Page 59 of Claimed By Ruin

He patted my hand. “Enough of that. Now what about you two?”

I smiled through the tears that gathered in my eyes. “Remember when we used to talk about college football and TV cooking competitions?”

He chuckled. “Indeed I do.” He sobered. “But now’s not the time for distractions. I was being respectful before. Figured you and Jack would be smart enough to get it together, seeing what was at stake.” He sighed, his thin chest seeming to cave in on itself. “But I might have overestimated y’all.”

I laughed despite myself, some of the heaviness lifting from my chest. Uncle Levi could always do that, make me smile on the darkest of days. What would I do when he was⁠—

No.

I shifted abruptly, then tried to smile to cover it, wondering how he could always make me smile no matter what. “There’s no us, Uncle Levi.”

He arched a brow. “He say that?”

It was my turn to sigh. “Not in so many words.”

“That boy’s about as hardheaded as they come. Suppose you knew that before you laid down with him.”

“Ugh, absolutely not. We are not going there.” I shook my head.

“That horse is out of the barn, sweetheart.”

“Jesus,” I muttered.

“Taking the Lord’s name in vain? In Kathleen’s house? Umm, umm, umm.”

He smiled now, and I wanted to sink through the floor. Then he let out a deep breath, his humor fading with it. “He had to go, Asia. He had to go. If there were another way, he would have found it. But not looking, that would have eaten him alive.”

“Yeah,” I said flatly.

“Yeah, nothing. He wouldn’t have been able to live with himself if he hadn’t come back for you either. And he did. He’s back, Asia. And I promise you, there is nothing in the world he would not do for you and that baby. So cut him some slack.”

“Why am I not surprised that you’re on his side?” I pouted, but I didn’t even care.

“You know whose side I’m on?” he said.

I shook my head.

“That baby’s. Because none of this is that baby’s fault.”

“I know,” I whispered.

“It’s not yours either. Or Jack’s. But you two need to get your stuff together. That baby needs you both, and I’m not going to be around to keep you in shape.”

“I told you not to say that,” I said.

He smiled. “Fine, I won’t, but⁠—”

Whatever Uncle Levi was going to say was drowned in a hail of gunfire.

NINETEEN

Asia

I flew down the stairs and into the kitchen, my socked feet slipping on the floor Lourdes kept operating-room clean.

Caitlin, who had ducked down in front of the sink, looked at me. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know! It sounds like we’re under attack.”