Page 41 of Chaos Kills

Levi kicks his long legs out and leans back, propping his body with his palm resting on the cement floor. “Now, how do we get out of here?”

“We drive?”

“It’s not that easy. We need to make sure we’re not followed.”

Oh hell.

“Dude, do I need to change my name?” Levi dips his head in confirmation, and I hate that idea. I loathe getting rid of anything of Dad’s. Yet, we’d have to. It’s just another one of those things where shit needs to be done, and it blows. “Fine.”

“You’ll need to say bye to Nessa.”

My whole body pulls back as I steal another glance at my best friend. “What? Why?”

“We’re not taking her with us.”

“Why wouldn’t—That doesn’t make any sense. She’s family.”

“She’s not,” Levi retorts evenly, snubbing the blunt along the concrete and pushing himself up to sit. “We don’t need any loose ends.”

“Lev, it’sNessa.” He doesn’t comment any more on it, but this isn’t over. But then again, I recall the other night when Levi came home. How Nessa jumped back like I just caught her doing something she wasn’t supposed to be. “Is there something going on between you two?”

Closely watching him, Levi doesn’t react or give anything away. He just continues to slowly put out the weed with his inked fingers, his chin tucked into his broad chest. The tattoos at his neck strain at the angle, and I wonder if I was so caught up in my own shit with the boys that I never noticed it.

That if she felt a certain type of way with Levi and I fake dating that she made a big thing about it.

Technically, she’s supposed to be in hiding, but that’s not Nessa’s style. She’s South Shore through and through, and we don’t stash ourselves away.

Yet, she hasn’t mentioned anything to me and told me everything was fine.

She acted fine.

But we’re females, born actresses, and we plot with the best of them.

“Gonna need an answer to that question,” I hedge, wanting more force behind my words, but I’m already stoned as shit.

“And cheat on you, Astor?” Levi mutters, dropping the blunt aimlessly to the ground before flicking those light green eyes of his at me. “Never.”

“Be for real,” I coax. “I’m not going to get mad.”

That’s a lie.

I’ll be pissed. Yet, where in the plethora of things that I’ve done, do I have a right to say or be anything?

“I haven’t fucked your girlfriend, Astor,” Levi claims, stressing the decades of years where he’s refused to call Nessa my best friend. He’s never said she is nor will he ever in his lifetime. But that’s beside the point. “Anything else?”

“No.” I wait a beat but still add, “Why can’t we bring her?”

“Too many people, Bay,” he conveys simply. “We need to focus on the girls, not another friend. If she wants to come by when shit calms down, fine. But right now, we need to be selfish.Emilio is going to search high and fucking low for you. We don’t need anyone slipping up with our old names anywhere.”

Leave it to Levi to have already thought this all out.

And, as much as I still don’t care for it, he has a point.

“Rod and Juice will make sure she’s safe,” Levi tacks on to involve her in the plans in some capacity. “Everything will be fine as long as she chills.”

I’m already anticipating the talk with her and how well she’s going to take it.

Not well at all.

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