “If you want to embarrass yourself in front of your… your boyfriend, be my guest.”
Floyd flinched at the word, but didn’t deny it. He just nodded, like he was tired of fighting gravity.
Viv went for the kill. “Levi is in trouble, Floyd. He’s failing two classes, he’s been suspended twice, and last week I found drugs in his backpack. I need you to step up as a father and help me fix this. Not play house with your criminal boyfriend.”
I felt the blood rush to my ears. “You ever think maybe the kid wouldn’t need drugs if you didn’t treat him like a prop in your soap opera?”
She rounded on me, eyes glittering. “Excuse me?”
I shrugged. “Sorry. I thought we were being honest.”
She stalked closer, heels clicking like gunfire. “You are not part of this family, Mr. McKenzie. I don’t care what games you and Floyd are playing, but you will not interfere with my child.”
That’s when Levi looked up, finally. His eyes were pale, almost translucent in the shit light of the office. He said, “I’m not your child. And he’s not my dad.”
The silence after that could have bottled and sold as a chemical weapon. Viv’s mouth worked, but she couldn’t find the words. Floyd just stared at Levi, like he was seeing him for the first time.
“Levi,” Viv hissed. “That is enough.”
Levi leaned back, smirked. “Whatever. You dragged me here for this? I’m going outside.”
He stood, every movement a statement. As he brushed past me, he paused just long enough to say, “You’re the only normal one here, dude.”
I almost laughed, but kept it inside.
Viv watched Levi go, then spun back to Floyd. “You see what you’ve done?” she said. “You’ve destroyed this family. You’ve humiliated me in front of my own son. And for what? For him?” She pointed at me like I was a turd on her Louboutins.
Floyd took a deep breath, let it out slow. “Vivian, I haven’t been part of your family for a long time. You ended that when you divorced me. I’m sorry for Levi, but you can’t blame me for your own choices.”
She sneered. “Oh, please. Like you’re any better. You think it doesn’t get around, the way you throw yourself at—” she jabbedher finger at me again “—this degenerate? It’s all over town, Floyd. You’re a joke. A sad, broken joke.”
I smiled, wide and mean. “Better a joke than a punchline.”
Viv’s face went white, then red, then some color I’d never seen before. She looked at Floyd, searching for an ally, but he’d already made his choice.
