Page 43 of Levee

From there, we wore gloves and made sure never to leave anything personal in the unit.

Nothing would ever trace back to us if someone came snooping around.

“Yep. Everything went to plan,” I assured him. “You can ask Donovan,” I added, waving over toward where he was loading up a plate since we’d been up and on the road at the crack of dawn without getting a chance to eat.

“I trust you, Lev,” Huck said, brows furrowing. “You’ve been here long enough to know how to do shit right. Know being in charge isn’t your thing, but I wouldn’t let you be in this club if I didn’t know you could step up when you need to.”

“The fucker wouldn’t even let us stop to get coffee,” Coast said, throwing an arm around my shoulder in what would have just been a friendly gesture, but the fucker closed his forearm around my neck until he started to cut off air.

It was a situation that led to a mild scuffle, some bets from our brothers, and good-natured laughter from both of us when we were done.

“How’s your uncle doing?” Huck asked when we were all done and sitting around the table to eat.

To that, I sighed.

“That good, huh?” Huck asked, shaking his head.

“I’m just glad his new chair arrives today,” I said. “There’s no way he can easily wheel himself around with his hand all fucked up like that.”

I also got him a fucking bread slicer for my own peace of mind. I’d actually spent the whole ride back to Golden Glades after the event looking at various shit that was created solely for the purpose of keeping the elderly independent and safe for as long as possible.

I had everything from a device to open the pull tabs on soda or soup cans to a recliner with a lift saved in a wishlist for if or when they became necessary.

Normally, I would have just bought it all and put it in his place. You know, if he was anyone else than my stubborn-ass Uncle Will, who was going to be throwing enough of a fit about the electric wheelchair.

Baby steps, I guess.

Besides, for once, I was actually starting to look forward to my visits to my old apartment building.

Even all my uncle’s ranting and raving about what a piece of shit my old man was, and how I hadn’t fallen far from that tree, didn’t bother me at all.

Mostly because I wasn’t even listening. I was too busy thinking about how quickly I could wrap up my usual cleaning and stocking and maybe catch some alone time with a certain pretty brown-eyed neighbor of his.

“You’re heading over there?” Coast asked, looking disappointed.

“You have York, Kylo, and Velle to party with,” I reminded him, knowing his mind was on what girls to invite to the club to hang now that work was done for the day. Or likely the next week or so.

“What am I missing?” Huck asked, looking between us.

“Don’t you know the look of a man hung up on a woman by now?” Donovan asked the president, shaking his head. “Seems to be happening over and over ‘round here.”

“It’s—“ I started, not sure what I was about to say.

“They all claim it’sNot like that,” Huck said. “Until it is. What? She live over by your uncle?”

“Across the hall,” I confirmed.

“She some kind of cartel princess?” Huck asked. “An assassin for the Russian mob? On the run from a loanshark ex?”

“She’s just an artist.”

“Does she draw naked portraits of us?” he asked, lips twitching.

“Not that I’ve seen so far. And I’ve offered to model for one,” I admitted, getting a chuckle out of him.

Wherever the conversation might have been going after that got derailed by the loud, indignant scream of a child from over in Huck’s house.

“That’s my cue,” he said. “You,” he said, looking at Coast. “No skinny dipping until after eleven when there’s no chance of my kids looking out the window to see. We’ve had to have a conversation about nipple piercings already once this month.”

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