Page 43 of To Keep A Wolf
“Maybe she knew that she’d made a mistake.”
“Did she tell you what this place was? Who was here?”
He shakes his head. “She never got a chance, but I had a feeling. Or maybe I hoped. For your sake.”
“You hoped?” I snort derisively, but he shakes his head, sadness creeping in.
“Whatever his reasons for staying away, he’s alive. And he’s your blood. That means something, Mac. Trust me.”
I catch myself, realizing he’s thinking about his own parents. My temper falters. I’ve completely skipped over that part of his story. “Did you find them?” I ask quietly.
“My folks?” he asks. His expression falls and then hardens. “We found where they’d been buried.”
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. After all these years, it’s not exactly a surprise, but it’s heartbreaking, nonetheless. “Do you know who…?”
“Crigger,” he says grimly. “I suspected it back when they disappeared. They’d begun gaining traction. Supporters in their campaign against the rejection custom. And Crigger didn’t like that. He chased them off pack lands to cover his tracks or maybe make it not so obvious. But in the end, it was him. Well, Thiago most likely since that was his favorite trigger man back then.”
Anger heats my skin as I remember Thiago’s cruelty. Yes, it would have been him. Jadick’s methods aren’t quite so obvious in their destruction. Or, they weren’t back then.
Levi watches me carefully, and I realize he’s waiting for me to respond. My words don’t seem like enough, though. Not after everything he’s lost.
“They would be proud of you,” I tell him.
His eyes glisten at that.
My heart aches, and I step closer, instantly aware of the emotion he’s reining in. When I touch my palm to his cheek, I expect him to pull away. Maybe even change the subject. Levi has never been one for emotional displays. But he surprises me by grabbing my hand and holding it to his stubbled cheek with ferocity shining in his sad eyes. “Thank you, Mac. For the second chance. For everything.”
I offer a tilted smile. “Look, this doesn’t negate the fact that I still intend to kick your ass for springing my father on me.”
He laughs, and the sound of it chases off the lingering grief. For now. I know the loss of his parents will always hurt. Hopefully, he knows he doesn’t have to hurt alone. Not anymore.
“I expect nothing less,” he says. “Come on. Let’s take it to the mat.”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, a knock on the van door has Levi and me pulling abruptly apart from where we’re tangled up on the mattress. Instead of ass-kicking, I’ve mostly just been assaulting him with my mouth.
“Yeah,” Levi calls out.
I glance over at him and smile to myself at his disheveled hair and unfocused eyes.
“Put your parts back in their own sockets, people.” Tripp doesn’t wait for an invitation before he pulls the door open and sticks his head inside. “Everyone PG-13 in here?”
“Your mom,” Levi tosses back.
“Nah, she’s completely inappropriate always,” he says, flashing a grin.
I groan as Tripp makes himself comfortable in the passenger seat, rotating it so it faces us. “Guess the party’s over,” Levi grumbles, grabbing a shirt and pulling it on.
“I think you mean the party can start now that I’ve arrived,” Tripp says, pretending to be hurt.
I roll my eyes and sit up, raking my fingers through my hair to try to tame it. But I know my flushed cheeks make what we were doing all too obvious. “How’d it go with Frankie?” I ask, mostly to take the focus off, well, this.
Tripp’s smile immediately vanishes, and unease skitters up my spine. “Not great,” he says.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Jadick’s gone apeshit over you leaving.”
