Page 32 of Levee

I didn’t turn on the TV or some music.

I just sat there staring at the door, terrified that someone was going to come and kick it down for the whole night.

Then into the morning, the light started to slice through the corners of the curtains where they didn’t quite kiss the walls.

I think at that point, I was completely zoned out, lost in my own mind. Because I didn’t hear the comings and goings of my neighbors at all.

It wasn’t until there was a loud knock on my own door that I was shocked out of it, nearly falling off the couch in the process.

“Jade, open up. I’ve got bagels,” a familiar voice called.

I didn’t stop to think about how I was still in my ripped clothes from the night before, how I was likely covered in filthfrom being under the bed, that I probably had evidence of crying and lack of sleep all over my face.

All I could think of was that Levee was a big, strong guy. Someone who felt safe.

And I really, really wanted to feel safe again.

So I flew at the door, disengaging the alarmed doorstop, then sliding the locks, and throwing the door open.

Then there he was.

I just barely resisted the urge to throw my arms around him and drag him inside.

CHAPTER NINE

Levee

I tapped out of the festivities after the first club, finding myself kind of, I don’t know, bored.

I’d never felt that way about a night out on town before. The only thing I could chalk it up to was the fact that I wasn’t interested in any of the women who came around our table in the VIP section.

I couldn’t even say what it was about them that didn’t interest me. They were all pretty and engaging.

But they weren’t… Jade.

I guess it came down to that.

“You’re uncharacteristically introspective tonight,” Teddy said as he brought me over a glass of scotch from his bar, then moved to sit in the chair across from me.

“I guess I am,” I agreed, taking a sip of the drink and looking around his penthouse. I’d been there a dozen or so times before, but this was likely the only time I’d seen it while not actively drunk or hungover.

As enormous as the space was, I found it surprisingly comfortable. I got why Teddy lived here instead of the many other estates he and his family owned across the country.

“Would this happen to have something to do with a favor you asked for a friend of yours?” he asked, insightful as ever.

“Think it might,” I agreed, taking another sip.

“I’m assuming this friend is of the female persuasion.”

“Yep.”

“And very pretty.”

“Gorgeous.”

“I thought so,” he said, nodding as he looked off into the distance for a moment, reaching up with his hand to rub his jaw. “I feel like I’ve been here about half a dozen times already,” he admitted.

“What do you mean?”

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