Page 39 of Infernal Hearts

“Go home, Michael.” I say it as coldly as possible so he gets the hint. Maybe it’s the alcohol giving me so much courage. “I’ve had enough.”

Michael pauses for a moment, soaking in the hurt caused me before he storms out of the bar.

My mouth goes dry at what just happened, stomach twisting in my gut. What Levi did was completely uncalled for, but at the same time… I’ve never had anyone defend me like that. “What the hell did you just do?”

Levi does a double take, and his eyes widen. “He was hurting you, so I made it stop. What’s the problem?”

“You assaulted him!” Even if he was protecting me, it didn’t need to get violent—even if Michael deserved it. There are always other ways to get your point across. Levi needs to learn that, more often than not, karma always gets its way.

“I did not!” His voice rises as he stabs his finger toward the door. “He tried to punch me!”

Heat rises up my cheeks, and not just from the shots. “That’s completely beside the point, and it still doesn’t make it right. You know your magic makes you ridiculously strong, and then you took it a step further and stole his necklace!”

“No, I didn’t,” he says tonelessly. “It never belonged to him.”

My blood runs cold. “How do you know?”

He closes his eyes. “Because I bought it in L.A. This is the one Theresa was talking about.”

“That’s the thing that brought you here? Do you think he had something to do with all of this?”

Levi slows his breath and shows no emotion. “No, I think he was honest when he said he found it in the woods. I could sense his feelings, and he wasn’t lying.” He quietly twists it in his fingers, gazing at it like a Magic 8 ball that’s going to give him some sort of answer.

This is the first time I’ve seen him shut down like this. He’s usually so smiley and verbose, but right now he’s pensive and distant. The drinks are making me hazy, and I want to ask, but this isn’t the right time. All I keep thinking about is how this gives him a depth I hadn’t seen in him yet. Maybe he can be serious when he wants to be.

“Are you…okay?” I place my hand on his arm without thinking.

“Fine.” He pulls it away and tucks the necklace into his pocket. Like a case of whiplash, he snaps back into his usual charm. “But I’m thinking I’m ready to call it a night. Would you mind walking me home now that I have your ex wanting to off me?”

I consider his instant flip of emotions. Despite his poor attempts at deflecting, I’m still hoping for some answers. I down the rest of my beer and follow him out. The alcohol is setting in as the room starts to blur and spin.

So much for a relaxing evening.

…

Levi

As our footsteps take us down the road in silence, I wonder what Jason’s thinking.

I’m actually embarrassed about handling the situation with his ex poorly. Not because I was wrong, but mostly because I didn’t want to upset Jason. It’s weird to care what he thinks. But that son of a bitch was out of line and out of control. He had no respect for anyone but himself, plus he had something that didn’t belong to him.

Not to mention how badly he hurt Jason, and that made my temperature rise by at least twenty degrees. Why had I felt like that? It couldn’t have been jealousy because I don’t get jealous, but Michael is the worst kind of human and got what was coming to him. I didn’t throw the first punch—not my style—but I ended it. Someone had to put him in his place.

I wasn’t that wrong.

No, I couldn’t be. Can’t be.

The shots must have set in sometime in the last fifteen minutes, because while Jason doesn’t say much, he sways from side to side. It’s actually kind of cute what a lightweight he is.

I cock my eyebrow. “You good over there?”

“Yeah, just.” He hiccups. “Can’t drink like I used to.”

I make a mental note of that for later, replaying that adorable little hiccup sound in my head a few times. “I’ll remember to skip the shots next time.”

He pauses and looks me up and down. “You aren’t drunk? At all?”

I shrug, thoughts wandering back to Michael and the necklace. “A little buzzed. Takes a lot more booze than that to get a demon drunk.”

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