I shook my head at Levi’s stupidity. If he was going to sell his ass, he should at least be smart enough to protect it. Not that I was an expert on the habits of prostitutes when it came to oral sex, but common sense dictated that the young man should have at least had the forethought to make his john wear a condom. Between being an addict and this, Levi’s days would have been numbered even if I hadn’t been tasked with doing the job myself.
I watched as Levi stumbled as he tried to right himself and a flash of fury washed through me when the blond kicked Levi when the smaller man’s hands inadvertently landed on the guy’s thighs as he tried to stand. Levi’s palms hit the ground and I watched as he hung there for a moment on all fours, water dripping off his wet hair which was plastered around his head. An unwelcome thread of pity hit when I watched Levi spit out a small amount of white fluid which I knew wasn’t saliva.
I expected the john to leave at that point, probably even without paying considering the vicious kick he’d laid on the young man, but instead, he wrapped his fingers around Levi’s upper arm and yanked him to his feet. I heard Levi cry out at the harsh treatment and saw him reach up to grab the shoulder joint of the arm the guy still had ahold of. Levi’s eyes instantly dropped and he stood there in silence as the man spoke to him. Frustration went through me at the fact that I couldn’t hear any of what was being said. I saw Levi start shaking his head, which was clearly pissing off the other man. Things escalated quickly after Levi let out a hoarse “No” that was loud enough even for me to hear. The blond grabbed him and spun him around causing Levi’s back to hit the wall of the building behind him. A vicious punch followed and before Levi could even bring up his arms to block his face, another hit had his head bouncing off the brick behind him.
I forced myself not to intervene, but the thought was short-lived when it became clear that Levi was making no move to escape the man or even defend himself.
“You think you can say no to me?” the man screamed as he wrapped a hand around Levi’s throat. “I own you, you fucking little bitch!”
I’d had enough and I was moving before I could even think better of it. Levi’s instincts for self-preservation had finally seemed to kick in because his hands came up to grab the fingers wrapped around his throat. But a hard punch to the gut had Levi gasping for air as he tried to curl in on himself.
“Hey!” I shouted. “Get your hands off him!”
The blond barely reacted to the order, so I wasn’t sure if he hadn’t heard me or he just didn’t give a shit. It didn’t matter because I reached him just as he pulled his arm back to deliver another brutal blow. I caught his fist as it flew and put all my weight into throwing him backwards so that he was forced to release his hold on Levi’s neck. Levi immediately crumpled to the ground as the blond fell back onto his ass. The man was smart enough not to come up swinging. Instead, he crab-walked backwards a few steps, his eyes full of a mix of surprise and fury. But whatever he saw in my eyes, it was enough to deter him.
“This isn’t over!” the man snapped at Levi as he got to his feet and put more distance between us. The man casually straightened his shirt as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but I did notice that he kept moving backwards out of my immediate reach. I was half tempted to reach for my gun just to show him that if I wanted his ass in a sling, I’d have it.
I waited until the guy turned tail and hurried out of the alley before turning to confront the young man I’d just saved.
The young man I was supposed to put a bullet through.
“You okay?” I asked, though it was a dumb question to ask since Levi’s lip was already swelling and an ugly bruise was forming on his cheek. He was clutching his stomach with one arm.
“Yeah, thanks,” he said as he sucked in a few deep breaths. His voice was softer than I’d imagined it would be.
Of course, the only time I’d imagined it always accompanied visions of him telling Seth to shut up as he was being carved up with a knife.
The reminder of who this man was had me stepping back instead of reaching down to give him a hand. Now would be just as good a time as any to pull out my gun and finish this, but I left my hand where it was. As much as I thought this man was scum for the role he’d played in brutalizing an innocent family, Ronan’s orders had been clear. And while giving head to a guy in an alley wasn’t the most moral of behaviors, it was hardly illegal since money hadn’t appeared to change hands.
“You need me to call someone?” I asked. The injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening, but they sure as hell had to hurt.
Levi shook his head. “No, I’m okay,” he said as he carefully climbed to his feet. Once he was upright, he leaned against the wall to catch his breath.
“You really should press charges,” I said absently. “Your boyfriend shouldn’t get away with that.” Boyfriend was the politically correct word I’d managed to come up with. Because I was pretty sure the blond was Levi’s pimp…especially after the free blow job and the crack about owning Levi.
“No,” Levi murmured. “He’s not my boyfriend…he…he was just some guy who got me mixed up with someone else.”
It was the lamest excuse I’d ever heard, but I didn’t call him on it. I certainly didn’t want him to know I’d seen him performing oral sex on the guy. As it was, I had no clue how to explain my presence in the alley.
Levi’s light green eyes came up to meet mine. His gaze swept my body from head to toe and I felt my dick stir at the perusal. That pissed me off, an emotion I couldn’t manage to contain, because Levi quickly shrank back against the wall and watched me with fear-filled eyes.
“Well, if you don’t need anything else,” I murmured as I moved away from him. I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t particularly like knowing I’d instilled fear in the guy. Which was ridiculous since heshouldbe scared of me, considering what I was likely going to have to do to him.
“Um, wait,” Levi said as I turned my back on him.
I took my time turning back around and saw that he’d steppedaway from the wall a little bit. He tensed briefly and then glanced at a door on the other side of the alley. “Listen, the kitchen doesn’t open for a couple of hours, but if you want to come inside to get out of this weather, I can get some coffee going. Father O wouldn’t mind.”
“Kitchen?” I asked dumbly.
Levi nodded, but when I didn’t react, his features fell. “Um, you’re here for dinner, right?” His eyes shifted to the door opposite us and I finally saw a small sign that I hadn’t noticed before.
St. Anthony’s Soup Kitchen
Hours: 7am-9am & 6pm-8pm
“Listen, it’s okay,” Levi said and I turned my gaze back on him. “Everybody needs help once in a while, right?”
It finally dawned on me what he was talking about. He thought I was there for a free meal. I was so surprised that I didn’t respond right away, which seemed to make Levi more nervous.
