I open my arms wide, spilling some of the whiskey on my fingers. “Let him come to me then. I’m waiting.”
“Cowards do not face us directly. They go after those who belong to us.”
“I can handle it, and besides…you know how hunting works. To catch a prey, you have to dangle the bait and then trap it.”
He ponders my words and pushes his chair back, rising to his feet to leave. I don’t expect him to say anything, but he taps on the wall, and I look at him again as he signs, “A hunt is an interesting thing that fuels the hunter’s blood. Until the bait becomes more valuable than the prey. That’s when the sport turns dangerous. Because the hunter becomes a protector with a weakness. Be careful, Levi. Our obsessions are our liabilities.”
“I won’t ever have a liability.”
“If you believe that, then you truly are a fool.” He steps outside and closes the door quietly behind me, leaving me with the weight of his words as I focus on the TV, watching Lavender laugh at something Scarlett says before dipping her spoon in ice cream and eating it.
Lavender is mine, and she will stay that way. However, for her to become my liability, I’d have to love her.
And that won’t ever happen.
Because to love, one must have a heart, and mine was crushed a long time ago.
She’ll have all of me.
But my heart?
I can’t give what I do not have.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“Wicked desires have horrendous consequences.
And yet…
Humans are too weak to resist their tempting calls.”
Lavender
Lavender
“If you stare any harder, the bartender will think you have a crush on him,” Scarlett says, popping another strawberry in her mouth and pulling me out of my thoughts. “I don’t think he’d mind, by the way.”
“I’m sorry. I’m not looking at the bartender.”
I guess I was just staring like an idiot at the direction the five owners went, and it still played over and over in my mind, hating how I didn’t figure it out sooner.
Like, seriously, who else could have sent that invitation but Levi?
My first reckless and dangerous thing to indulge in, only to discover it’s a cruel joke.
I won’t be surprised if he has some humiliation ritual planned for me. “I have to go.”
Scarlett raises her brow. “Why? Because you found out Levi is one of the owners?” She drums her fingers on the wood. “It’s not only his. Wyatt, Von, and Kane…it belongs to all of them.”
“You knew?” And who is the fifth guy then? Ian?
She shrugs, dipping another strawberry in the chocolate and watching it drip back into the bowl. “Rafael represents this club, and due to client-attorney privilege, he couldn’t share any details with me. However, it was easy to connect the dots.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” It’s hard to keep the accusation out of my voice, and her eyes grow cold, reminding me that Scarlett takes no bullshit from anyone.
Even Rafael.
“Let’s check some facts, darling. You invited me, and besides, I had no idea you had an issue with Levi Scott. What’s this all about anyway?” She eats her strawberry just as the music changes, and I notice how several more guests arrive who are led straight to the VIP section just as someone gets on the stage and clears their throat into the mic, silence falling all around us at once.
