Page 93 of Chaos Kills

“I need you to trust me on this,” Levi vouches softly. “Twenty grand is going to help us a whole hell of a lot.”

“I know, but?—”

“C’mon,” he presses, reaching out for me and pulling me up against him. “It’ll shave off months of us trying to save that money. I promise to keep in touch with you at all times. I’ll always have my phone.”

“I know, but?—”

“You still want out of here?” The immediate answer of yes doesn’t roll off my tongue as quickly as it has because some of the shock and things that have happened have started to make me numb to it. I haven’t left the house in the last few days, and I’m completely content where I am.

However, it doesn’t stop the world from turning or the fact that I have enemies out here.

“Absolutely,” I force from my lips. “But…what kind of job?”

Levi flexes his fingers around my hips, as if contending with himself to tell me, until he does. “I’m runnin’ ecstasy to New York.” My lips part when he adds, “I’ve already done my research.”

“On what? Lev, this is?—”

“Crazy,” he finishes for me. “But we have to start makin’ moves—big ones—in order to get Ellie and Mae out of here. If you’re changin’ your mind?—”

“I’mnot,” I retort. “I’m not. I guess…” God, I hate this. I really loathe allowing him to just go off and do chancy shit while I’m here, but he’ll never let me go with him. “I’ll find us a place. Another state besides California and Michigan.”

“I kinda liked Cali,” Levi replies. “If the boys show up, I can make them disappear easier.”

“I don’t think they’ll show up.”

“You remember Torin Wildes, right?” He perks an eyebrow at me. “Middle name; asshole?”

“Yes,” I grind out. “I remember.”

Trust me.

“Southern California,” Levi suggests. “Family town.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“Make sure we can get to a beach.”

“Got it.”

“Give me some options, and when I get back, we’ll narrow them down.”

“Fine.”

He crooks my chin with the bend of his index finger, and I’m immediately met with his confidence. “I’m gonna befine. You can bug me whenever, Astor.”

“Well, I don’t want to bug you when you’re in the middle of trying to concentrate.”

“Then, I’ll bug you.”

“Then, it’ll be second nature.”

His lips coil. “Yeah…I guess so.”

I reach for his fingers and give them a tight squeeze, needing some comfort since my stomach has already dropped to my ass. “I don’t like this.”

“I don’t like that you’re still pretending to be Emilio’s little daughter bitch, but we have to take some shit up the ass right now.”

“Stop talking about anal.”

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