Page 138 of Aching for His Discretion

Unfortunately, Antonio wasn’t a fan of the gesture, and he quickly pulled a pistol from his hip and aimed it toward Levi. My tears grew immensely as I watched, but I became distracted as Declan mustered enough strength to sit up slowly.

Looking over at him, I tried to get him to lay back down, but he was adamant. And to my surprise, he grabbed me by the arm softly and hid me in his chest away from the scene.

His blood-soaked clothes were flushed against me, but I didn’t care. Because at that very moment, all I could focus on was the comfort of my brother’s arms. It felt different… foreign almost. I wasn’t used to this side of him, and I felt utterly confused.

Wrapping my arms around him, I could feel him attempting not to go limp, to shield me from the scene and potential bullets that could come our way… to protect me as a brother should. I maneuvered us slowly, and as much as he tried to fight my efforts, he couldn’t. He ended up laying his head on my shoulder as I held him close to me.

Looking back over to Levi, Antonio, and Silas, I watched as Levi continued his steps despite the gun drawn toward him.

“Stop fucking moving,” Antonio seethed.

Levi menacingly tilted his head to the side. “You would kill me? You would kill your only son?” he asked.

Antonio remained firm. “You tried to kill your father!” he responded.

Levi stopped walking. A slight shiver ran down my back as he let out a smile—a chilling, wicked, bloodthirsty smile.

“Ididkill you. You were dead to me long ago.”

Levi took another step. My heart raced as Antonio’s hand tightened around the gun.

I silently sobbed as I briefly imagined my Levi on the ground, dead. I wanted to put a stop to this. I wanted to do something, but I felt stuck. With Declan essentially dying in my arms, I felt helpless.

“You ruined my fucking life. My empire… my marriage… you ruined everything,Diavolo,” Antonio seethed, and Levi remained stoic. The topic of Levi’s mother was a buried subject he often didn’t discuss. Antonio seemed to be projecting his own faults, his own weaknesses onto his son.

“Then kill me,”he whispered to his father.

Antonio remained silent. And in that moment, even I could feel that the air had shifted.Something… something was wrong.

Antonio was filled with rage, but he seemed… afraid, almost terrified.Of Levi?Then why hasn’t he shot the gun yet?Glancing back at Levi, I noticed his chest was basically against the barrel of the gun. I choked back a gasp as Levi placed his hand on his father’s wrist as Antonio seemed paralyzed. Slowly, Levi moved his father’s hand, aiming the gun up until it rested under his chin.

Antonio seemed visibly shaken as Levi’s smile only grew wider as he let out a humorless chuckle like he wasn’t seconds away from being shot. “And I’m the one who’s goneweak, right?”

In a swift motion, Levi disarmed Antonio and unloaded the gun as he kept his deadly eye contact. The bullets fell to the ground, and he tossed the gun and empty clip to the corner of the room.

Antonio looked enraged… and oddly enough, Levi was able to pick up Silas from his arms. After placing our baby safely in his crib, he approached Antonio once again, who seemed frozen.

“I want you to kill me, Padre,”Levi seethed, and I could almost see Antonio cower away slightly as he felt cornered.

In an instant, Antonio tried to push Levi out of the way as he rushed for the door. I audibly gasped as Levi body-slammed his father onto the ground after catching his arm. Antonio tried to get up, but Levi was too fast.

He pushed Antonio back onto the ground and twisted his arm behind his back. I squeezed Declan as I heard the audiblecrackof Antonio’s bones being broken. He let out a gut-wrenching scream, causing Silas to flinch and whimper as he began crying.

However, Levi didn’t let it deter him, and I shielded my eyes in Declan’s shoulder as he grabbed his father’s hair and slammed his face into the ground,over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.

The audible screams lessened, and the sound of bones crunching and blood splattering filled it instead. I knew Levi would have to force himself to stop… because, at times like this, this was his therapy,this is what soothed him.

Once Levi ceased the torture, my body practically trembled in fear as I held Declan closer while Silas’s cries were only soft whimpers. I couldn’t bring myself to look. It was a truly gruesome scene. I could almost throw up. However, I did my best to keep my composure.

Unfortunately, in my efforts to remain calm, the stress of the night began to weigh on me. And with Declan over me, almost like a weighted blanket, I slowly drifted in and out of consciousness. Before I was completely out of it, I heard Levi speak into the phone.

“Elliot... I need Dr. Lombardi and Dr. Wyatt here immediately. Tell the guys to get here, too. Teegan’s brother needs medical assistance, and… it’s about time we took out the fucking trash.”

Chapter sixty

Teegan

Waking up slowly, I felt as though my head was absolutely pounding. As I gradually sat up, I looked around the room and noticed I was lying in my and Levi’s room on the bed.

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