Page 12 of Havoc
Nothing about Las Vegasfelt particularly calm and quiet growing up. Not even living on the outskirts of the city. Dad’s house was in one of the wealthier neighborhoods, but just like on the Strip, people were always coming and going. Our street was a never-ending parade of parties and events.
Where people weren’t friends, they were props.
And money wasn’t comfort; it was a bar to be measured against.
I learned at a young age how to play the trophy daughter. After Mom left, it was up to me to keep it together for us. So while Dad clawed and climbed his way up the corporate ladder, I did the same in school. If I wasn’t the smartest or the prettiest, I was nothing. And while most might resent their parents for that kind of pressure, I understood my responsibility.
Dad sacrificed to give me everything I could ever need, and I did the same to make him proud.
I was the good daughter. Never reckless. Every step was carefully planned.
Except one: Levi Colson.
Levi was the definition of temptation in the city of sin. I should have known I was doomed the moment I laid eyes on him. No amount of armor can protect a heart from a biker, and I fell hard even if I pretended I didn’t.
And now he’s back in my life wanting answers I can’t give him. If I’m not careful, he’s going to break me all over again.
Leaning back in the lounger, I lose myself in the sunset. It’s a quiet neighborhood, which should make me feel at peace, but it doesn’t. At least when there’s noise and movement, I don’t have to think. I don’t have to consider that I’m no closer to rescuing my father than I was three weeks ago.
I just hope Titan hasn’t made him suffer for me escaping a second time.
The gate creaks at the side of the house, pulling me from my thoughts. I slip off the lounger and peek around the corner, but there’s no one there.
Shadows slowly eat up what remains of the day, so I pull my sweater closed and head into the house. Nothing scared me growing up because I still saw the best in the world. I was isolated and protected.
Untouchable.
Little did I know what lurked on the other side of my glass castle.
I step into the house and lock the slider, but nothing eases the tension pooling at the base of my skull. Seeing Levi today set me on edge. Part of me wants to avoid him for the rest of the time I’m here, and part of me wonders if I told him the truth whether he’d hear me out.
Arming the house, I turn off the lights downstairs and head up to my bedroom.
This house is too big with no one else here, and I hate it. The floors creak. The walls groan as they settle in the night. The gate rocks with the wind. A symphony of barely audible sounds rattles my nerves.
As I slip into my bedroom and lock the door, I glance at my dresser sitting to the left of it. Deep grooves cut through the carpet where the weight has been dragged back and forth every night.
For a second, I consider trying to go to sleep without a barricade in front of my door. But the thought alone has my hair standing tall on the back of my neck, so I reluctantly shove my body against it, pushing the dresser to block the door.
Levi would have something to say about this. At a bare minimum, the dresser is a fire hazard. But beyond that, it paints a picture of my mental state.
Luckily, when the guys from the club come to the house to check on things, they stay out of my bedroom, so no one has seen the grooves in the carpet by my door. They don’t know that I block it every night with my dresser, and they don’t know I moved my bed three inches away from the wall to hide my things and protect them. They don’t know about the drywall I carriedup from the garage to create a secret, person-sized compartment in the closet.
They wouldn’t understand.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and lift off the dresser, nudging it a final time to make sure it’s secure before changing my clothes. While some people sleep in nothing, I prefer sweatpants and a T-shirt. A full outfit with shoes at the side of my bed in case I need to make a run for it in the middle of the night.
Sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever stop feeling the need to do that.
If I’ll ever sleep soundly.
Once the sun sets, I slip into bed and stare up at the darkness. My curtains are sealed tight, so even the moonlight can’t break through, but my eyes adjust eventually, revealing the dark shapes of furniture around the room.
Instead of sleeping, I stare into the abyss of the ceiling and let my mind drift to simple times. Back when I still thought I knew Levi.
When I thought I knew myself.
“Aimee Landry.” Levi grins at me from where he’s leaning against his bike.
