Page 124 of Ace of Spades

"Yeah," he snaps. "But I didn’t meanwith my goddamn daughter!"

Milo whines softly at Brody’s feet. Sensitive to the storm brewing above him.

Brody steps in close enough that I feel the heat coming off him.

"You think this is about you getting your dick wet?" he growls. "This is about Sienna. She just found out she has a family. She deserves a chance to have a life that’s hers without being dragged down by your fucking mess."

Every word hits like a body blow.

"And if you don’t back off," Brody says, voice low and vicious, "I'll make sure you lose everything you’re holding onto so tightly."

My stomach turns to stone.

"You wouldn’t do that," I say, because if I believe that, then maybe there's still a chance this isn’t the end of everything. “You’re just mad, Brody. And I get it. This sucks but you don’t understand–”

"You sure about that?" he fires back. "I still have pull in this town, Steele. You think your custody of Josie would survive an ugly enough fight? A few bad references?"

I go still.

Colder than I've ever felt.

"You're threatening my guardianship now?" I rasp.

"I’m protecting what’smine," he says, without a single ounce of hesitation. "Because you clearly can’t be trusted to do the right thing anymore."

Silence stretches, ugly and ragged between us.

"You’re just like me," I say finally, voice hollow. "Scared shitless of losing something you never thought you could have."

He sneers. "Fuck you, Levi."

And then he's gone.

Just like that.

Leaving me standing in the middle of a hotel room that feels somehow worse than the combat zones we crawled out of together.

An hour later, I knock on Sienna’s door.

She answers almost immediately, wearing an SKC hoodie and sleep-mussed hair, looking so beautiful it makes my chest ache.

"Hey," she says softly. "You okay?"

I force a smile that feels like it might crack my face in half.

"Can I come in?"

She steps aside, letting me in.

I pace for a second, gathering the guts to say what I know I have to say. Even if it kills me to do it.

"I’ve been thinking," I start, and already her smile falters. She feels it too. The shift.

“Levi… what’s going on?” She reaches for me, but I take a step back away from her touch. I can’t let her touch me. I can’t let her pull me in. This isn’t about me or about us anymore.

"I think... after the build-off, I’m gonna take a step back."

Her whole body stiffens.

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